Grappa's Brioche

I got curious with Brioche the first time I saw it in one of Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa episodes. It looked so soft and buttery. But since I’m not as skillful in the kitchen as Ina and that no bakery in the Philippines seems to offer it on their shelves, I thought that that was it. That I just have to use my imagination and pretend that I tasted it and be envious of Ina’s friends and of Jeffrey Garten.

But as luck would have it I saw some on Grappa’s Ristorante Shelves one Saturday evening and immediately bought the whole batch to try. I then find myself the perfect spot and savoured every bite of the buttery bread.


At first I thought that it was not what I imagined it to be. I thought it would smell of butter but it didn’t and just by the looks of it, you would think that it’s hard. But all that’s a total contradiction. The Brioche though didn’t smell of butter, tasted of it. Each strands of the buttery brioche roll were soft and creamy. It doesn’t need anything on it, no jams, butter or anything. It’s delicious on its own. I see it as a denser version of our ensaymada.


I ate everything in one sitting and still up for some more.


It’s cheap, just P8 a piece and delicious.



Happy Eating!

GRAPPA’S RISTORANTE
2nd Level, Greenbelt 3
Makati City

CPK

At last my prayers were answered.

I have been meaning to eat at CPK again (it's one of my fave resto) but something always comes up. One example was, just as we were entering the resto, they had to close it down due to electrical problems =p

Just when I thought it would never happen, it did, last Saturday.

We were supposed to eat at Charlie's, but since I was late for our meeting, my friends decided to just stay in the mall (Shang) for our lunch. They decided on CPK.

We had The Works P465 for pizza and Shanghai Garlic Noodles Pasta with Chicken P445 and Fettuccine with Garlic Cream Sauce and Chicken P445 for our pasta.

The Works pizza is one of their new pizza flavor.


It has sweet Italian sausage, pepperoni, sauteed mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, mild onions, green peppers and black olives.


The pizza was on the sweet, soft and smokey-flavored crust CPK's known for. It's jampacked with ingredients, like everything but the kitchen sink kind of thing. But though it was good, well-seasoned and all its ingredients/toppings worked well together, my favorite's still the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, even if it only has BBQ chicken, red onions, cilantro, smoked Gouda and mozzarella, its taste is still classically-good.


The Shanghai Garlic made use of Chinese noodles wok-stirred in a garlic-ginger sauce with snow peas, shiitake mushrooms, mild onions, red and yellow peppers, broccoli, green onions and chicken.


Basically, it was like the Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta of Yellow Cab sans the peanuts and the overflowing oil =p

The Fettuccine is your basic flat strips noodles topped with garlic Parmesan cream sauce, chicken and Italian parsley.


This is one of my favorite pasta in CPK, next to their Portobello Mushroom Ravioli in Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce.

Everything here was delicious. From the al dente noodles and tender chicken up to the creamy and well-seasoned garlic cream sauce.


It'll leave cream marks on your lips in your every forkful, a testament to how good and creamy this pasta is. On our table, it was gone in 60 seconds.

For our dessert, it deserves a post of its own.

Happy Eating!

P.S. On the table ahead of us is one of the members of The Journey. I got shy to ask for an autograph.


CPK (California Pizza Kitchen)
Shangri-La Mall, Ortigas

Macau Eats - Almond Cookies

Almond Cookies at MOP25/2 boxes



- With nuts, vegetable oil, sugar, green bean powder and coconut mash.


These were delicious. Crackles and melts in your mouth in your every bite.
It’s especially good when eaten warm, no wonder Macau’s famous for it.
You really need to savor every bite ‘coz they don’t come cheap (the fare to Macau I mean).

Almond Cookies at MOP28/box at Choi Heong Yuen Bakery




Although also delicious, these were expensive and bigger.
I still like the smaller ones I bought along Senado Square though.

Happy Eating!

Macau Eats - CHOI HEONG YUEN BAKERY

I was parched and hungry after a hot afternoon of sightseeing and had just finished the last leg of the tour when I came across Choi Heong Yuen Bakery at the bottom of the steps of St. Paul’s Ruins.



I was bowled over by the aroma and appearance of their Portuguese Egg Tart MOP6, that I immediately bought a couple to try.


Super thin and flaky puff pastry crust that breaks into buttery pieces when you bite into it, topped with a soft-set custard and then baked perfectly.


I found the dessert perfect, from the crust to the custard. It also has more custard than crust, which I love, love, love.



Happy Eating!

CHOI HEONG YUEN BAKERY
209 Av. De Almeida Ribeiro

SM Kababayan

I love eating Kababayan for merienda. What's not to like? They're inexpensive (cheap) and delicious.


The Plain one, which also happens to be the original flavor, was like a butter cake.

Moist, soft and buttery. Especially the outer coating, that's not only shiny but also buttery-sweet. It's like a bite-size butter cake.


The Chocolate one, was like a chocolate cake. It was also very moist and fudgy.

Some said that these (kababayans) were like corn muffins, but I beg to disagree. Muffins tend to be dry and hard. But these are moist, buttery and fudgy. So I just call them miniature versions of butter cake and chocolate cake instead.



Happy Eating!

KFC Krushers

After walking-off the calories of my Charlie's Cheesesteak and Fries meal, it was now time for a snack/dessert. Out of the overwhelming choices of desserts in Megamall and Podium, I chose KFC's Cookies and Cream Krusher P65.


Only available in their Megamall branch and with flavors such as Strawberry Banana Yoghurt and Karamel Krunch, KFC's Cookies and Cream Krusher is made up of dairy slush, chocolate syrup and Oreo cookies.



It was good, like a cookies and cream milkshake but not that thick nor too sweet. It's in between a slush (a slurry mixture of ice and water) and a milkshake. It has the consistency of a slush but with milkshake flavors. I liked it. I wouldn't mind having it again and maybe even try their Karamel Krunch and Strawberry Banana Yoghurt.



Happy Eating!

KFC-Megamall

Charlie's Cheesesteak

I can't seem to get enough of their Black Angus Burger that I was back there only after 3 days.

This time around, not only did I order their Black Angus but also their Cheesesteak Fili Size (hungry) P220 and Fresh Fries P60. Take note that all these were just for my personal consumption.



The Cheesesteak made use of Batangas AAA sirloin with caramelized onions & sauteed peppers, topped with cheese sauce & served with ranchero sauce & a jalapeno chili.



I tasted it first without the ranchero sauce and then with it. I can say that although it was already good on its own, the ranchero (like a blended salsa in consistency) added another flavor to it. It also tone down the oiliness of the cheesesteak.


You might also think that with its size and ingredients that its gonna be heavy on the tummy but it wasn't. I don't know why and how, but I was able to finish the entire Fili-Size Cheesesteak and an order of Fresh Fries and didn't feel that full unlike when I had the Black Angus Burger with Fries.


Unlike the Angus that can be ordered with fries for an additional of P25, this doesn't have that option, that I had to order their Fresh Fries P60.


100% hand-cut potatoes, seasoned with salt.

I can't think of anything bad to say about their Cheesesteak except that they should also serve it with fries =p

Happy Eating!

Charlie's Grind and Grill

Since I can no longer contain my curiosity and excitement over their food, I went there last Sunday.


I ordered their Black Angus Burger with Fries P175.



Angus burger patty on top of a black and white sesame seed bun with mustard, finished-off with melted cheese, lettuce and thick slices of onion, tomato and pickles.


It was truly a big and juicy Angus burger patty, slightly salty too. It's juicier than Chelsea's Angus but not as compact and firm.


The bun was soft, the patty juicy and thick and the veggies were fresh. I love that they took the liberty of adding mustard in the burger, 'coz it really made a huge difference to the overall taste of the burger.


The thick-cut fries that it was served with were crunchy and evenly-seasoned with salt.


Overall, in spite of the constant shooing-off of flies, I love their food and the speed of their service. And if you're lucky, you might bump into a celebrity (hopefully your favorite), like what happened to me on two occasions.


I heard they're frequented not only by the upper class but also by celebrities from ABS to GMA7's talents and even by Mr. Gabby Lopez.

Happy Eating!

CHARLIE'S GRIND AND GRILL
#16 East Capitol Drive,
Kapitolyo, Pasig City

Frosting's Caramel and Carrot

Just when I thought that the Brazo de Mercedes was their best cupcake, I was confronted by their Caramel Cupcake.


Yellow cake filled and iced with caramel.

My friend and I were in unison, when we said that this has got to be their tastiest cupcake. The yellow cake base was moist while the caramel has just the right level of sweetness and creaminess.

To complete our order of pack of four, we added the Carrot Cupcake.


Carrot cupcake with generous amount of nuts, topped off with cream cheese icing.

Just as with any of their cupcakes, the carrot cake base was very moist, packed with carrots and nuts. The cream cheese icing was also good I can't seem to get enough of it. Tangy, rich, sweet and creamy.



Happy Eating!

Dairy Queen

For dessert after our pizza and pasta lunch, we went to Dairy Queen.

We had the Triple Chocolate Utopia Waffle Bowl P129 and the Rocky Road Blizzard (12oz) P75.


The Utopia has vanilla ice cream shelled in chocolate, on top of a chocolate-coated waffle bowl, generously sprinkled with cubes of chocolate brownies.


I liked the chocolate-coated waffle, especially the areas that were generous coated with chocolate. The brownies were just okay. The vanilla ice cream though was bland and thin.


The Rocky Road tasted just like any rocky road ice cream. Not my type of ice cream though.




Happy Eating!

DAIRY QUEEN
Ground Floor, Robinsons Place Ermita