Cafe France Chicken French

I always see their poster of their rice meals both in Robinsons Place and in Mall of Asia. So after my Big Bucket massage I went there for dinner.

I was eyeing the Fish Fillet with Tartare Sauce but the cashier said that the Chicken French was much better, and that it's best serve with pasta instead of rice. Believing that she knows better, I followed her recommendations to a T. I ordered Chicken French with Pasta.




It's served with garlic french bread. And that's all I liked in the dish, the garlic bread. Both the pasta, which was so bland it needed a lot of everything - herbs, cheese, spices and seasonings, and the breaded chicken, which I spat out my first bite as I thought it's crispy chicken skin I was eating. I don't eat chicken skin by the way except KFC's. It was that fried that the thin chicken meat tasted like crispy chicken skin. And oil seeps out on my every bite. I cringe just thinking about it. As usual I didn't finish my order. Bland pasta + over fried and mostly breading chicken = dissatisfied customer. I was still hungry that I just bought and ate a tub of cheese flavored popcorn from the cinema.




Happy Eating!


CAFE FRANCE
Mall of Asia

Cafe Ysabel Chocolate Truffle

According to the lady tending the store, it's a chocolate sponge cake with chocolate mousse. Even if I was not impressed with her description I still gave it a try. I like trying truffle cakes.



I had it for dessert after my Cafe France dinner.



Well, I was disappointed when I had it at room temperature. It just looked good and fancy, but it tasted artificial. I even stopped at just one bite. I didn't enjoy it at room temperature that I decided to bring it home. The next day, just out of the chiller, I was able to enjoy the cake more, with the firm chocolate tasting of orange liqueur. I just don't like the sweet and clumpy chocolate sponge cake. But everything else I like.

Happy Eating!


GINO'S GOURMET
SM Hypermarket,
SM Mall of Asia

Madonna's Chocolate Cupcake

I bought some groceries inside SM Hypermarket in Mall of Asia. And on one corner I bumped into the table of Madonna's and its cupcakes and muffins.



I was looking at the Red Velvet Cupcake and wanted to buy that but when I asked the seller what's the icing on top and she answered whipped icing, I looked the other way. I want Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting and not whipped or marshmallow icing. The Chocolate Cupcake beside it was what I focused my attention on next, which apparently was also their bestseller.


- I dropped it that's why it looked this way

It's a chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache and caramel.

Though you will notice right away that they didn't use high quality chocolate, and that the cupcake base was not moist, but for just 35 pesos, and with chocolate ganache and caramel, I think it will do.

Happy Eating!

Pur Chewing Gum

I regularly chew gum because it relaxes me and also as a decoy for my system (brain and mouth) to stop eating for a while.

I choose sugar-free gums as I want to cut back on sugar wherever I can, because I really cannot not have desserts 5 times a day every day. My usual gum is Orbit White Mint, then I read that aspartame is bad for the health. That it can cause a lot of bad stuff to happen to our body. But it was hard to look for an alternative as even those gums that are not sugar-free and even hard candies have aspartame. I even frequent Healthy Options just in case. But was always unlucky. And then just recently I saw them. Sans aspartame/ Free of aspartame Pur Sugar-Free Gum.




I started first with the Pomegranate, which was sweet but will later on become bland. Then moved to Peppermint which was minty and almost never lose its taste even after hours of chewing. It's my gum of choice for now, until something cheaper without aspartame comes along.

Happy Eating!

Dragonfly Desserts Mint Chocolate Bars

I wanted to try the foot reflexology at Big Bucket in SM Mall of Asia and at the same time buy reflexology slippers. My feet always hurt that I feel I need a foot massage every day.


- let it snow. let it snow. let it snow.

On my way to Big Bucket I passed by again at Dragonfly's stall. The lady told me to try their Banoffee Pie, their best seller according to her, but since I am not in the mood for something with caramel and cream, I looked at their brownies display instead. I have tried their Chocnut, so I was just choosing between Walnut and Mint. I chose Mint.






It was a messy brownie to eat. It crumbles on my every bite. But I still like it. I like how minty sweet it was. And very soothing to the throat too. It's like an after eight candy in brownie form.





- a bear tending the ticket booth. so funny.

Happy Eating!

Sbarro's Chicken Vesuvio

I watched Breaking Dawn on its first day of showing, and before going to the cinema I first bought snacks to bring inside (more like dinner, I was afraid that buying a few would not suffice).



I bought an order each of Chicken Vesuvio, Baked Ziti and Garlic Roll at Sbarro.


*it was hard to eat the vesuvio inside the cinema, as you will need both hands to eat the chicken




Sbarro's Vesuvio was different in the sense that it was very tangy, that first I thought that it was off (spoilt). Not my favorite. And the breading was like scrambled eggs. No problems with the Ziti and Garlic Roll though.

I also bought 2 slices of Starbucks Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake.



They are my favorite among Starbucks Christmas Offerings, I eat a slice or two of them every day, but after eating 2 slices of them every day for 2 weeks, I think I've had enough of them for now. I should try something else starting tomorrow.

And last, I bought a small bag (minor league) of Tater's White Cheddar Popcorn.



They are so good. Salty with strong but not overpowering cheese aftertaste. They are cheesier than the Cheese flavor, but milder in the sense that your tongue would not be overwhelmed by its cheese flavor. I like it better now than my usual Texan BBQ. I've also tried their Curry Flavor, which indeed tasted like curry. But when I am on my "trying to be healthy" day, I buy the Plain Without Salt Popcorn.

Well, I didn't finish all of them inside. The movie wasn't that long. Did I like the movie? Not so much. I think all the good scenes would be on the second part. I did see Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol trailer though and am excited to watch it this coming December.

Happy Eating!

Starbucks Chocolate Toffee Loaf

As much as I want to stop shopping and start saving, I can't. There's so much beautiful stuff to buy and I still don't have that much willpower not to.

After shopping for clothes, groceries and magazines it was time for a snack, where else but Starbucks. There was an astonishing long line that afternoon, but as I want to eat my favorite Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake, I braved the long line. There were no seats available too that I had it to go. I bought 2 slices of the Warm Chocolate Chip and a piece of the Chocolate Toffee Loaf.



I didn't like the Toffee Loaf. I mean I like the top with the chocolate ganache and nuts brittle, but the rest was clumpy. I still like the Hazelnut Loaf more.

Happy Eating!

Sbarro Fish Francese

After getting my online package at the post office, snacking on BK Spicy Chicken Burger meal and a little shopping, it was now time for dinner. I wanted pasta and fish that I ordered Fish Francese, Baked Ziti and Garlic Roll at Sbarro.






Everything was up to my liking. They all tasted great that evening and satisfied all my cravings. Actually I am thinking of eating them again tomorrow.

Happy Eating!

Kimbob

I miss the spicy rice cake that I ate twice in Venetian Macau, that I am on the constant look-out for any restaurant that serve it here. Unfortunately I haven't found it yet. Even Korean Village does not serve spicy rice cake. So when I was on my way to Forever 21 (always) in Megamall and I passed by Kimbob inside the food court area.  The Tukbogi (spicy rice cake) was the first thing that I saw. I did not only do a double take but also a triple order of it to go. I had it to go but had to sneak in a couple of bites first.




It was very spicy. As in you'll definitely need a lot of water at your side while eating it. But since I have a high tolerance for spicy food I didn't drink any. But my mother did, a lot. She was even tearing up while eating it at home.



Compared to the fabulous and delicious spicy rice cake I had in Macau, Kimbob was of very low quality. The one I had in Macau was spicy, very tasty, chewy but very firm and packed (rice cake), while Kimbob's was just spicy, and the rice cake was loosely made and was sort of soggy.






Happy Eating!

KIMBOB
SM Megamall

Pancake House Fish Burger With Malunggay Sauce

I was all grease this week. Deep-fried, oily, full of fats, that was my usual meal nowadays that I definitely need vegetables. I used to make and drink 5 greens juice every morning. It has ampalaya, green apple, celery, cucumber and green bell pepper. But the process of slicing, juicing and cleaning the juicer every day has become tiring that I stopped juicing. I also stopped eating vegetables. So when I saw the standee of Pancake House Junior Masterchef Menu, I postponed dining at Sbarro and ordered the Fish Burger With Malunggay Sauce of Pancake House.


- with caramelized ginger and brown rice pilaf




I found the dish cloying. I can finish an entire grilled fish (the jumbo one) in one sitting, but were able to just eat 2 pieces of the fish burger and a few spoons of the pilaf. I felt like I was eating mayonnaise on my every bite of both the burger and the pilaf while the malunggay sauce was too oily. Whatever health benefits the fish, brown rice and malunggay have were erased with the way they were cooked and presented. I should have just stuck to my original dinner plan of Fish Francese, Baked Ziti and Garlic Roll at Sbarro. Why is it that I am always disappointed with the supposedly healthy meals at Pancake House? I wonder.

Happy Eating!

Swensen's

I have seen them at Singapore but never had the chance to try them. Saw them too being featured in one of my fave TV shows, Sweets For My Sweet. So when I saw them in Mall of Asia, I definitely made room for them. I ate dessert first.




There were many ice cream choices, creations and flavors to choose from. I only tasted a few. Green Tea, Reversible Chocolate and Chocolate Chip.



For my order I chose a Banana Boat creation with Chocolate Chip and Sticky Chewy Chocolate ice cream.



I like the Chocolate Chip because I'm a sucker for chocolate chips and chunks, while the Sticky Chewy Chocolate wasn't good at all. But both melted too easily. In a span of a few minutes I was left with a puddle of ice cream. It was a total turn-off. The whipped cream too wasn't the airy type but a firm one, too firm if I may add.



Would I return? Yes. I would love to try their other creations. I just hope that by that time they have adjusted the temperature of their display freezer. I don't want a melted ice cream, cos if I do I'll order an ice cream milkshake instead.








Happy Eating!

SWENSEN'S
SM Mall of Asia (Ground Floor South Wing, Near SM Department Store)