Caffe Bene: Holiday Drinks Part 4

Off to the last part of our holiday drinks series! But first, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone! We were around the Paranaque area and tried a holiday drink offered at Caffe Bene. The commute was a little tiring and we needed a little something to put us back on track.

Iced Green Tea Macchiato

Earth-y toned, the brown caramel and the green matcha created a very needed thrist quencher. Ice and cream laced the top view of this cup. The sweetness from the caramel blended well with the strong herb taste of matcha. It's like being exciting while still being serious.

They also offered some holiday mini cakes. Tempted to try one but we opted to head over to our next stop where we will actually have our lunch. Watch out for our sushi place visit soon *guess where*!

There we go, our last post for 2015. Thank you everyone for a food-filled 2015! See you all again next year! Stay tuned for 2015 recap series this January 2016.


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Serenitea: Holiday Drinks Part 3

It's that time of the year when Serenitea's Jumbo cups awake from their year-long slumber. I was finally able to pass by a store during the promo period after attempting for the past 2 years.

Though the service was little slow (maybe because they just opened), we spent our time deciding on what variant to get. We specifically ordered less ice and a lower sweetness level. Only pearls were the available sinkers at that time. Here were our orders:


Okinawa Milk Tea

Serenitea's popular brown sugar based milk tea (left). Notice the slightly browner color.


Emperor Milk Tea

Royal milk tea was used for your highness, Emperor milk tea (right).

This whole jumbo cup lasted until the early afternoon! See you next year, jumbo cups!



Branch visited located at: Two Ecom, Pasay City

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Starbucks: Holiday Drinks Part 2

Another popular coffee shop with their planner and holiday menu is Starbucks. Aside from the staple Peppermint Mocha and the Toffee Nut Latte, the third special drink this year is the Christmas Pannetone Latte. I ought to try this one with the "bread and butter" flavors.


Christmas Pannetone Latte

With cheesecakes, red velvet cakes, and other pastries being turned into drinks, some kind of fruit cake is bound to be next. Pannetone is an Italian fruit cake. A lone fruit bit remains on top as all the other fruit bits already sank to the bottom. Ordered this one hot and took a sip after a quick stir.  The fruit cake flavors were somewhat there in the drink. It became more evident by the last sips of the coffee since that was where all the fruit bits were.


Penguin Gingerbread

Had this little cutie accompany my coffee and to increase the holiday feel. It was actually bigger than expected. I thought I could finish it in two bites but it was bigger than the size of my palm. The cookie itself was not sweet. It was the penguin design that gave the needed sugar. My only concern was every time I took a bite off the black part, it stained my teeth and lips a bluish-black shade.


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CBTL: Holiday Drinks Part 1

It's holiday season once again. What does this mean for coffee shops? The usual caffeine boost gets dressed up with extra sweetness. Aside from the planner you can avail for a certain number of purchases, special limited edition drinks become available at coffee shops this time of the year. These are usually on the sweeter side for more holiday cheer. I don't usually go to coffee shops to get coffee but this year I'm extra curious to sample a few limited edition drinks.

Winter Dream Tea

First off, we visited Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. That day was a day I preferred tea over coffee so I got the Winter Dream Tea. You can immediately get a whiff of the spices. Isn't that a cinnamon scent? Traces of milky vanilla and herb-tea flavors are mixed in the ice topped cup.


Toffee Nut Latte

A few days later I also tried their Toffee Nut Latte Ice Blended version at another branch. This offers a caramel-sweet twist to coffee.

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KKK: Food for the Revolutionary

Celebrating Bonifacio day this long weekend, we write about KKK - a restaurant with the same name as the revolutionary group led by the hero. We bought an online discount voucher for this.

The place is decorated with the likeness of a nipa hut - walls covered like this.

A paper mache of a pair of Filipinos accompany each table. You can munch on complementary kropek while waiting for your order.


Pancit Luglog

This comes with fried tofu and chicharon toppings.


Kare Kareng Baka

A mix of beef chunks and tripe in a chunky peanut pumpkin sauce with bagoong on the side is served. Kare kare is already a staple when we try out Filipino restaurants.


Pinitpit na Manok

Grilled chicken fillet with tamarind sauce on the side is up next. The sampaloc sauce is like a sour tamarind candy but with less sugar. The meat itself is a little dry but it goes well with the sauce.


Tibok tibok

This one is the favorite. It is a maja blanca, but richer and thicker. Carabao's milk is used for this. It's quite filling and the serving size is bigger than the usual round kakanin that you can finish in two bites.


Unlike our recent visits to other Filipino restaurants, food here is relatively not that salty.


Branch visited located at: Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City

Backlog Post: The Burger Lab Part 2 - Formula For a Tasty Burger

A few months ago, we used our remaining Burger Lab online discount coupon that we bought.  Last time we ordered two of their specialties. For this visit, we tried a burger that was recently added to the menu. 

B + M = Burger

Indeed a delicious formula for burger. Bacon + Mushroom and cheese and a beef patty is an equation for a delectable burger. I think their patty improved  in terms of texture and taste compared to the last time we ate when they were still on their soft opening. 

Pesto w/ Chicken

Then we tried something non-burger from the menu. A generous serving of pesto pasta topped with grilled chicken was our second item.

Branch visited located at: Two E-com, Pasay City

Caffe Bene: Sunday Morning Gelato and Cake

On one Sunday morning, we decided to take a short pre-lunch munch at Caffe Bene, SMX MOA Branch.

Once you step into Caffe Bene, the cozy interiors make you forget that you are actually in a convention center.

Their shelves are lined up with books and other interesting pieces like this mini pay phone.

Meet Befy!

Gelato

A number of flavors were available that day. They offer free taste to help you decide what flavor to get. I tried 5 flavors before I decided on the 2 scoops I bought. In the end, I chose one tart flavor, and one sweet flavor.

Bene Gelato: Yogurt

There is something attractive about the sour tart taste of yogurt.

Bene Gelato: Speculoos

Under the yogurt gelato scoop lies a cold treat for the sweeter side of your taste buds - the Speculoos gelato. I bet this is one of their best sellers. Look how little of it is left on display!

Mango Crunch Cake

And on another Sunday morning, we went back to try one of their cakes. Alternating layers of crunch and cake would go well with coffee.

Too bad they do not offer their bingsu and waffles at this branch. Also, this branch is only open when there are events at SMX.




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Jatujak: Going Thai with a Delivery Discount

Wanting to go try Thai for some time, we finally get a chance when an online delivery site had a promo. We got a 50% off discount with minimum purchase. Here are some of the Thai delights we tried.


Pomelo and Prawn Salad

Starting off healthy, we had salad. I think there were two kinds of pomelo on this salad. One was more pinkish and softer while the other was paler in color and a bit tougher which provided a good mix of texture. The vinaigrette went well with the meaty pomelo. Shrimps were plump but I would have loved it more if there were more shrimps.


Pad Thai (shrimp)

Noodles with sweet - sour tamarind based sauce and topped with fried egg (to the point of being toasted) with some pieces of shrimp for our first Pad Thai. Our second order of Pad Thai, which was the chicken variant (not in photo) has less toasted egg. This is a different take on the more common noodles which usually has a salty soy based sauce.


Cashew Chicken

Wandering a bit into the spicier side we have Cashew Chicken. It kind of reminded of of Kung Pao Chicken.


Thai Fried Spring Rolls (pork) - Poh Pia

Glass noodles and ground pork filled up these bigger versions of the lumpiang shanghai.


Flat Noodles with Kailan Leaves in Gravy Sauce (seafood) - Sen Yay Radna

This had thicker noodles and more seafood toppings like shrimp, squid, and oyster compared to the Pad Thai. The noodles on this one were more saucy and sweeter. But I still prefer the noodles and sauce of the Pad Thai that has a hint of sourness, though this wins in terms of amount of toppings.


Chicken wrapped in Pandan Leaves - Gai hor bai toey

Five pieces of chicken fillets wrapped in pandan leaves glisten in its own glossy oils. You may pair this with rice or even noodles for a dose of protein.


Overall, sweet and sour are the dominant tastes in Thai food we ordered. The delivery discount promotion runs until Nov 20.

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