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Cronut #1: Croughnuts by Dolcelatte

As soon as the cronut craze hit Manila, I got so curious to find out what the hype in New York was all about that I began listing all the places that offer their own version of this popular pastry, and it eventually led to my post on where you can buy cronuts here in the Metro which now has over 10 places listed (I think I’ve updated that post 4 times this week). I planned on how we’ll finally try most of them (we’re skipping a few) and concluded that the easiest local cronuts one can get hold of are Dolcelatte‘s.

So, over 2 weeks ago, I texted Dolcelatte. It was a Wednesday night and no one was answering their hotline. I think I was calling past 7pm. 😀 My friends Badeth and Joanne (my new food trip buddies!) wanted to have a taste too, so I listed all the flavors we all wanted and sent our orders through text. Early morning of Thursday, they called me up to confirm my orders and the time of the pickup – 5pm, Saturday, at their South Triangle branch along Quezon Avenue.

It was hassle-free. No need to wait in line for hours just to be disappointed when the store or restaurant runs out of stock. No need to prepay either. The thing is, if you’re pre-ordering, you have to order a box of 6 of Dolcelatte’s version of cronuts – they call them croughnuts. They do have stock they reserve for walk-in customers at Php 110 each. Pricey, I know. We suggest you split a box with a couple of your friends since you can all pick your own flavors anyway. 😉

Fast forward to Saturday, we hurriedly left our prior meetup to head on over to Dolcelatte. We thought people would be lined up, ready to take our croughnut orders if we’re not there on time. Silly me. 😀

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A Mesmerizing Dinner at Van Gogh is Bipolar with The Burp Society

Ever since we started this blog, we’ve had this insatiable thirst for a one-of-a-kind dining experience. I can count with one hand the number of restaurants that left me speechless, but they’re mostly just because of the flavors and the food. None of them had a significant effect on me both gastronomically and emotionally. I’ve never had that experience yet.Â Not until last June during The Burp Society‘s dinner meetup at Van Gogh is Bipolar by Jetro Rafael. I left that night with my heart filled with glee. 🙂

You most probably have heard of this place. The owner, Jetro, is an artist and has long been struggling with bipolar disorder. He discovered that changing his diet may play a big role in his healing. He cooked dishes with ingredients that made him happy, or at least improved his mood. It was his friends who encouraged him to share his mood-altering diet – he calls it the “Cuckoo Diet” – by opening up his own restaurant at Maginhawa Street. Here, he wants to continue celebrating his imperfections and embracing his flaws… something we should all learn to do. 🙂

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Go Bananas over Sugar Stop’s Minion Cupcakes!

The sold-out stock of collectible toy versions of these cuties, the nonstop posts from people who can’t seem to get enough of them and the thousands who lined up on the first week of Despicable Me 2‘s screening are clear indications of the minion mania here in the Philippines. Adults and kids alike LOVE them and couldn’t resist their cuteness, so it was just inevitable that edible versions of these minions will soon take over our newsfeed. On our top favorites are definitely Sugar Stop’s Minion Cupcakes.

If you’ve watched Despicable Me 1 and 2, you’d see how much more screen time the minions got in the sequel. Universal Pictures knew it, we all fell in love with the multi-lingual minions (yes, we paid attention 😀 ), so much so that people are now demanding for a movie featuring only the minions. Well, we think that’s a crazy idea, but let’s get back to the Minion Cupcakes by Sugar Stop.

We found out about them through Twitter. They sent us a tweet telling us to check out their minion cupcakes. Ken and I are both in love with these minions, so when I saw the photo, the first thought that came to me was, “How can anyone eat them?!?! They’re too darn cute!!”.

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Yabu : An Extraordinary Katsu Experience

When Yabu opened last year at Robinsons Magnolia, we initially weren’t that excited. We thought it’ll just be another hyped, overrated restaurant. We couldn’t be far more wrong. We were invited to the opening, but couldn’t come because of work. The anticipation started to build up when fellow foodies started raving about them. So, one weekend, we trouped to Robinsons Magnolia (which isn’t really accessible to us) to finally feed our curiosity (pun intended). 😉

Since they haven’t opened any other branches yet that’s closer to us (we’re looking forward to their SM North Edsa branch!!), we couldn’t dine in as much as we’d love to because their nearest branch is at SM Megamall. Commuting from Malabon to Ortigas is such a hassle because of the traffic, so it took us awhile before we had a chance to dine in again, finally, at their SM Mall of Asia branch about a week ago. They now have 4 branches and from the looks of it, they’re not slowing down.

Anyway, back to our Yabu katsu experience. If there’s one similarity I’ve noticed from restaurants that didn’t wow us, it’s the number of dishes on their menu. When I see that there are too many items on it, I somehow expect to be disappointed. I prefer to see a smaller menu because that means the restaurant gets to focus more on the quality and flavors of the dishes they serve rather than coming up with mediocre dishes while trying to please everyone.

And this is exactly why we fell in love with Yabu. Though they have other items on their menu, you know that they’re focused on one thing: to give you the best Katsu experience – consistently. With every slice and every bite, you’ll sense the technique and passion put in every katsu they serve. It’s no wonder people are coming back for more, hence the Katsu craze.

“Delicious is in the details. At Yabu, everything is prepared meticulously, and nothing is left to chance: from using Koshihikari, the finest japanese rice, to knowing the exact second of lifting the pork from the bubbling oil. Discover what makes our katsu better than the rest.” It’s no wonder since they claim to have learned the art of making the perfect katsu from Chef Kazuya Takeda, the head chef of a renowned tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo.

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Sugarleaf Organic Market and Cafe : Haven for Health Buffs

For us who grew up enjoying savory dishes and sweet desserts, the mere mention of healthful food gives us this impression of bland, sacrificial eating. And we think this is normal since our brains and bodies were mostly programmed to relish anything with salt or sugar. However, through this blog and our desire to be healthier, we’ve started to go out of our ways to discover more nourishing yet flavorful food, and we found one of the must-go places for health buffs: Sugarleaf Organic Market and Cafe.

We were invited for lunch in SugarleafÂ at their Medicard Lifestyle Center branch in Makati. It was the first time we felt genuinely excited to learn more about how to eat well… and smarter. 🙂 That nutritious lunch forever changed our perceptions of what healthful food tastes like. Thanks to Angelo “Jello” Narciso Songco, co-owner of Sugarleaf, who shared with us his passion for healthful eating.

We are well aware that by just changing your diet, you can drastically improve your health. Food can be medicine, or our poison. But, we’re not here to preach about health since we love bacon, desserts and chocolates. 😀 We just want to share this with you so you know your options. 🙂

When it comes to healthful food, we usually think we have to compromise flavor – this has been instilled in us, not just here in the Philippines, but everywhere in the world. We have this impression that only food products and dishes that have actual sugar, pork fats / oils, and salt can be tasty. We have learned over the years that there are other more healthful alternatives.

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SARSA : Gourmet Sauces for Quick and Delicious Meals at Home

When it comes to home-cooked meals, we’ve got very high standards because of an excellent cook at home – our nanay. She can whip up sumptuousÂ dishes from scratch without any need for a recipe guide, and just flavoring each dish from taste. We’re THAT lucky and blessed as kids. 🙂

Enjoying her home-cooked meals has been one of the many highlights of our childhood. For us, it’s of utmost importance that families enjoy a home-cooked lunch or dinner from time to time. And if you don’t have the know-how to prepare delectable meals at home, no worries. We discovered delicious, ready-made sauces you can use that will make cooking at home less of a hassle. We’re talking about SARSA Gourmet Sauces by Chef Eugene Catipon.

We were sent three (3) samples of SARSA’s gourmet sauces to try at home. We were delighted to see the ones we received: Beef Stew, Korma (curry) and Kare-kare. We were expecting to be disappointed by the latter since our nanay prepares a killer Kare-Kare, but we were pleasantly surprised.

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Wee Nam Kee Yellow Chicken Festival and Other Scrumptious Dishes

For a limited time only (til June 30th, but hopefully they’ll extend or make this a regular item), Wee Nam Kee is serving up the Wagyu, Kobe and Kurobuta of chicken – the imported Yellow Chicken from Malaysia.

You might have heard about Wee Nam Keeâ€™s Yellow Chicken and thought it’s just a fancy, overrated version of the regular poultry we enjoy. When they invited us to get a taste of this, along with other Wee Nam Kee dishes, we can guarantee that it’s far from your ordinary chicken.

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McDonald’s McSpicy, Big N Tasty, and Black and White Burgers

We have yet to blog about so many things we’ve enjoyed the past year, and it was only now that McDonald’s launched a new burger – the McSpicy Chicken Burger – that I finally got to writing about how much we love their Big N’ Tasty, which was launched a year ago.

For years, there has only been one fast food chain that delivers 24/7 to our area here in Malabon City – the McDonald’s branch in Concepcion (google-map it!). Though this is mainly the reason why I’ve collected a stash of ketchup sachets from McDo (no shame), they have been our go-to place for midnight snacks. And since I work at night and the stress from my job makes me want to eat past 12 midnight, I can no longer count how many times we’ve had food from McDo delivered here. They don’t even call or verify anymore and the delivery guys already know us. 😀

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Bizu Patisserie Delighftul Holiday Gift Sets

It’s that time of the year again when people are specially sweet and giving towards others. For many, finding the perfect holiday gift may be an issue. But, with Bizu Patisserie holiday gift sets, you can’t go wrong. 🙂

Bizu Patisserie is a French-inspired pastry shop where one can indulge in exquisite breads, pastries and even savory treats. We’ve written about them before when they celebrated their tenth year, and have visited them a couple of times after and we can attest to how they live up to their motto, “A taste of Joie de Vivre” (joy of living).

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Indulge in Vermont Classic Frozen Custard by FIC

The weather might be gloomy and it might not be the best time to enjoy anything cold, but you can’t deny the fact that when you’re stuck at home with family or friends, nothing beats a movie or TV series marathon with your favorite comfort food. And Fruits in Ice Cream has something new and delightful for all of us: Vermont Classic Frozen Custard, their latest dessert creation.

Frozen Custard?

FIC is the first to introduce this frozen custard treat to the Philippines. You might be wondering how it’s different from ice cream. Frozen custard is actually the same as ice cream except it has a higher concentration of egg yolks and is churned more slowly, making this dessert richer and more indulgent. When you see French ice cream on a menu, that’s another name for frozen custard. (Oh, and Ken has a recipe that doesn’t require an ice cream maker) 🙂

When FIC sent over a cup each of their Vermont Classic Frozen Custard base flavors, we were pleasantly surprised to see everything else that came with the package. Aside from the 3 varieties – French Vanilla, Brownie Batter and Cheesecake – we got an assortment of toppings and a recipe card.

Ken and I tasted each of the flavors first before we combined the toppings based on the recipes, and we literally had a hard time figuring out which one’s our favorite ’cause they’re all darn yummy! Usually, I’d go for anything chocolicious, but the tanginess of the cheesecake flavor and the creamy goodness of the French vanilla was too irresistible. The Brownie Batter still ended up as my top favorite because it has this slight bitterness to it that I love about dark chocolate. 🙂

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