Love at First Bite: Sugarbee

"If you're sosyal, you'd know Sugarbee." It was a brief introduction given to us by S when we stepped inside Sugarbee's SM Megamall store. True enough, if you frequent Manila Polo Club, you'd be familiar with this cake haven. 

Hello, Sugarbee. 

Hailed by Spot.ph as one of the best cake brands in the city, Sugarbee has a strong fan base even before its first store opened. Born from Ms. Jenny Silayan's passion for baking, Sugarbee is now available in BGC, Makati and now, Ortigas. 

First Bite: Empacho

Filipino cuisine will always be love. Its rich flavors and textures never fail to charm me. And when I was invited to indulge in a Filipino spread, I simply could not say no.

Hello, Empacho.

Love at First Bite: Single Origin

It's rare when I get to roam around BGC in the afternoon on a weekday and when I do get a chance, I make sure I get to eat something yummy. And a few weeks back, I got to visit... Single Origin. 

Hello, Single Origin.

Dark hues of brown greeted me as soon as I stepped in. With predominantly wood interiors, this place exudes a warm and welcoming ambiance.

I wasn't exactly hungry when I visited and after seeing that the dishes offered do not exactly fall under the "wallet-friendly" category, I opted to just order a a pot of Black Onyx using Hario V60 Pourover (PHP165) and Cappuccino Lava Cake (PHP295).

The server warned me that it takes roughly 20 minutes for the cappuccino lava cake to be ready. Since I was not in a hurry, I still ordered the bestselling dessert. 

In less than 10 minutes, my pot of coffee was served.

The Hario Pourover version is the cheapest among the coffee methods but it was also the one the smallest serving at 12 oz compared to others at 15 and 20 oz. 

Familiar with the taste of Black Onyx as I ordered it before when I visited Refinery, I took a sip without any sweetener. But my unsophisticated taste buds found the coffee slightly bitter despite it being one of the sweeter coffees available (as it highlights deeper caramelized sugars and notes of dark chocolate). In short, I ended up adding sugar. And it tasted a lot better.

After a couple more minutes and half pot of coffee gone, the lava cake finally arrived and... it was so mouthwatering. 

First Bite: Paprika

I have been following the Looloo app for quite a while now and my list of must try restaurants gets longer and longer. A few posts made an impression and one of which is Paprika, a comfort food restaurant and bar in RCBC, Fort Bonifacio. I have been pestering J to go with me to no avail. Luckily, R and his ChiChi friends are game to visit.

Hello, Paprika!

The place is pretty small and it wasn’t packed at all when we arrived.

It was already a bit past 8 then so we ordered as soon as we sat down. I got the Aligue Pasta (PHP300) while R got the Chicken Tenders and Fries (PHP150) and TNT (PHP265). We also got a Lava Cake (PHP95) and a Long Island Iced tea (PHP175).

First served was the bucket of chicken tenders and fries. It was pretty ordinary but filling as it had a lot of fries.

The Aligue Pasta was okay too though it was a bit on the bland side. The lemon juice helped though. I also enjoyed the fried shrimp which added texture to the dish.

Restaurant Discovery: Tweedle Book Café

As I grow older (and hopefully wiser and more mature), I find myself spending more and more time with friends in tea or coffee shops. I go fan girl crazy whenever I discover a quaint café. It gets more squeals if the café has cute décor or adorable names for dishes. (Okay, disregard being more mature.) Tweedle Book Café in Quezon City gets a lot of points for bringing out the geek in me.

Hello, Tweedle Book Café!

Ever since my schoolmate J posted her newest business venture on Facebook, I kept bugging people to accompany me visit the place. (I could do it on my own but the possibility of getting lost is high.) But finally, after several weeks (or was it months?) of pestering with love, I finally got to visit the place!

I wanted to try its savory dishes but I had too much for lunch at Haru. Instead, I tried the Chocolate Lava Cake with Salted Caramel ice cream (PHP220) and a cup of Latte (PHP140).

While waiting for my meal, I checked the décor and noticed that the different clocks show the time of different fictional places like Rivendell from Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Paradiso from the Divine Comedy. There’s even Whoville!

Harry Potter fans will go crazy with the Platform 9 ¾ wall.

The book selection was so amusing as well. I spotted Hunger Games cookbook!

Now for my afternoon snack…

Love at First Bite: The Breakfast Club

I love visiting new restaurants. It makes me so happy every time I get to discover a great fdish or a nice restaurant perfect for mini reunions or some alone time. And I’m really lucky that I’m just a few blocks away from one of the foodie destinations, Kapitolyo. But even Pioneer is starting to pick up. Just a few months ago, I spotted two new restaurants, Takeshi, a Japanese restaurant and one of my new favorite dessert places… The Breakfast Club.

Hello, The Breakfast Club!

Okay, The Breakfast Club is not exactly new as it has another branch in Quezon City but it’s still new to me. Owned by celebrity Erich Gonzales and her boyfriend, The Breakfast Club is known for its breakfast staples. (Duh!) But they also offer Korean dishes, a few Japanese dishes and steaks. But when we visited, we only had room for desserts as we just had dinner at Takeshi.

We first noticed the Fallen Cake (PHP155) and it sure look like it fell and was slightly stepped on. It still looked delicious though but my mom was iffy to order that. So we ended up with Lava Cake in (a) Cup with Vanilla Ice Cream (PHP170) and Mango Caramel Panna Cotta (I forgot how much this one costs).