Celebrating Special Occasions With Red Ribbon

For us Filipinos, we love to mark every special occasions with festivities to make the event more memorable. A gathering of family and friends coupled with a favorite dish or two plus some sweets such as Red Ribbon cakes and pastries has become a staple favorite.

Teen Chefs at The Maya Kitchen Day 2

The Maya Kitchen is offering culinary lessons for kids and teens this summer aside from its regular lessons. Please visit The Maya Kitchen to know more about the other schedules and offerings. 

The second day of the Teens Culinary Workshop was a bit more relaxed compared with Day 1 since the teens have gotten to know more each other and has more rapport than the previous day when some still tend to be shy. They're also much more confident of their cooking skills and in handling kitchen utensils this time. 

FOOD FINDS: Paul's Chocolate Croissant

One of the things that I love about SM Aura is the discovery of new and interesting places to eat. And then, I met Paul.

Paul is one of the latest French Bakeries to land in the Philippines. Established in 1889 (wow!), Paul has a wide array of delicious breads and pastries to choose from such as crepes, macarons, pastries, bagels, muffins, cakes, and they also serve coffee and sodas.

Bizu's Nutcracker Christmas

I've always love Nutcracker Suite Tchaikovsky  because it's associated with Christmas which happens to be my favorite time of the year. The music simply brings vivid, colorful and happy images to mind. And during my childhood days, it was such a treat to attend the gala performance in CCP during Christmas Season.

This Christmas Season, Bizu Pattiserie brings back this childhood memories with their array of Christmas goodies that takes you on a journey to Tchaikovsky's Land of the Sweets with its Christmas 2013 Collection. And my family loves Bizu so its like having the best of both world- literally.

Melchor Crouquembouche. This is a tower of profiteroles filled with pastry cream and dipped in white and dark chocolate. This makes non only a great centerpiece but a conversation piece as well. You can choose between and 18-inch with 130 cream puffs tower or a 12-inch tower with 60 cream puffs.

Moms Brunch At Casa Roces

We (with JL and IL) haven't seen each other for quite sometime now that when IL texted us that she has a scheduled meeting with her daughter's adviser the following day and that she's available for breakfast.Chosen brekky place was in nearby Casa Roces, its just a short walk from where our kids go to school.

Cake Decorating With Fondarific

Last September 25, I joined a group of homemakers and baking enthusiast at The Cookery in Kensington Place, BGC for an afternoon of fondant adventure. Fondarific and LorAnn products were used thanks to Bake Essence.

Chez Karine Macarons

Eversince that fated day when the last crumb of Laduree macaron disappeared, daughter and I have been craving for something similar. Luckily, I had to go somewhere in BGC so I made a mental note to visit Chez Karine.

Arriba Akiba!

As a first-timer in Akiba Cafe, I really don't know what to expect nor what to drink and what to order. Also, the cafe was celebrating its second year when we visited so it was really full of people availing of the P22 only on all drinks. Wow! Cool, right?

So I told my new foodie friend HOP to just order for me.

Dessert Factory Is LOVE

Years ago, when daughter was just 7 years old, I tasted this delicious cake from Dessert Factory in Cebu City. I am not really fond of strawberries except that I like its color but eating strawberries is not my thing. But this cake was one of the few exceptions that I really enjoy strawberry. The cake is called Strawberry Surprise.

Fast forward ... and daughter is now eleven. We had a day to spare in Cebu and one of the places on my list is Dessert Factory. It is located in the posh Ayala Mall in Cebu City.

I know I have to eat this cake. And it is still called Strawberry Surprise but it looks different now. But it still tastes oh so good! Moist cake with strawberries. Never mind that yellow thingy. I'm tempted to hand carry a box but it needs to be refrigerated.

The other cake, the one that daughter ordered was Oreo Something. Actually, she loves anything with oreos.

Daughter is excited to eat her oreo cake! :)

I don't think I will tire of eating the Strawberry Surprise Cake. Looking forward to our next visit to Cebu because I'm going to eat my dessert there again.

Btw, Dessert Factory also serves other dishes like rice meals and pasta, and other sweet goodies.



Dessert Factory
3F Ayala Center
Cebu City

Tous Les Jours and Other Food Finds

There's always a special thrill whenever there's a new food discovery.

To start with, I'd like to introduce the Korean Tous les Jours Bakeshop. At last, nagkita na rin kami. And look at the packaging, its so nice--- gwiyomi !!! It even has a cake server and candles just in case you forget to buy one. Costs less than P500. Thumbs up!

Practice Lang :)

February 24, 2013

Ate Ramona, my gorgeous cousin from France, celebrated her birthday here in the Philippines. Actually, she had tons of birthday parties organized by her loving friends so she reserved her special day just for us, family members. We had lunch at Gloria Maris, Greenhills.

And because daughter will celebrate her birthday a day after, naki-pose na rin sya sa Hello Kitty cake. Hahaha.

I love how nice the Hello Kitty cake was done. The cake was made by Teacher Cake. :)

Something Borrowed ...

The cake nor the photo is not mine (hence, the "something borrowed."). I saw it from a friend's multiply account and fell in love with the cake's simplicity which screams elegance. Haven't asked her how it tastes like but I know its yummy.

I'm thinking of making my own cake in the not-so-distant future and I need some inspiration. I guess this is it. Will post asap if I'm feeling brave enough.

Today's Mantra: Cake, cake, cake ...

Cake-2-Go


Sir F at the office celebrated his birthday today and since the nearest bakeshop is not near enough nor someone from the office wants to brave the traffic just to get a cake, I suddenly remembered cake-2-go.

Cake-2-Go is our default cakeshop since they deliver the store right on your doorstep. Nice, right?

Mango Meringue Symphony. Too healthy and mango-ish for me. Hehehe. I'm not really fond of ripe mangoes. Btw, this is like the famous Mango Bravo from Conti's. J chose this one. 

Choco- Decadent. I chose this one. This is my (and daughter and hubby, also) favorite. Best serve very, very cold. 

Carla & Elaine's

This cakeshop is a bit hard to find, not unless you always pass by P. Guevara or will drop by at Santi's Wilson because it is housed in the same building. It was a mom-friend from school who told me about it but she can't really explain well its location since someone just give her cakes bought from Carla & Elaine's.

It took me several months before I was able to visit the cakeshop, thanks to my "fish cracker" craving. But the long wait didn't disappoint.

Chocolate Almond Torte

I love its chewiness especially when its just out of the fridge. The cake itself is not that sweet but the filling is- for sweet lovers!

Caramel Cake by Costa Brava

This is another yummy with a homey-feel caramel cake. The other one is Estrel's- of course. Costa Brave has been around for decades now although I discovered them at Rockwell's Food Bazaar.

Cakes Galore At Powerplant Mall







We've been enjoying the cakes and pastries exhibit for the past 2 Christmas season now and I was surprised to see the cake sellers in Powerplant the week before Valentine's Day. Luckily, my friend and I got to taste most of the yummy treats being offered there. Now which one should I buy??

Estrel's Caramel Cake



This is not your usual mass-market type of cake. I remember eating this cake whenever someone in the family is celebrating a milestone in his or her life. In fact, Estrel's was the one who made my 18th birthday cake.

So fast forward to my daughter's 7th birthday. We got her a round caramel cake form Estrel's and requested for purple and pink (her fave colors) icing roses. Btw, Estrel's was also famous for its icing roses.