A small glass is Php15.00. Not a bad price especially if you’re in need of a little refreshment after a day of shopping. While I prefer regular taho hot, this one I prefer cold. It must be the strawberries, as it tastes like a soy strawberry smoothie to me.

I got a taste of this treat at Minesview. You can catch taho vendors in Baguio selling strawberry taho at Burnham Park as well.

Have you tried strawberry taho yet? What did you think of it? If not, are you willing to give it a try?

I was waiting for two friends at Terry’s, ready for our lunch date (Read “Holiday lunch at Terry’s”). Since I was half an hour early, a trip to the gourmet shop was a worthwhile distraction. While there, I stumbled upon two chocolate bars that had HOLYFRIGGINGOODNESS emblazoned on them. Okay they didn’t. But dude, that could have been true. I mean, white chocolate with strawberries and dark chocolate with ginger? Come on!

Blanxard Chocolates. Handcrafted. WHUT? I’m not a fan of white chocolate but this bar called out to me. Don’t strawberries make anything more delicious? A friend raved about ginger chocolate before, so I had to try the other. Each bar cost around Php265.00 or Php275.00 (I forget). Since it was the holiday season, I decided to splurge. Sorry, waistline!

Classic white chocolate with strawberries is heavenly. This is the only white chocolate bar I’ve ever enjoyed. It was creamy and sweet, but not cloying. Perrrrfect.

I was a little more wary with this exotic chocolate. Ginger and chocolate is a new combination for me. I liked the kick that the ginger bits gave. It’s like the sweetness and bitterness of the chocolate would play in your tongue then WHACK! There comes the sting of the ginger. I liked it, but not as much as the white chocolate with strawberries.

In a nutshell: Blanxard’s Dark Chocolate with Ginger made me want to reach for a glass of red wine. Blanxard’s White Chocolate with Strawberries made me want to change into my pajamas.

Which one do you want to try first? I got these chocolates from Terry’s Selection in Pasong Tamo. Terry’s also has a gourmet shop and restaurant at Podium, Ortigas.

For Php300, you get a bowl of steamed rice topped with six delicious slices of salmon sashimi, six yummy slices of tuna sashimi, a dollop of wasabi and pickled radishes. It is yummeh. I couldn’t finish the whole thing thing though. This also comes with a bowl of Miso soup.

You can opt to have it all salmon or all tuna sashimi; I just can’t remember if there’s a price difference. Next time I’ll get all salmon. Finish this off with a cup of hot house tea and you’ll be one satisfied eater. Burp!

Check out Kimono Ken’s list of branches at munchpunch.

The CornFlake Milk ice cream tastes exactly like the milk in a bowl of cornflakes after they’ve been swimming for a couple of minutes. As my sister pointed out, it does not taste like milk ice cream with cereal bits. Nosiree. It really did taste like a bowl of cornflakes. The ice cream becomes even more like breakfast because there are crunchy bits of cornflakes in a scoop. “Crunchy cornflakes steeped in milk” is how Sebastian’s describes this ice cream. We’re a family of cereal lovers, so tasting this ice cream made our toes curl.

According to Sebastian’s, this flavor was inspired by a visit to the Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City. (Ah New York, you beckon me again.) Looking at their menu, I saw that they sold soft-serve cereal milk and cereal milk by the jug. Yum. Thank you Sebastian’s for bringing this flavor to Manila!

Guess who else enjoyed this ice cream?

White spoon at the center — mine. Orange spoon — the toddler’s. Pink spoon — my sister’s. Yup, the three of us dove into a single scoop. Guess who ate most of it? If you picked the one with the orange spoon, you got it right.

A single scoop is Php100, double scoop is Php180. I enjoyed this so much I’m definitely going back to Sebastian’s to order not just a scoop or two but a whole pint. This is a keeper in the freezer! That is till my sister and toddler discover it. Let’s keep this secret between us.

Sebastian’s can be located at Podium Mall (4th floor), The Block (3rd floor) and COLD COMFORT Ice Cream Parlor (SM Mall of Asia, New Entertainment Mall, 2nd Floor). Check out their Facebook page here.

Happy Sunday!

Sources: Pinterest. Observando. littlebearawr. hallucinate. an_pics. justbesplendid. justbesplendid. huffmans. inku-loves-you. observando. i-whipmyhair.

Cafe Breton is one of my favorite places for catching up with friends. It’s quiet, laid back, and has yummy crepes. My favorite so far is their Cherries Jubilee. This was my sister’s order during the last time we were there, and I wish I had ordered it for myself. It was yummy!

They serve this crepe with cherry preserve, caramel ice cream, cinnamon, caramel syrup and a rum flambe. I personally didn’t care much for the caramel ice cream and caramel syrup — I thought the cherry preserve was already sweet enough. I’d still order this next time though, but I might request for an ice cream flavor change. Maybe just the classic vanilla so the sweetness of the cherries will still be the hero.

This Cherry Jubilee cost around P250. Cafe Breton has branches in Trinoma, Greenbelt, Podium, and UP Ayala Technohub.

What’s your favorite crepe?

The toddler was up till midnight, and he did see the great fireworks from our hotel room window. Once the novelty wore off though, he got sleepy and poof! He was asleep in a few minutes. My husband was getting ready for bed as well. Me? I whipped out my laptop and watched all ten episodes of “New Girl” while sipping my milk tea and eating junk.

It was ME time.

By the way, before midnight I drank two cans of Coke and ate a small bag each of Clover chips and Snacku. WHAT?! Oh yeah. Here’s the thing. I don’t drink soda anymore, nor do I munch on junkfood much. But I had this intense craving on the last friggin’ day of the year and so I gave in. I ate it all in under two hours. Of course I felt like throwing up afterwards. I haven’t eaten that much unhealthy food in a short span of time. It was so much fun though! I felt like I was 12 all over again.

My tummy begged to differ though, as it taunted me with its gradual expansion. Whatever, I thought. I’ll just up my fiber after the new year. You get the idea.

Then I had milk tea. Super awesome Wintermelon milk tea from teaberi which my husband bought a few hours before. It was so good. So friggin’ good. I had it with blueberry muffins and some Doritos.

Then I wanted to throw up again. Did I mention I’m lactose intolerant? Milk tea and I are not best friends but I love it anyway.

As I was finishing the last few episodes of New Girl, I vowed not to eat unhealthily anymore. It’s amazing how three hours of straight unhealthy eating could feel sooooooooo good and soooo bad at the same time. I really wanted to barf but I think my happy quotient stopped me from throwing up. Nonetheless, I vowed that all my meals should be healthier! I will up my wellness quotient! I will be fit! I will eat healthy from now on!

Then I had muffins and cookies for breakfast.

Please don’t judge me.

I’m back to healthy eating though, so no worries! I’ve got it all under control… so far. Just don’t wave a bag of Snacku under my nose. It is my Kryptonite.

Gambas al Ajillo (Php 460)
I think this is the best gambas I’ve ever tasted. Seriously. All the gambas I’ve tried have tomatoes in it. This one was simply served sizzling, garlicky and cooked in Arteoliva olive oil. The shrimp was juicy and succulent. I went gaga over these gambas.

Manchego Dumplings (Php 390)
Fresh Manchego cheese and Vic salami packed into crispy, crunchy wonton pockets. This was ham and cheese levelled up! It was salty and creamy and crunchy heaven for me.

Three-Cheese Croquettes (Php 290) (I think…)
Okay, I can’t remember if this was the Jamon Serrano and Chicken Croquettes or the Cheese Croquettes. Hmmm. Whichever one it was, it was the best croquettes dish EVER. It’s crisp on the outside and once you bite it into it, it’s creamy and gorgeous and yummeh.

Paella Negra (Php 760)
This paella is cooked with Spanish squid ink, seafood and served with alioli sauce. I’ve never had paella with alioli before. How did it taste? Knock-your-socks-off good. Paella Negra is now my favorite, for as long as I can enjoy it with alioli! So so so good.

Sangria (Php 500, good for 5)
I don’t drink anymore, but I make exceptions when I’m in the company of good friends. What better way to enjoy this meal than with a pitcher of Sangria? I haven’t had Sangria in ages. It was so refreshing. I’d drink this everyday if I could. Oh yeah.

Want to know what else Terry’s serves? Check out their menu here (LINK). Terry’s has two branches, one at Pasong Tamo Extension, and the other at The Podium. I want to visit them again and enjoy Paella Negra with alioli once more. Mmmmm. Maybe in the New Year?

Chef Tony’s has a lot of good popcorn variants, and this is one of my favorites. You can really taste the bacon with each popcorn you pop into your mouth. Yummers.

If you look really closely, you’ll see some bacon specks. I think. Maybe it’s my imagination. But the popcorn sure tastes like cheese and bacon. Yummers again.

A tub costs P150. You can share with your whole family. Or your foodie partner. Or you can keep it just for you and a bunch of DVDs on a rainy afternoon.

Now let’s talk about caramel.

Caramel popcorn is a classic. My childhood favorite was Goldilock’s. Today, I find it a little too sweet for my taste. This one from Chef Tony’s took me back though! Chef Tony’s Golden Caramel Sugar-Free Popcorn — yummers too.

Which one do you prefer? Classic caramel or the more adventurous bacon and cheddar?

Visit Chef Tony’s at:
Facebook
Official website
Branches

Sebastian’s Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Dive Bar intrigued me. I first saw the ad in Sebastian’s Facebook page and here’s how they described this frozen delight:

“… hand-dipped into our special Dark Chocolate and sprinkled with just a pinch of Fleur de Sel! The salt crystals enhance the sweetness of the chocolate and give it that tiny bit of crunch!”

Salt in my ice cream? SOLD!

When I bit into the bar the first time, I went “Mmmmmm! Chocolaaaate!” This is definitely for chocolate lovers. Then I went, “But where’s the salt? Dang, it needs MORE salt!” I ate my words though (such chocolatey delicious words) when I tried eating the dive bar salt side down. In other words, you should savor this bar with the salted part resting on your tongue. Um, yeah.

THEN the experience with this dive bar will be different. It won’t be just another chocolate bar snack. I really liked that the salt was embedded into the chocolate coating, so it didn’t melt with the ice cream. The salty and sweet flavor lingered longer. My, my, my.

It wasn’t bad for P100. This was my reward to myself after my Play Pilipinas workshop. I celebrated by indulging myself with this dive bar and was not disappointed! Another triumph for Sebastian’s!