Sunday, March 31, 2013

Wildflour Cafe + Bakery, BGC

Assortment of Breads
This is the first thing that you'll see when you enter Wildflour Cafe + Bakery.
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I've been reading very good reviews about this cafe / bakery from
different bloggers.  One particular blogger, whom I follow,
 has been raving about this place almost daily.
So, off we went to BGC one Saturday afternoon.
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For starters,  I ordered dessert and requested the server to
 bring the cake and panna cotta to our table, asap, with a smile , of course.
I like to eat my  desserts first.  I might just get too full
eating the entrees and miss eating dessert. No way!
 I got the Salted Chocolate Cake, Php 170/ slice.
It tasted like any ordinary chocolate cake but had bits of rock salt
in the frosting. Would have been so much better with 
salted caramel filling in between the layers of chocolate cake.
But, I finished this anyway. 
Basil Panna Cotta / Php 170
You can only taste the basil on your first bite then never again.
The sourness of the passion fruit when mixed with the sweet panna cotta
drowned the taste and smell of the basil, or
 they probably used very minimal basil leaves.
Complimentary Bread.  Butter with rock salt  on top.
Seems like they put rock salt in most everything.
There is even rock salt on a small sauce dish, just like in Cicou, 
but Cicou had a bigger rock salt plate. 
Should have named this cafe, ....(at the ) ....'Rock Salt Cafe'... hahaha!
..... I hear a melody in my head. 
Parmesan Churros / Php 210
They could have added more cheese.
Nothing beats Dulcinea's Churros con Chocolate
California Burger / Php 450
Nothing spectacular about this burger.
I had to ask for ketchup refill three times.  
Friday's and Chili's burgers are  so much juicier, tastier, tender 
and they have a whole bottle of ketchup in every table. 
... and where was the mustard? I had to ask again!
I don't  really care  for mayonnaise on my burger, 
or on anything!!!
Their fries .... 'Eyes on your fries'... so much better!
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The blogger that I follow eats Steak and Egg, with Kimchi Rice
almost every time she goes to this cafe and highly recommends this dish.
So, I convinced the Son to try it. 
Hubby and I had consumed the burger that we shared
but the Steak and Egg dish had  not arrived.
I thought they probably ran out of rice and had to cook some more.
Son noticed that the guests on the table beside us
were served ahead of us, and we were already seated and eating our
appetizers when these guests arrived.
It took about 20 minutes for this rice dish to reach our table.
Php 495
Son didn't like the combination of the tasteless steak, 
raw runny egg and soggy "fried" rice.
Texture of the rice was mushy! 
Oh, and I forgot that Son hates raw eggs. 
What was worse, Hubby ate a tablespoon of this Kimchi rice.
Shortly after, he had three  hives on the inner portion of his upper lip. 
About three small, elevated, raised, edematous, sort of swollen,
 patches of skin / mucosa of his inner upper lip.
Hmmmm ... sensitive, allergic... ???
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The Garlic Knot
Was curious with this garlic knot, Php 130.
The roasted garlic is inside this pastry bread.
This is still in the ref as of this writing.
Still waiting for the Son to eat this since I don't like eating garlic.
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Shall I go back?  I don't think so.
/ chicsanders 2013


Sunday, March 24, 2013

Spectrum, Fairmont, Makati City

Fairmont, a five star luxury hotel in Makati City.
We had lunch at Spectrum Buffet. To reach the restaurant,
which is situated at the rightmost corner of the first floor,
 we passed by the elegant chic lobby and the pastry boutique, 
Cafe Macaron.
These are real huge macarons.
Chef Nikki let me taste one of their best sellers, queso de bola macaron,
(which was fuschia instead of yellow). 
I'm in love with macarons.
I noticed these hideous looking raspberry limoncello pralines, 
which looked like eyeballs at first glance.
Is it Halloween already? Please explain.
Oops, I just got a bit distracted for a while.
More heavenly desserts and an assortment of macarons!
Lovely, aren't they? 
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As you enter Spectrum, you will see this Honey Station,
with real live working bees.  
Chef Nikki tried to show me the queen bee 
but it was hiding when we got there.
Dessert Station is the first station you'll see as you enter the restaurant.
They probably know that I always start my meal,
 not with soup, but with dessert!
Roastings
That's my plate being filled with steamed fish,
...  a healthier option.
Fresh Uncooked Pasta
Hummus
Prime Rib
Bread Station
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This is my first plate. 
Salted Caramel Panna cotta,  Taho and Sago, Ube Macaroon,
Grilled Ripe Mango and Suman
They asked why I got suman? I love suman and I dipped it in the 
salted caramel panna cotta. Yummy!
Suckling Pig, Roast Duck and Pork Asado
I love Chinese food.  But where's the fried rice?
This is Df Jannette's salad , pita and hummus plates.
My personal sized Four Cheese Pizza with Mushrooms and Basil.
They didn't have fried rice, so, I got their Shrimp Basmati Rice.
Also had Red Snapper and Tomatoes, Grilled Salmon, Steamed Fish
and Mussels.  (Gave the mussels to Hubby since I don't eat mussels.)
These special sushi were made by Chef  Garbin.
The sushi  were  sweet,  salty,  and crunchy., a feast for the  palate. 
The crispy salmon skin, avocado,  mango and special
dressing were superbly extraordinary. and very tasty.
Thanks Chef  Garbin !

Started my meal with dessert and ended it with more dessert.
Chocolate Lava and Ice Cream by Chef Nikki.
Fabulous!!!!
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Smile :) 

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Thanks to the  cheerful Chef Miko who visited us at our table. 
.. with the beautiful and charming Chef Nikki.
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Before leaving the restaurant, Chef Robert approached our table. 
The Hubby thought that he somehow looked  familiar.
Jannette mentioned that we were dentists from UP. 
Chef Robert said that he came from a family of dentists.
So I asked for his surname, and he said Bolanos.
No wonder he looked very very familiar.
Chef Robert Bolanos is one of the head chefs of Spectrum.
I wasn't able to take a photo of him, maybe next time.
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/ chicsanders 2013

Friday, March 22, 2013

Wooden Spoon, Katipunan Rd., Quezon City

Wooden Spoon, small cozy restaurant in the middle of  the "university belt" 
in Katipunan Road, Quezon City.  It's quite popular among the students from
Ateneo, Miriam and UP Diliman.  Even their parents have been raving about this place
which serves Filipino cuisine by Chef Sandy Daza.
This is the back of the long sofa in the main dining area.
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Starters... I guess these were shrimp cakes with two sauces, 
sweet chili and cilantro. I did not taste the cilantro in the sauce.
The sauce was probably prepared ahead, several hours early. 
Would have been a lot better if the cilantro sauce was made fresh. 
The shrimp cakes were a bit salty.
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Sigarillas or Star Vegetable with coconut milk topped with dried fish.
This is very very very very ... delicious!
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Grilled Tuna Belly with side salad (grilled eggplant, tomatoes, onions
and salted eggs, topped with spring onions), served with sweet bagoong
and soy sauce.  Perfect!!!!!
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So far , sooooo gooooood!
Our dessert, Sago Cake....
 Hubby and I shared this. I ate just a teaspoon of this 
tasteless concoction.  It would have been a lot better if they used
suman instead of sago and called it Suman Cake. 
If not for the chocolate caramel sauce and the crispy pinipig,
this sago cake would have been a total disaster.. 
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Shall I go back here? I'll think about it.
Parking is difficult.  Place is too small and gets too crowded.
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/chicsanders 2013