Manila Peninsula Afternoon Tea Buffet

I am always fascinated with afternoon tea and was bugging all of my friends to come with me to try it. They all said yes but kept on postponing that I even decided to just go solo, just to finally try it.

So it was a blessing when an old friend promised to treat me to an afternoon tea after our dinner at Mr Kurosawa and came through with his promise right away.

I always dine alone but I believe that afternoon tea, especially a buffet one, should be, rather, is better shared with someone- a friend, a husband, a family member.

Just two days after our Mr Kurosawa dinner, we met-up one rainy afternoon at Manila Peninsula for their Afternoon Tea Buffet



Since it was just an afternoon tea buffet, the spread were somewhat limited. But a few more sandwich choices couldn't hurt.




I was also confused with their buffet selection. The offerings that afternoon were assorted sandwiches, pancit canton, pork BBQ, vegetable spring rolls, lamb meatballs, assorted cheese and fruit slices, assorted Filipino kakanins/snacks, mini tarts, mini chocolate fudge, strawberry and rocky road ice cream, mango crumble, raisin scones with strawberry jam, lemon curd and clotted cream, iced tea, coffee and assorted teas.













See what I mean? I would have understood if they offered all the snacks of different countries, but to just stop at Chinese and just lamb meatballs for Mediterranean, was weak and very confusing.

In spite of that, I enjoyed the smoked tuna on bagels, the ice cream, the chocolate fudge and most especially the raisin scones with clotted cream and lemon curd. Actually, I'm okay with just the scones, cream, curd and tea for an afternoon tea. You can buy their raisin scones at The Peninsula Boutique for P95 a piece, you just have to order at least 2 days in advance. They don't sell their lemon curd and clotted cream though, and I don't think I will enjoy eating scones without the curd and the cream. It just won't be the same.






*MY GREEN TEA (they used the same brand of green tea as Pepper Lunch)


*MY FRIEND'S PEPPERMINT TEA (he's not a tea drinker but he liked this a lot)

I am already planning a solo afternoon tea soon ( cos if I wait for someone to accompany me, it would take months, as our schedules wouldn't meet), maybe at Shangri-la now.


* candle (to keep the flies away)

Happy Eating!


MANILA PENINSULA
corner of Ayala and Makati Avenues
1226 Makati City
*** Afternoon Tea Buffet starts at 230PM to 530PM

Secret Recipe Mozzarella Fish and Singapore Laksa

For dinner that Wednesday night we ate at Secret Recipe.

I have already eaten here countless times but it was the first time for the rest of my family.

My brother and brother-in-law both ordered Lasagna Beef, my mother had the Pan-Grilled Dory with Lobster Sauce, my sister had the Singapore Laksa, my niece ordered the Irish Lamb Stew and White Chocolate Macadamia Cake, while I had the Mozzarella Fish which came with beans and cubes of potatoes. I added a small order of crisscut fries and Oreo cheesecake to my order.


MOZZARELLA FISH - can compare the mozzarella fish to the top of a cheese pizza. It tasted that way with the cherry tomatoes moonlighting for pizza sauce



CRISSCUT FRIES -  were more than enough for one



OREO CHEESECAKE - wasn't that good, as in not at all



SINGAPORE LAKSA - mildly spicy and not that tasty



IRISH LAMB - tender beef but with a too firm mashed potato



WHITE CHOCOLATE WITH MACADAMIA - good as ever


My brother-in-law said it best when he said that Secret Recipe was mostly talk. They boast of a lot of best sellers but they don't deliver. The food was just so so but expensive.

Happy Eating!

SECRET RECIPE
Robinsons Place Ermita

Starbucks Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cheesecake

It wasn't that chocolatey, even with the triple something name.
I don't even like the brownie bits on top. But the cheesecake and the crust I like. The cheesecake even had this milk chocolate bar taste.
As I was eating it, I kept on thinking that I have eaten something that taste like this before, also from starbucks, I just forgot what.



Happy Eating!

CBTL Turtle Pie

This was like their Guiltless Chocolate Delight but with real sugar. As I like their Guiltless Chocolate, I also like this, just not the butter mixture in the middle. I don't know, but it just doesn't complement the cake.

Happy Eating!

French Baker Grilled Chicken

Another one of my Sunday out with the family. We were in Megamall for the KPOP Fest/Korean Convention at the Megatrade. But before going there we had lunch first.



It was a jam-packed day that afternoon. Almost all restaurants, especially the fast food ones were full. We were too hungry, as it was already 4PM, that we didn't look around the upper floors and just settled in the comfy benches of French Baker. We were also too tired and lazy to fall in line, so it was nice that French Baker was not self-service.



We were too hungry that we ordered a lot.

My brother-in-law had the Pork Chop Au Poivre (P228.00)



He liked how they styled the rice, in a pyramid kind of way, he just wanted sauce in his chops, that he kept on dipping on my mother's dish sauce.

My mother had the Grilled Chicken and Mango Salsa (P206.00)



She liked everything in her plate especially the fruit cocktail/mango salsa side dish.

My sister had the Beef Lasagna (P155.00)



Just okay according to her. Wasn't cheesy and doesn't have enough beef.

My niece had the Creamy Seafood Pasta (P207.00)



Just okay too according to her.

While I ordered the Chicken Cordon Bleu (P189.00)



This was my 2nd time to have this. Still like the mashed potato underneath and the breaded chicken which was filled with a lot of cheese that afternoon.

We didn't know that our rice orders come with soups that we ordered a lot of the soup bread bowls.



No problem with that though as my niece was too happy to eat them all. She is a certified soup person.



That weren't all. We also ordered cakes - Carrot, Chocolate Truffle and Blueberry Cheesecake. The carrot cake being the best among the three. We all liked the cream cheese topping and how it had a lot of carrot specks and nuts. And also Green Tea in a Pot, that was served with almond pastry that we also liked.








Happy Eating!

CBTL Guiltless Chocolate Delight

After watching Monte Carlo (which wasn't that good. I was really disappointed cos I thought there would be a lot of scenic shots of Paris. The synopsis of the movie was an exaggeration),  I wanted to take home some (more) sweets other than the 2 PB, 4 Dark Chocolate Cookies, 2 Real Chocolate Brownies and 1 Peach Danish of French Baker that I already bought. I also bought the Guiltless Chocolate Delight of CBTL (Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf).



The barista told me that not only was it good but it was also sugar-free. I thought that since I was already consuming a lot of sweets, buying something like this will be good for me. Satisfying me without the guilt.



I like it. I like how it tasted, though sweeter than the usual cakes ( trademark of sugar-free desserts). I would definitely buy one again. I like how strong the chocolate taste was. But be sure to eat it chilled, cos it doesn't taste that good melted (the mousse-like layer). It reminded me of a chocolate ice cream sandwich (or rather an Oreo cookie with chocolate ice cream filling). Yummy!

Happy Eating!

Goldilocks Nelusko Cake

This was a sweet and rich cake. And even with pralines, it was still too rich and sweet.

Happy Eating!

Max Brenner Smores

After spending a lot of time inside Le Petit, I crossed-over Max Brenner and look for what's good to bring home.
As I have recently bought, tried and liked Mrs Fields Rocky Mountain, I bought Max Brenner's S'mores.



Layers of chocolate cookie crust, chocolate fudge/ganache and toasted marshmallows.



I absolutely love the toasted marshmallow layer. It has a caramel, vanilla and chocolate taste to it. But I am greatly disappointed with the cookie crust. It's not what you would expect from a chocolate bar like Max Brenner.
Come to think of it. Mrs Field's Rocky Mountain deserves more the high selling price than the S'mores of Max Brenner.

Happy Eating!

MAX BRENNER
Greenbelt 5, Makati

Taal Vista Hotel

AVOCADO MOUSSE


JACKFRUIT CAKE


TURON WITH LECHE FLAN


BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE


CAFE MOCHA


CHAMOMILE TEA


SABA CON HIELO

All their cakes were dry, even my cheesecake. But it was the least dry among the three. The Turon and the Saba were just okay. My sister said that her Tsokolate Batirol was good, but the serving was little. Their service were impeccable, though. They also have the best view of the lake and volcano.























Happy Eating!

TAAL VISTA HOTEL
Aguinaldo Highway, Km 60, Tagaytay, Luzon 4120, Philippines
Tel No: +63 (46) 413 1000
Fax No: +63 (2) 886 4325
+63 (46) 413 1225

Manila Sales Office
Ground Floor, OneE-comCenter
Harbor Drive, Mall of Asia Complex CBP-1A
Pasay City 1300, Philippines
Tel No: +63 (2) 403 1000
Fax No: +63 (2) 799 8526