Thank You Cheriza!

My pole buddy Cheriza is the absolute sweetest. I love her enthusiasm and her fearless disposition. She'd chat with me in Facebook about the latest pole trick she accomplished. As she shares her adventures and enthusiasm to me, I can't help but really gush with happiness too. She's just too happy!

Last Saturday, she gave me a box of French macarons. She loves them and she has been hunting for a shop that sells them. I love them too and she gave me a box with three flavors: strawberry, mocha, and chocolate. Yay!

They're in this little shop in Trinoma, I forgot to ask the name. It's sweet though but it tastes really good. Probably these were my agimats that day because I was able to do nicer inverts.

Thanks Cheriza!

Melt and Fall In Love With Chocolate Fire

I've always been intrigued with Chocolate Fire after reading a number of good reviews about it and seeing it in some of my friends' Foursquare check-ins, so I decided to check it out and kill time before heading over to RCBC to visit my friends.

Chocolate Fire is currently located at PDCP Building Leviste Street cor. Rufino Street in Salcedo Village in Makati. It's right across KFC and Lyceum and walking distance from Makati Sports Club. The unit where Chocolate Fire is used to be a bank that's forever busy during payday. Now, it's a quiet cafe with a second floor painted a rich shade of chocolate brown dotted with red details, like it's Valentine's Day everyday.

Aside from the chairs, you've also got couches. I'm currently sitting on a chocolate brown couch sipping on mixed berry tea.

The second floor's got a homey atmosphere too where you could have meetings or lunch/dinner/afterdinner dates.

The couch is so comfy you could plop there with a magazine and just relax with a pot of tea or cup of coffee.

Here are the lavatories. Girls on the left, boys on the right. The paintings are done by makeup artist/model/painter Solenn Heussaff.

With ordering, there were a whole lot of choices to choose from - solid chocolates, pastries, ganache, fruits dipped in chocolate, and chocolate barks (they're like chocolate bars with stuff in it, sold per 100 grams) along with drinks. Since I was a newbie here, I thought I'd ask what the bestsellers were. The staff told me the bestsellers were the honeycomb chocolate barks and the solid chocolate. Depending on the size and shape, the prices differ so I settled for two chocolate half-eggs (solid chocolate), one in milk chocolate and one in dark chocolate.

They were served to me on a cute ceramic dish. A half-egg like this costs around Php15.00 a piece. There are also chocolate frogs (just like Harry Potter, except they don't move) for Php 75.00 a piece.

Normally, eating chocolate means biting and chewing but I thought of slow-eating this one, sort of melting it in the warmth of your mouth till it's almost liquid then letting it float right down the throat to savor the flavor and texture. So I took one bite off the milk chocolate, savored the flavor, let the chocolate melt. When the chocolate melted it was like... OMIGOOOD!!!!!! The flavor was mellow but sweet and the texture was milky. It's got this feel-good rush right after you swallow it, and now I know why chocolate makes you feel good after. I like that I chose a solid chocolate because I got to enjoy chocolate as it is.

My tea was mixed berry tea, which provided an excellent contrast to cleanse the palate as I went for the dark chocolate. The dark chocolate obviously is less sweet than the milk chocolate, but it had the same milky texture as it melted when I took it in and the same feel-good feeling after. If you want to know how the feel-good feeling is, you have to try it because it's quite hard to describe. After a few minutes, I thought I'd go for two rounds more so I got up from my seat and ordered two more.

The staff's fantastic too! Just in case you're alone and you decide to go on bathroom break and your tea or drink isn't finished yet, you could tell them and they'll watch your place for you so your place doesn't get taken.

Good chocolate doesn't come cheap so the cost of the chocolate is pricier than say, a supermarket-bought chocolate bar. The standards are very high and you're assured though that every cent you pay is worth the taste. I'd go back here if I want a quiet place to relax with a pot of peppermint tea and probably a chocolate square. I'll probably meet with a client here to discuss pegs and all if I want a relaxed atmosphere away from cafes with students reviewing for exams or business meetings.

Sweet Stuff on D-Day

A bride should DIY a lot of things but a cake shouldn't be one of them. Nowadays, I'm glad the three-tiered cakes (one main cake and the rest fondant-covered styrofoam) have been replaced by smaller mini-cakes, which could also serve as giveaways. The first time I encountered that was in my friend Fritzie's wedding a few years back. She had Oreo cheesecake which tasted really amazing. So I thought of something like so.

The Dessert Solutions Company is one of ISnap Manila's concessionaires and Mike showed us some of their mini-cakes and his highly-recommended recipes. The cakes are priced reasonably and come in cute tub containers that look utterly amazing as well. Whether it be a birthday party, a wedding, or a sweet treat, they do not only look good but they taste good. Fritzie told me earlier that the banoffee cake even after 3 days still tasted good.

.Chocolate and Custard are a perfect marriage in this yummy bestseller, Chocolate Delight, best served cold.

Our fondant versions do not seem to mind. You could order through Isnap Manila at 7527062.

Of course, with the little cakes done, we had to do with the ca

ke being cut, that is our main cake. We met cake maker Joy San Gabriel by serendipity at a bridal fair last September. We were supposed to just meet with the flowers when we decided to go look around. While sampling at the cakes, I caught sight of Joy's iPad as she shows her trademark quirky cakes to potential clients.

Joy was definitely nice enough to answer all our questions despite clients coming and going. It was a good thing I kept her leaflet because months after, during peak season, we decided that it's Joy that would do our cake topper instead of having a generic figurine on top of a generic cake.

I shot Joy an email one night and she promptly replied. I begged if she could still accommodate a small cake and topper since our wedding date was sort of (un)fortunately on a fully-booked day. It was definitely a sigh of relief that Joy could still accommodat

e our order and agreed for a meeting.

A good thing about Joy was that she really matches and suggests things to go with the couple's personality, even documenting details which she might need, like how the couple usually looks or certain items. She prepared samples for us to try - apple cake an

d carrot cake. Although we wanted chocolate cake, Joy suggested that for fondant cakes, choices are limited since we need a dense cake to hold all the fondant. Fruitcake was definitely out of the question for me since I wanted something that I could eat instead of gag or pretend to eat. Carrot cake was our choice of cake. We told Joy our specs, and she captured everything perfectly when

we saw the cake during the reception for the first time... with TDSC's mini cakes that complement it well:

Our Marchy was captured cutely when all we showed her was a picture of it. Joy got the clothing details right, down to how a MAC lipstick should look, although not twenty times its size. I had to chuckle when she lengthened my hot pants to knee-length, when I usually wear my uniform shorts waaay shorter than that since I like to move. Maybe she didn't want my fondant self to scandalize our older guests? It was so cute I spotted several guests taking a picture of it (hey... why not us? :P)

Perhaps another recent discovery was The Bandana Baker, who was also our supplier for the souvenirs, should the mini cakes not be enough. Behind this name is my good friend from high school, Vicky, who I kept in touch all through the years. I bumped into her in a yogurt stand in Glorietta. She bought chocolate chips for an order she had to do and she stopped by yogurt at the same time I was lining up to pay. It was a good thing that I kept her number and asked her if she would like to be our wedding supplier. Turns out this was the first wedding gig ever for Vicky. I assured her to think she's supplying for a party e

xcept it's a wedding. While discussing flavors with her, I told her to keep the package nice and simple since people would be tearing the plastic anyway. A clear plastic pouch with a ribbon would do.

Mega cookies on top because we could never go wrong with chocolate and cranberry and white chocolate cookies to go with our red theme. Vicky, for the first in weddings did a terrific job. Our guests loved them and were texting me how much they loved the cookies. Some even asked for her number. Our only complaint was we didn't get to taste them.

Our sweets department's got all covered. :)

I Heart Goya Chocolate Bars

My name is Bambi and I'm a sweet tooth. I need my chocolate fix because I'm having the case of the blues, so I pick this up in the grocery:

Why I like it:

1. It's dirt cheap, It's about Php 16.00 for a bar.
2. It's not too sweet.
3. The raisins' flavor mix well with the sweet chocolate, and they don't annoyingly stick to the upper palate.
4. It's locally available, and it's a local product. Hence, supporting too our livelihood. Yeaaah baybeeeehh!

It doesn't melt as fast as other chocolates but since it's thin, it's quite soft, so I keep tissue on hand. Plus, chocolate makes me happy.

Sweet and Soft Treat: Bizu Chocolate Souffle

With a dessert as good as this, it's okay to be sinful once in a while. Bizu's Chocolate Souffle was a melt-in-the mouth treat I instantly fell in love with, never mind if it came with ice cream, which the lactose intolerant in me should avoid:The souffle cake is actually on the right. The one on the left is dark chocolate syrup which you pour (drool) on the cake before eating it with vanilla ice cream (center). A souffle is actually a light and fluffy baked cake made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites. It's quite difficult to make since it entails careful monitoring of temperature so the cake doesn't sink and it maintains its fluffy consistency. They usually are baked in ramekins, which is the technical term for those grooved white porcelein containers.

The container may be quite small, around 2 inches or so in diameter but the richness and flavor makes it a suitable dessert to share for four hungry sweet-toothed girls. The hot chocolate sauce isn't too sweet for me to have a headache after and it blended quite well with the sweetness of the cake and ice cream.
I just love how the sides puff up when I pour the chocolate and the syrup just sinks in to the cake making it moist. Oooooh.... guilty pleasure indeed!

Thai Silk Sampaguita Sorbet : Interestingly Sweet

One rainy night, for a change and since I wanted something to rid me of any cough before they start, thai cuisine was the way to go. I wanted something sweet so I checked out the dessert menu. I chose sampaguita sorbet, which was quite interesting. I mean I'm familiar with the flower seeing it hung on leis during church every Sunday but I never actually thought of it as a dessert flavor.

Actually it was a choice between this or durian ice cream. I chose this. Those who know me full well know this.

Don't expect this to be creamy though like ice cream. It's actually more of like fine ice shavings sweetened with sugar with the taste of sampaguita. The taste? Quite interesting and exotic. It does remind me of the flower's scent for some reason. A hidden joke is that it tastes like the air freshener. Not that I munch on the air freshener though...

(Sampaguita Sorbet available at Thai Silk restaurant at Serendra)

And if Original Glaze Wasn't Enough

Krispy Kremes has decided to up the amp by making their doughnuts more tempting than they already are:

Goodbye attempting to shrink my waist to say hello to CHOCOLATE GLAZED!

Chocolate Glaze+Sprinkles :D

and this:

A whole counter of chocolate delights! Thanks to Krispy Kremes factory store at MoA for allowing me to take pictures as i purchased my Chocolate Glaze.

YUMMM! You know what? I think I'll run to KK tomorrow before I go to work for another one. :)

Cotton Candy Love

At Festival Mall, I always pass by this cotton candy stall that sells different flavored cotton candy and I got


Strawberry Daiquri
Chocolate
Strawberry
Vanilla
Blueberry


for just 30 bucks!

I've always loved cotton candy even as a kid then as a grownup. until now i go crazy for them, esp if they're in different flavors. :)

see me go crazy!

yumyum choco






blueberry!

I love cotton candy! Cotton candy makes me feel like a kid again!

Who Wants Reese's and Krispy Kremes?

Looking at this announcements makes me wanna go to MoA today, where my favorite KK store is, or High Street :D

Yummm! Okay! I know I have 2 shoots lined up this month. To the photographers, as I know you hate the liquefy tool, I promise not to balloon and bloat up much. :P

A Taste of the Bay Area

San Francisco happens to be one of my favorite cities and in my opinion, one of the most beautiful. I love looking at those Victorian houses and the picture windows. I love the cable car, the view of the ocean, and almost everything about it.

Food-wise, San Francisco has the best catch in seafood. I miss Pier 9 where I can have fresh clam chowder on the bread bowl and enjoy the sweets and chocolate-covered raisins. Fond memories of San Francisco aside from walking on the streets and the fresh air are also the quaint little food shops.

When SanFo Treats opened its new confectionery shop at Glorietta, I so wanted to try it. After a day of running errands with some side-shopping at the mall, I visited SanFo treats and got a Bay Area Sizzler, which happens to be soda right from a soda fountain flavored with your choice of syrup.

Since I'm in a pink phase since I just purchased my Hollywood Nights lipstick, I went for pink with Petal Berry flavored Bay Area Sizzler. It's actually strawberry with rose syrup. At Php 45.00 (Approximately US $1.00), you get this little treat to refresh you after being tired of walking on the mall and breaking in your new shoes. I actually found it refreshing, and the rose flavor is, well, interesting. It's fascinating, really, and it had this exotic appeal.

I also like the ambiance of the store, the candy-colored interiors and display of San Francisco souvenirs, tour maps, and memorabilla. It makes me want to go back there again. Well, if I can't go to San Francisco, I can stop by this store.

They've also got chocolate bananas for Php 40.00, Sundaes, caramel apples (my friend suggests to have them sliced first), banana splits, and this treat for the super-sweet toothed:

DEEP FRIED TWINKIEEEES for Php 140 (Approximately US $3.11). Will post a review/feature on this. I already tried it yesterday. *buuurp*

Looks like the coffee shops in Glorietta won't be seeing me for a while. :-)

A Spoonful of Baguio

A spoonful of this is pure bliss

For those who are curious, that's Good Shepherd Ube Jam... a popular Baguio treat that I just appreciated as i finished half a jar. A spoonful is never enough. I need a third or more. It's better since I like how smooth it is, almost like silk on the mouth and how it tastes just right ... not too rich, not too sweet, not too powdery or what not. I prefer this over the other kind due to the texture, but the other one, popular as it is too, ain't so bad as well.

Best enjoyed: Alone. not on bread or what. Try savoring it by the spoonful. :-)