Chili's 5th Annual Big Mouth Burger Day

HAPPENS TODAY ONLY! April 24, 2012. Check out this poster for details:

Luckily we have a Chili's branch near the office (Greenbelt 5, Makati City) so me and my office mates went there around 10:45am for the 11am time slot, and lo and behold-- a flood of people waiting to be seated down to enjoy the good burgers that only lasts til 2pm. Surprisingly though, it was very organized and the servers were very friendly and nice despite the pressure coming from us.

After around an hour, we were finally (and FAIRLY) seated down. Me and my office mate were laughing about the thought that this big ol' chili might fall down. Care to seat beneath it?

So we got our burgers and fries for, yeeeeeeaaahhh!, P120 (original price is P385):

With patties THIS THICK:

Plus drinks (Molten Chocolate Smoothie - P185):

So I gave up at this point:

And died.  

Go, go, go grab your burgers from 6pm to 12 midnight TODAY, or you'll have to wait for another year!

Thank you Chili's for a super sulit experience. And of course! Thank you Sir Lester for the treat :) I hope you get more perfect scores next semester.

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More information:
Official Website: http://www.chilisphilippines.com/
Branches: Greenbelt 5, Makati City |  Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan, Metro Manila | Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City | Tomas Morato, Quezon City
Service Charge? Yes (ours amounted to around P80)

Crepes & Cream @ Power Plant Mall, Rockwell

Before heading to Crepes & Cream, we went across Rustan's Supermarket located inside the mall. I really love their section where you can eat salad and pasta that YOU created. Here's the salad area. I wasn't able to inquire of the prices though. Will have to taste this next time. But for now, don't you just love the vivid colors of each ingredient?

So.... Off to Crepes & Cream with the family! (spot my mom over the counter)

Crepes & Cream offers cheap desserts (P100-P150) and yet will make you full-- bloated, actually. Their desserts are heavy since each crepe may have whipped cream, ice cream, syrup, fruits, brownies, cookies, chocolate, etc. all tucked neatly inside a tasty crepe.

When it's finished it will look like this: (Stuffed with yummy goodies!)

 And you eat it first like this: (so that it the next few minutes, it would be "biteable")

I'm not a fan of crepes, but if you're looking for desserts that will make you full, this is a good choice. Try capuchoco-- stuffed with brownies and capuccino ice cream. They have 8 branches to choose from, and since crepes are not that a craze (like frozen yogurts or milk teas), they always have good seats if you wanna have that ultimate bonding time over something sweet :)

Love,
Sam :)

Chocolate Kiss @ U.P. Diliman

Just to share: I distinctly remember. The first time I learned about Chocolate Kiss I was in Grade 3 while reading the book "The Chocolate Touch" by Patrick Skene Catling. Every time I hear of Chocolate Kiss, this book just keeps popping into mind. During that time as a kid, I felt that I might turn my mom into a big block of chocolate.

So years later, me, my mom, and a friend were in the area so we decided to taste their delightfully yummy cakes.

First cake: The Devil's Food Cake (P80/slice; P800/whole):

The cake is covered with marshmallow frosting that resembles horns/spikes. Inside the layer of sweet and sticky, thick and heavy frosting, lays the light and moist chocolate chiffon cake with chocolate fudge icing. The taste is perfect and surprisingly not too sweet. Its taste also reminds me of Mer-Nel's chocolate cake that's famous in Laguna.

Next is the Classic Chocolate Cake (P108/slice; P1080/whole):

This is my favorite among the cakes we've tasted. Aside from loving the "net"-design of the frosting, I love how the chocolate tastes like Tablea! Tablea just simply reminds me of home. Its taste is unique and very familiar to Filipinos. It tastes a bit bitter and resembles the taste of dark chocolate.

Next is a healthy option of cake flavor, the Date Walnut Cake (P80/slice; P800/whole):

Dates have many benefits-- so does walnuts. So if you don't wanna have cake because you're watching your "die-t", then you'll have no excuses with this one. You can even scrap-off the beautifully designed icing and still have a cake that actually tastes like one.

Next cake is the Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (P120/slice; P1200/whole):

This one tasted pretty normal to me, but this was the favorite of my two companions. Sure it tastes good but I guess I've just tasted more and better ones. Cheesecakes vary from taste to texture. So for this one, the cheese part is dense, solid, and creamy, slightly salty, though I wasn't able to grasp the whole chocolate chip thing.

For the ambiance, it isn't THAT fancy, but at least you get to eat really good cakes (even their meals looks tasty too!). In the building, they already have two "branches". The one at the 2nd floor has a better, romantic ambiance (yellow lighting!) but it opens a bit later.

Aside from the cakes we've tasted, they have more unique cake flavors like Sour Cream Cheesecake, Kahlua Butter Cake, Dayap Chiffon Cake, etc. For their whole menu, check here.

And lastly, I saw this girl beside us choosing tea from a wooden box. Out of curiosity I called the waiter and asked what that was. Here it is:

They sell one pack for P60 (hot) or P75 (iced with honey). It's SUPER GOOD! I never expected tea to taste so flavorful. I tried the Four Red Fruits (Cherry, Redcurrant, Raspberry and Strawberry) because kuya said it was their bestseller. No doubt about that.

And so the experience was just wonderful. Chocolate Kiss truly lives up to their motto:

"Serving the Good Stuff!"

Always Good,

Sam :)

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Sumo Sam @ Greenbelt 3

My college friends and I decided to meet after such a long time. Since most of us work in Makati, we decided to eat dinner here. We wanted Banapple at first but parking is terrible at the Ayala Triangle so we opted for Greenbelt 3 instead. Since I get off at work early, I went to Greenbelt 3 to get some coffee at Figaro. I love their place! It's quiet, cozy, and romantic. Perfect for just sitting alone to think, read, or write.

So anyway. My friend Inna will be going to Boracay soon so she wanted to eat somewhere "healthy".

Thank you Marvin Agustin for Sumo Sam. They have a variety of Japanese and American dishes. They offer great salad and seafood dishes--- but at expensive prices. So if you wanna eat real food from here, it's gonna cost 300 to 500 pesos.

But since I'm super kuripot (English translation: cheap), I got the cheapest rice meal I can get (around P190).  But it was actually good! Their crab sticks were plump and juicy, plus I love garlic rice so it was perfect! You can also choose from three sauces: Mustard, peanut, or teriyaki. I didn't have to use sauce since I already loved the buttery taste.

My other friend bought her Crunchy Tuna Roll (P238) which the manager recommended: (lotsa crunch above!)

And my "Boracay" friend bought salad-- California Maki Salad (P208): (see how they value arrangement; even the shredded seaweeds are neatly placed on top)

I really really wanted to get their Chawan mushi or egg custard (it's a Japanese appetizer that's uncommon to other Japanese restaurants in the Philippines). But it was expensive, around P180. It's good though! Fell in love the first time I tried it way back.

All in all, I enjoyed the experience. We had a long talk, and the waiters were kind enough to refill our water glasses even long after we finished eating.

Visit them at...

Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center

Makati City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(0947) 357-4348

Homemade Brigadeiros a.k.a. Choco Fudge Truffles

One working day I browsed through my best friend's page, and saw that she made these Brigadeiros ("National Truffle of Brazil"). They're named that way because of the late Eduardo Gomes, a Brazilian Air Force brigadier, who ran for presidency. His wife used to make these candies during his events. He lost the elections by the way. But that doesn't mean that these treats aren't tasty! They were so good that the people even named it after him!

 I learned that they were so easy to make so I couldn't wait to go home that day! I bought the ingredients on the way home: 2 big cans of condensed milk, cocoa powder, a bit of butter, small cupcake wrappers, and guess what they didn't have? Choco sprinkles! :( They also didn't have confectioner's sugar which I wanted to use as substitute. So I ended up with chocolate chips instead.

Ohhh...kay. Not as appealing as choco sprinkles, but it do gives you better texture and a nice crunch to every bite. Plus since the chips are semi-sweet and slightly bitter, it contrasts with the taste of the condensed milk.

Next time I'll experiment with more add-ons like fruits or nuts. I tried computing the cost of one truffle, 5 pesos would do it justice. By the way, do you like the cupcake wrappers? The chick is adorable. I darkened the picture a bit so you can see the chick clearly. lol.

Lastly, let me give credit to my online mentors: Street Smart Brazil and their instructional video

Learning,
Sam :)

Sophie's Mom @ SM Megamall

Affordable. That's one word that describes this new cupcake store in Mega A, SM Megamall (near National Bookstore). Checked their site and this is their second branch. Their first one is in San Antonio Village, Makati City. Oh goodie, quite near our office! :) Check out their site here.

So far I've only tasted their red velvet cookie and cupcake (both cost only P50!). Their Red Velvet has a chocolate base, with some choco-bits inside. I heard that they also have good and unique flavors of mochi ice cream (Strawberries and Cream, Lemon Meringue, and Valrhona Chocolate)! Gotta try it soon before it hits mainstream. For the shop's complete price list, click here.

I just love how they're store is so girly, oozing with pastel colors and "tea party" furniture and accessories.They also have great service! What's a girly cupcake shop without the smiles and the love? *hearts here*

And I just love this! Authentic cookie jars! I would LOVE to have these jars at home! Filled with big, yummy cookies, of course.

Cakes by Monsie

I have this really good friend, Monsie Cardenas (right of picture), and she bakes the most unique cakes! My friend and I went to her house in New Manila. She invites friends over for cake tasting so we can suggest improvements, if any.  What I like about her is that she can adjust ingredients and taste that the customers prefer.

For our cake tasting, we had Red Velvet (fully coated with Cream Cheese icing) and Cadbury Chocolate Sansrival. Got the pics from her Facebook account:

The Red Velvet cake has a chocolate base. I prefer Vanilla, so Monsie can easily tweak that. :) I think her Red Velvet costs around P1,000. And her Cadbury Chocolate Sansrival is cheaper (around P800 I think)  and has a meringue base so the con is that you can't 'over-expose' it. You have to eat it immediately or it will lose its chewiness. Which won't be a problem since it's too delicious to not eat it asap!


Her future projects are delightful! Here are sample pictures also from her account:

Ferrero Cupcakes

Butterfinger cake

 Chocolate Wasted Cake

Cookie Dough Cheesecake

I think she's also gonna make Toblerone Cakes too. :) Can't wait for the next tasting!

I just love Monsie! She does cupcakes, cookies, cakes, pies, everything! She has huge ovens in her house, which she also uses to bake pandesal every morning to sell ;) Cool! And, and, and, she studied baking and pastry making at Heny Sison-- the best cake maker in the country. So this makes Monsie 1,000 times cooler!

If you wanna order her pastries, text Monsie at 0917-822-2511 (Globe) or 0932-843-6671 (Sun).

A True Monsie Fan,
Sam :)