Gelatissimo

Gelatissimo, a gelato retail chain from Australia has opened several branches here in the Philippines too and it's not just about the gelato as they also offer coffee, sundaes, gelato cakes and mostly dessert products.

Here's my first Gelatissimo flavor:

Gelatissimo: Rum and Raisin

The photo actually made it look big but I had the smallest size and it cost me around P100 or so. It may seem pricey for a small dessert but then again, it's sort of an imported product and it is actually worth it because I had a scoopful, not the usual small scoop ones.

I would love to give the other flavors a try especially Green Tea and Bailey's. Gelatissimo has 6 branches here in the Philippines including 2 in Cebu (Ayala Center and SM City), 2 in Quezon City (SM North and TriNoma), 1 in Taguig (Serendra) and 1 in Makati (Greenbelt 5).

Cafe Breton

I believe I have mentioned somewhere in this blog that my favorite part of the meal is dessert and this is a blog post dedicated to one of my personal favorite dessert, the one I customized and the one I personally call "Mara's Heartbreak Crepe", "This is how a heart breaks crepe" or "Mara's Feel Good Crepe" because I get to crave for crepes when I'm heartbroken or when I feel so down in the dumps that I just want to drown myself with all the sweets I can eat.

Here's the best crepe in town (and by best I mean the for ME) by Cafe Breton: 

Mara's Heartbreak/Feel good/This is how a heart breaks Crepe

I can name this crepe whatever name I want because it's "customized". Yes, I get to choose the fruit, the toppings, the sauce, everything and ever since I started eating crepes at Cafe Breton this is what I always order. This is what makes me feel a tad better and a lot guilty afterwards but... what the heck. I'm sad. I deserve to treat myself with a "happy meal".

If you want something else to eat, Cafe Breton also offers sandwiches, salads, cocktails, coffee/tea and their crepes are not just the typical ones that pop into our minds whenever crepe is mentioned, they also have what they call "savoury crepe combination" (e.g. cheese, tomato and egg, cheese, ham and tomato, etc.)

Don't worry about the budget, one crepe can cost you as low as P85 for a banana and condensed milk crepe (Tarzan) and the personalized crepes for P40 for the crepe + P20-P80 for the fruits, P30-P75 for the spreads, P30-P35 for the syrups and for ice cream. You can mix and match whatever combination you like. Budget per meal would be at least P200 per person.

Cafe Breton has branches in The Podium, TriNoma Mall, Tomas Morato, SM Mall of Asia, Westgate Center Muntinlupa, Greenbelt 3 and Robinson's Midtown.

Conti's Mango Bravo.

I always enjoy a good dessert after a hearty meal. And Conti's Mango Bravo cake is one of my favorites to have. After visiting the bookstore with my closest friends last week, we headed to a late afternoon snack slash early dinner in Serendra (literally just a few walks away from High Street where the bookstore is). As usual, we were having a hard time deciding where to eat. Initial choice was just to grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks inside the bookstore but things changed when we suddenly felt a little hungry for just coffee and pastries. We walked and walked and walked until we stopped and said "Okay, where are we going to eat? What do you guys like?" We have no idea what and where to eat so we came up with 3 different choices each and there's three of us. One will choose among the choices given. Conti's won. :) 

If you frequent High Street and Serendra, you might want to try out eating there sometime if you haven't yet. The food is more worth it than the price. They have less than P200 ($2-$3) pasta and it's quite serving. And their pastries... love! That photo above is my favorite... Mango Bravo. It's P105 ($1-$1.50) per slice and something around P550 ($12) for the small whole cake and believe me it's BIG enough for the family. The three of us shared this slice since I was the only one who ordered a dessert because I was smart enough to order a Kiddie-sized Cheesy Baked Mac because I really really have to make room for dessert. My 2 friends ordered individual pastas and they were so full to order individual desserts afterwards. We managed to clean the plate though. ;)

Visit Conti's at Serendra in The Fort and in Greenhills. Or THEIR WEBSITE for a list of their menu, branches and operation time.

Red Ribbon Bakeshop.

Cake! Cake! Cake! I think I should change the name of this blog to something that sounds more "sweeter" cos I don't know if it's just me but I notice I post more about desserts than other foods.

And because I always see Red Ribbon's commercials on TV, I started imagining eating their cakes. Cake! Cake! Cake!

Red Ribbon's Dulce de Leche.

Their cakes don't get the hype but they have always been known enough to have regular visitors plus their cakes may not be hyped but they are yummy. Not too sweet and not too bland. I prefer most of their cakes over Goldilocks but when it comes to breads, other pastries and full meal, Goldilocks has more variations. We'll talk about that some other time.

For now, Red Ribbon has nationwide branches and kiosks. Some branches I know are in Shaw Boulevard, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Escriva Drive, Glorietta 3, Jupiter St. and I think there's also one in Megamall. These are just a few branches that I usually visit or pass by. They have A LOT more.

The White Hat.

I had this post about frozen yogurts posted a couple of days back and I mentioned in that post that I want to try out frozen yogurt at The White Hat. Earlier today, I finally did. :)

Plain frozen yogurt with Honey Oats.

My friend was right when she suggested White Hat to me. It tasted better than the others that we have already tried. The White Hat now bumped Fro-Yo from first to second on my list. Yum yum! I can't wait to try other toppings with it and the strawberry flavored one. Just curious.

Okay, no more treating myself on yummy pricey food until I settle my cellphone bill for this month. Food is my ultimate weakness when it comes to spending money, really.

Solomon Guest House: Batch 12 Desserts.

I mentioned earlier that I used to have my practicum in SGH and that the food depends on the batch so last Monday when I ate there, I missed a lot of things! I miss my friends and batch mates in SGH (Batch 12) AND I miss our desserts.

Batch 12 Desserts: from top left-bottom: Charlotte, Tiramisu and (my ultimate favorite) Chocolate Eminence.

The only main stay there is the Tiramisu, the other 2 is from our kitchen pastry batch mates. Chocolate Eminence is LOVE. Okay, I'll go find a much close-up photo if I have one and I'll upload. :)

Homemade Mango Float.

Desserts, desserts, desserts. One of my favorite parts of the meal is having desserts after. Ice cream, cakes, chocolates, what have you. So, I was browsing through my photos folders when I stumbled into these:

Mhe and Migby's homemade Mango Float.

The L stands for "Lucas", their son's and our godchild's name. :)

Our friends ate the whole thing. We shared the slices in a plate and we didn't notice how many we already consumed until there was nothing left.

We had this Mango Float (or refrigerated cake, Graham cake, etc.) during my friend, Mhe's baby shower last year. It's so addicting. A lot different than what we normally have here at home when my aunt makes one.

I miss this. And I miss the Torres family. Hopefully, they'll be here in the Philippines on December for Mhe's birthday and the holidays.

Frozen Yogurts: Lulu Belle, Red Mango and FroYo.

Oh no! My taste buds are in need of their dose of frozen yogurts. If you have been with me on my personal blog you would know how much I love 'em!

Fro-Yo (yes, that's the name) frozen yogurt with strawberries.

Red Mango frozen yogurt with Peaches.

Lulu Belle frozen yogurt Combination.

These delightful yogurts cost around P80-P150 ($1-$3) depending on the size and choice of toppings that you like.

They are a healthier (or so I think) alternative for ice cream as desserts. Yummy!

Among these three, I prefer the frozen yogurt of Fro-Yo. Red Mango is too sour, Lulu Belle is too bland, Fro-Yo is just perfect. I still have to try White Hat and taste for myself if it's really good.

Just in case you guys want to try them out:

Fro-Yo is located at Shangri-La Plaza and Bonifacio High Street (Hobbes and Landes).

Lulu Belle is located at Powerplant Mall.

Red Mango is located at Eastwood and Megamall.

White is located at Shangri-La Plaza.