I See Purple

DOME DELIGHT

No it's not a household ornament - it's a CAKE! Yes this looks like one of those beautifully crafted occasion-cakes which are usually not that tasty. But this cutie is not only presentable, it's also delicious! Yummy chocolate outer layer and even yummier filling! TRY IT! Chocolate Dome Cake from Purple Oven.
Purple Oven is located at 63 Saint Peter St., Oranbo, Pasig, tel. 6314221

Max Farewell

I just want to say that M and I will definitely miss Max... You know, the bald guy.

Yep, I just realized a couple of weeks ago that Max Brenner Chocolate Bar in Greenbelt 3 has closed. Boohoo. :( M and I will surely miss having quiet dinners there - enjoying the food, being served by bald waiters, and of course savoring the strong scent of YUMMY CHOCOLATE! I wonder why they closed. I think it's doing pretty well. Did they just transfer? I hope so. Let us know if you find out. Please!


Most especially, we shall miss one of our favorite desserts: The MUD MAX. Cake + Ice Cream + Choco Sauce. Super sweet but super yummy :)



¡adiós!, Max

Grind & Grill

MEET CHARLIE

Burgers are M's favorite! So we'd probably post several burgerblogs here. Today, it's Charlie's turn. A couple of weeks ago, M and I finally tried Charlie's Grind and Grill. It's a budding burger place in Kapitolyo, Pasig. Several friends have already recommended Charlie's bugers so we decided to give it a try.

The place is quite hidden - not easy to find espeially if you're not familiar with the Pasig area. Good thing our driver knew where it was. Finally you'd see a huge orange sign. You'll find Charlie's beside a car wash. Walah, eating time!

Lunch time. Hungry. Craving for burger. Ordered Black Angus Burger with fries and Fish & chips. Ready, get set, devour.

The Verdict: 3.5/5

Meat was juicy and tender. Size of serving was okay. Veggies were fresh. But there was something about the flavor...M and I agreed that the taste didn't quite match our expectations. The taste wasn't "memorable". Due to the presence of competition everywhere, burgers need to have a 'distinct' taste otherwise we won't keep coming back. Don't get us wrong, the burger wasn't bad at all. We still enjoyed our lunch. :)

Say CHEESE!

SAY CHEEESEEEESteak

3 weeks ago M and I tried Elbert's Cheesesteak in Rockwell. It's a relatively new place serving M's favorite -- Cheesesteak Sandwich! But mind you, these aren't your ordinary cheesesteak sandwiches - these are HUMONGOUS yummy treats filled with A LOT of tomatoes, sauteed white onions, lettuce, and of course cheese. The steak filling was tender and easy to eat, not to mention very tasty. The sandwich may or may not come with their awesome crispy fries - your choice :) Although it was kinda pricey compared to usual sandwiches (P240 without fries, P280 with fries), we think it was worth it :) Oh, and they also have really good chocolate mousse which is only P60.

Even if I went on diet for a week last month, I couldn't help but eat these yummy and quite sinful snacks. Every time we pass by the stall in the ground floor of Powerplant Mall, we get tempted - tempted to SAY CHEESESteak! :)

Singapore Goodies

DOUBLE Cs

Got some goodies from Singapore and I just can't get enough of these new found yummidoodles :)

FIRST C: CHOCOLATE
Who doesn't like chocolate? I'm a sucker for sweets and you can count this in my top list again. CHOCOLA'S CRIPSY CACAO is a must-try. Very thin - almost like Pringles with yummy dark chocolate flavor! Crispy chocolate! Ain't that cool? (It's really crispy promise!) Plus it's only $5 for a box. Yeay! Now we can order from our friend who lives in Singapore without feeling guilty :)


SECOND C: CASHEW
I never really liked nuts with chocolate but sometimes I like eating plain peanuts, pistacchios, and cashews. This is a cool discovery - CAMEL BRAND CASHEW NUTS. Kinda salty and kinda sweet - just the right amount of "cashew-nutiness" :) Texture is okay too - crispy and not hard to chew. I almost finished the whole bag in one sitting haha! Try it! When you go to Singapore this year, you know what's gonna be in my grocery bag! ;)

Italian @ A.Venue

FOCACCIA: A Slice Of Italy

This is our second time to dine at A.Venue and we decided to try FOCACCIA. In terms of impression, the restaurant name for me sounded classy and simple yet easy to remember. So how was the dining experience?

Well it was a Friday night so it was full as expected. The small cozy place wa jampacked so we had to eat outside. Anyway, it didn't matter a lot since there's still ariconditioning outside and there was a band playing.

Now, here we go, our favorite part - the food. Well I definitely loved their pizza. Perfect crust and great flavor! The pasta dishes were so-so: typical Italian pasta with good serving size. Garnishing was pretty, taste was okay but nothing extra special. The Carbonara was the tastiest for me. But there's one thing in Focaccia that made it one of the places I'll always always come back to...are you ready for this? MASCARPONE GELATTO! Wow! Superb! It's in my top 3 ice cream flavors right now! Just the right amount of sweetness and cheesiness. Yummy! It was truly the highlight of my dining experience! Cookies and Cream was also okay. :)

We will back at Focaccia for sure. Especially because Italian can be my default food. More restos to try at A.Venue! :)

Photos (from top left clockwise): Carbonara, Sicilian Pizza, Dalandan Juice, Ceasar Salad, Pizza eaten as rolls, Bakes Salmon Pasta, Chicken Parmigianna, Cream Dory Pasta
Not in photo: Mascarpone Gelatto heaven! ;)