Chocolate Cravings

I've been craving for some sweet fix for a few days now. And I wanted to try out pastries from a new place just to get my curious taste buds working. So when Richard and I passed by a mall from a doctor's visit, I decided to  buy something for me. There was a corner bakeshop called Bread Monster and they have this chocolate muffin that was calling out to me begging to be bought. I was attracted by its name: "Dark Chocolate Muffin"... Sounds decadent. I knew I wouldn't be satisfied with just one, but the idea of eating more than one of the same muffin doesn't sound as appealing either. So I decided to go for their pre-packed assorted box of four. Its got the dark chocolate muffin, the revel bar, s'mores bar, and a  brownie (clockwise from top left on the photo above).

dark chocolate muffin

When I got home, I couldn't wait to dig in! I immediately "attacked" the muffin... but to my disappointment, it didn't live up to its name! You see, I was imagining it to be bittersweet with big bold flavors of dark chocolate. It was anything but. It didn't even taste like chocolate! I tried the brownie and the s'mores bar (which was basically, layers of blondie and brownie topped with broiled marshmallows), but they weren't as good as I hoped either. There was something off on the chocolate flavor of all these pastries... It tastes old...like it has been on the display case for far too long than it should be.

brownies

s'mores bar

I swear I would've regretted buying these pastries if it weren't for the revel bar, which to my surprise was actually good! It was made of delicate layers of oatmeal bars, with gooey-melty chocolate in between. This time, the chocolate really does taste like chocolate. It was heaven! It was a little messy to eat, but I think it was part of the fun. =)

revel bar

So yes, my taste buds got to work last night trying out all those pastries, and I've discovered a new favorite, and threw out some. (Well not really, I gave all the half-eaten "unsatisfying" pastries to Richard.) But I'm still craving for that dark, bittersweet chocolatey goodness that I missed.  ♥♥♥

Note:

Bread Monster is located at the upper ground floor of Alabang Town Center

Reminiscing Palawan

Last February, my beau Richard and I went to the island of Palawan for vacation. All the places we went to, the beach, the restaurants, the nooks and crannies, are all great! But one of the most memorable place we went to was Baker's Hill. True to its name, it was a bakery on top of a hill! More than a bakery, it was a slice of heaven for me. The owner turned the place into a vast, gorgeous landscape garden with character statues that adds charm! The baker and the nature-lover in me could not bring myself to leave. Just like a kid, I remember wanting to just stay and live there!




I bought from the bakery one of my favorite pastries: pianono. And in Baker's Hill, they bake and sell it 12 inches long! Finishing it in one seating was quite a feat, but it was as delicious as every pianono I remember eating in my lifetime.


I also love the "miniature cakes" displayed at the store! So adorable!

♥♥♥

Another stop we had in the island was Vietville. Prior to traveling here, I had no idea that I was looking at a piece of Asian history. Vietville started out as a place where some Vietnamese refugees went to the Philippines after their country came under communist rule. After several years, some of them went to the States when the U.S. agreed to grant them asylum. But some of them decided to stay, built a place for Filipinos and tourists to sample authentic Vietnamese cuisine...and so the Vietville Restaurant came about!

The restaurant has a very simple, yet homey interior. It feels like going inside a bahay-kubo, which is how it looks like, actually. It was deserted when we came in, since we were there at 9:00 in the morning! But it was nice to have the whole place only for us... lots of time to take pictures without nosy onlookers. :)

Richard and I went here on our last day in Palawan, right after we just had buffet breakfast at the hotel. With stomachs still full, we decided to give it a try and ordered a light meal. One of the best sellers they recommended was the beef noodles. It was a little too spicy for me, but the thick, firm, folded noodles was very intriguing! I love the French baguette, with its crusty and chewy exterior. (I just wondered how Vietnam got influenced by French cooking!) Richard, being an undying fan of everything spicy, absolutely loved the chili paste condiment! I've been trying ever since (without luck) to search for its recipe.

♥♥♥

Another restaurant we went to was the famous Ka Louie. Since Palawan is an island, I was not surprised that most of the dishes this restaurant offers are sea foods. Our new friend T, who was one of the locals here, honestly revealed that the food here wasn't as great as its popularity, but any travel in Puerto Princesa would not be complete without stopping by Ka Louie. So we gave it a try.

I like the ambiance of the restaurant! It's cosy and sophisticated at the same time, with touches of locally grown bamboo and wooden furniture. You have to remove your shoes or sandals before entering, since no footwear was allowed. They have this organized shoe boxes for safe-keeping, but telltales has it that some footwear gets stolen!

Now about the food... Since I love everything sea food, I honestly love the lapu-lapu and how they cook it. The calamari though was a little too tough... an indication of being over-cooked! But altogether, it was a nice dining experience for me. I would've loved to linger more if we're not scheduled to a round of beer at Kina Butch, another restaurant and bar nearby! :)

I love Palawan...and its local flavors! I'll be back, hopefully real soon!

Crazy Crepes

My friends and I went to the Galleria one day and decided to try out something old and new for a change. Ü After singing our hearts out from the videoke booths at Tom's world, we went to this dainty little shop called "Crazy Crepes." The sell crepes (apparently), with different fillings ranging from fresh mangoes, bananas, strawberries, even Nutella, all made creamier with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a dollop of whip cream, and all with sprinkles of corn cereals. Some varieties have either chocolate, caramel, strawberry or raspberry syrup. It all looked sinfully delicious and it took me a while to decide which one I actually wanted to order. I was almost certain that I could eat all of them!




I finally decided on the one filled with slices of strawberries... of course, complete with the scoop of ice cream, a big dollop of whip cream and chocolate syrup, with the crepe wrapped around them. It almost feel like eating ice cream on a cone, only softer. The taste is just heavenly! The corn cereals inside added texture and crunch to the bite. I loved it! If it isn't such a hassle, I would go and buy one every week! I wish they would open up a store somewhere here in the South soon. I would be their number one customer. Ü

Who is the fairest of them all? My friend Susie or the crepes? (sorry Susie dear, I'd go for the crepes on a heartbeat! Ü)

♥♥♥

Mother's Day with Red Ribbon

While eating lunch at Red Ribbon Bakeshop two Sundays before Mother's Day, I saw an advertisement of specialty cakes available for mothers' big day. I wasn't in the mood for baking this month, so when "the Day" was fast approaching, I was already decided on buying a cake for my Mom. Red Ribbon offered two choices, one was a regular chocolate chiffon cake frosted with boiled icing, and the other one was butter rum cake frosted with fondant icing. I chose the latter, thinking that chocolate chiffon cake seems so ordinary for such a special day, you can practically have it anytime of the year. Plus, I've always been fascinated with fondant, and as much as I love baking, I've never made fondant before. Heck, I've never tasted one before! It's just not something available in most bakeshops here in the South. So I was really bent on getting that.

The verdict: the cake itself was delicious, with just the right amount of rum lending its flavor to the cake but not too much so as to overpower it. Although I was a bit disappointed that the cake was just single layered, I was somehow expecting some kind of frosting on the middle and around the cake before the fondant layer. But it was just cake, then some sugar syrup, then the fondant icing. The fondant's taste and texture was intriguing, to say the least. :) It was like eating a rubbery sugar but not quite. :) It was nice, but kids at home didn't like it though... probably because their taste buds aren't developed yet. The royal icing decorating the fondant was elegant but didn't really adhere well.

Up until now, I've been intimidated with fondants on cake. It was something I thought only professional cake decorators can make. But after having this cake from Red Ribbon, I'm actually tempted to try it. It was relatively easy... or at least I hope it would be! ;o)

Flaming Lava Cake by Delifrance

We just finished watching a movie at Festival, and Richard was looking for some place to eat. We tried out Delifrance, for a change. :) I wasn't very hungry yet considering we just ate a big lunch just before we started the movie! So I opted for dessert. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary cake with no decoration aside from the confectioner's sugar sprinkled on top. Before the waitress handed my cake over, she poured some sort of alcohol around it, and it went ablaze! So that's how it got its name... I thought. :) As my fork sliced the tiny cake, hot chocholate oozed out from inside, and I immediately noticed how thin the actual cake was. I would've been more impressed if the cake tasted as good as it looked. The alcohol imparted a very bitter taste on the sides of the cake, I almost couldn't swallow it. Otherwise it would've tasted nice and chocolatey. Though I liked the melted chocolate in the middle. I really wish they never had to pour alcohol on it, I may want to order it again next time. But then again, it wouldn't be called "Flaming Lava Cake" anymore, would it? ;o)

On Baby Cakes & Dome Cakes

♥Baby Cakes♥

Several weeks ago, as Richard and I were strolling down Paseo de Sta. Rosa, we discovered a bakeshop called "Baby Cakes". It was fairly small and yet it was as cozy as it can be. The shelves are lined with varieties of miniature cakes with their larger counterpart. On top of the shelves, I found a huge pile of individually-wrapped chololate chip cookies, I also found Christmas-decorated sugar cookies (it was still the holiday season that time ;o)), and some piles of what seemed like out-of-place hopia rolls. The interior is also well-decorated with cozy collectibles, and the tables and chairs are assortments of soft couches and hard-wood benches. On the ceiling, I found the menu written with colored chalks on a little black board. All in all, they all blended nicely together which added to the overall nice ambiance of the place. In fact, it was so nice, it makes me wanna have my own bakeshop already!

I was in the mood for some chocolate goodness that afternoon and decided to buy a small chocolate cake. I browsed from the assortment of chocolate cakes, and since there is no label of any kind, I just pointed to the nice sales lady what I wanted to devour. ;o) I found out later that it was called "Chocolate Cheesecake" (P110/small, P90/petite size)... and yes, based on the texture, it was more of a cheesecake to me than a regular chocolate cake. I was a bit disappointed at first because I was really looking forward to a nice, soft cake. Fresh from the chiller, it was too cold and was kinda hard to fork. I couldn't finish the whole thing so I had my half-eaten cake wrapped and took it home. I left it at room temperature and ate it again later that night. To my surprise, the cake has significantly improved in taste! It was actually smoother in texture and softer to bite. The chocolate frosting, that lured me to buy it in the first place, also improved at room temperature. I could actually taste its pure chocolaty-ness that I didn't find when I took my first bite. I could now appreciate the medley of flavors brought by the combination of cream cheese and chocolate. And since I was a happy camper, I'm definitely going back to try some more! ;o)

♥♥♥

♥Starbucks' Chocolate Dome Cake♥

Richard and I celebrated our second anniversary a couple of days ago. After a fancy dinner at Tony Roma's in Alabang, my "forever Mocha-frap guy" decided to end the night with a cup of coffee at the ever-reliable Starbucks. I'm not so much into coffee, so I just decided to have my dessert there. My friend Leslie has strongly recommended Starbucks' Dome Cake a couple of weeks before that and urged me to get one next time I go there. She claimed it was addictive! I never had it before and didn't really know what to expect. When I found it available that night, I knew I had to try it. I find the filling delicious with a really soft texture that melts in the mouth. And the cake was... well... chocolate. Actually, there's really nothing out of the ordinary that I found in the Dome Cake (aside from its shape!). It was delicious alright. But I guess not as delightful as the first cake I've ever tasted in Starbucks, which was the Chocolate Supremo. Now that was really supreme! ;o)

Sugar Overload on Bellevue Cakes

I almost forgot to post this entry, but I promised my man I would as a tribute to his all-out support for my obsession for anything sweet. One ordinary day, after having another unhealthy lunch at the neighborhood McDonald's, Richard persuaded me to go to the next door Bellevue Hotel to browse through the line of cakes and pastries in the corner bakeshop. It's nothing out of the ordinary, but I have to admit that the moment I laid my eyes on the shelves, my heart grew happy! I immediately scanned the over-sized cookie jars and gazed longingly at the thumbprint and oatmeal cookies. I can imagine myself hoarding every variety but the steep price-tag stopped me (P16 per pc). Richard suggested I pick the cakes instead. I kinda missed the taste of walnuts so I chose the Walnut Cake (P85/slice). It was adorned with rosettes of what looked like butter cream frosting topped with what looked like a large chunk of chocolate. I was still eyeing the other cakes (convincing myself that I made the correct choice) when the lady behind the counter recommended that I try their Cake of the Month (P85/slice) as well. It was a round petite cake adorned with chocolate "wings" on four sides, frosted with what looked like a meringue icing, and topped with a large chocolate chip. I was curious what it was called (on the cardboard it simply said "Cake of the Month"), but I was too timid to ask so I just let it go. So anyway, we stepped out of Bellevue toting a large paper bag containing two cake slices. As much as Richard likes eating anything that comes out of my oven, no matter how badly baked it was, he really isn't much of a sweet tooth as I am... he declared that the cakes were ALL for me (yey!). I couldn't wait for day to be over so I can go home and leisurely eat my cakes. It turned out that I was too impatient to wait for another hour of commute from work, so as soon as my shift is over, I went straight to the office pantry ready to devour them. Or so I thought...


The Walnut Cake

My first bite was yum-o! Probably because I was eagerly anticipating that moment or I was just hungry that it tasted every bit as I would want it to be. But as I progress, eating almost half the slice, I realized that the cake was way too crumbly. There were loose crumbs all over that you probably need to use a spoon instead of a fork to eat it. I figured that it was made of ground walnuts with just a little amount of flour, but whatever was the binding ingredient, it wasn't enough to hold the cake together. Aside from the texture, another thing I didn't quite like was the flavor! I like walnuts in chunks and pieces to enhance an otherwise plain concoction, but the walnut-y taste of this cake was very overpowering that the cake was almost bitter. Another disappointment was the seeming chocolate chunk on top... it wasn't chocolate, it was a prune!?! I was never fond of prunes, I will never be. Not to mention that the there were large pieces of it tucked all over the cake. The only thing I liked is the buttercream frosting, and I have to give credit to that. Growing up with cakes from the ever present Goldilocks Bakeshop whose buttercream frosting tasted more like shortening than butter, I'd have to say that this version from Bellevue was authentic.

♥♥♥

The Bellevue Cake of the Month

This cake with no name helped me recover from my utter disappointment of the walnut cake. For starters, I liked the chocolate "wings" adorning the sides of the cake. It was too cute, I almost didn't want to eat it. It stayed firm and crunchy even when the icing was clearly melting. I liked its nutty bittersweet taste, balancing the saccharine sweetness of the meringue icing on top. Aside from its fancy decor and frosting, the cake was just a regular chocolate cake with layers sandwiched in whipped cream frosting resembling that of a Black Forest cake. In fact, I think it was just Black Forest clothed in another disguise. But anyway, it was still chocolate and I love chocolate so I'm not complaining. I gave my half-eaten walnut cake to my Mom, but this one I actually finished. All in all, it was definitely a sugar loaded day... sugars that would probably all go to my hips, but then again, I'm not complaining. ;o)

the chocolate wings

Chocolate Supremo Cake

My boyfriend and I were strolling at ATC when a craving for something sweet and chocolatey started gnawing on my taste buds. So Richard took me to Starbucks and let me have anything I want! (talk about sweet...) ;o) Anyway... I was hesitant at first because I'm not the kind to splurge on food when there's a good enough alternative that wouldn't burn holes in my pocket. (talk about stingy!) ;o) When we got there I was a bit disappointed with how limited the selections are, but I recovered fast enough when that craving for something sweet and chocolatey started to resurface from the depths of the stomach. ;o)

Choosing was hard. I went from one chocolate cake to another, to eclairs to bagels, then back to eclairs and then back to chocolate cake. Finally, I've made up my fickle mind... I chose chocolate supremo cake (P105/slice). It was moist and soft with a hint of coffee liqeuer, maybe espresso. It was three alternate layers of chocolate cake and soft wafers (that tasted very much like graham crackers, only better). The white chocolate garnished on top was a bit tasteless, but I was most intrigued with the finger cookies on the edges. I expected that it would taste a lot like lady fingers but it was way too sweet for that. Richard was right, it was like hardened icing. Overall, it was a nice cake, a new dessert experience. I'll definitely go back, and have that eclair.

My Favorite Stop

Going home from work, I had to cross the street passing by Ministop. And almost always, I had to stop by the store and buy myself anything to quench my thirst or to fill my growling stomach. I've tried most of what they offer but there are two items that has become my favorite:

Shark's Fin Dumplings


I know this probably isn't authentic shark's fin, but still the taste is oh so yummy! It has something in it that I can't put my finger on... It tastes of some herb that's savory and leaves you wanting for more. I like that it's deep fried to perfection and the wanton wrapper is crispy to the bite. If only I could have my way, I would eat this everyday for dinner! Plus, it's very inexpensive, just P29/4 pcs. There were so many times I had brought this at home that my little sister requests for it everyday! It has become her favorite too.


Revel Bars by Pam's Kitchen


My other sister, who's living in a dorm at the moment, recommended this to me. She went to Ministop with some friends for a late night snack and had these. She was so satisfied with it that she raved about it when she went back home. I had totally forgot about it until yesterday when I had another craving for shark's fin dumplings. I checked what's on the chiller and found these! At first I thought they were a bit pricey for my budget, but they were worth it! The oatmeal bottom was a real treat (and very healthy too!), and the chocolate frosting was so creamy and decadent. I think it would be better with walnuts on top, but nevertheless, they were great.