Chateau 1771, with Love

For the first time in twenty five years, Chateau 1771's executive chef, Vicky Rose Pacheco, introduces her top picks for lunch and dinner set menus for Valentine's Day: "a feast of light, fresh and festive for lunch while dinner features the rare French classics."

For lunch, worth the highlight is the watercress soup with lavash bread and its relieving, sophisticated texture. A natural super food, it’s heartwarming and oozing with revitalizing nutrients. While the main course, it will give you two options, but since grilling steak is a serious business at Chateau 1771, the seared U.S. beef tenderloin with blue cheese stuffing (P1, 300+) is a hefty reward for any meat lover. Made visually appetizing with grilled eggplant, zucchini, broccoli drizzled with roasted potatoes and fragrant roasted potatoes in olive oil, rosemary, and thyme, the 200 grams of pan seared beef laced with roasted garlic bacon sauce is brimming with juices and stuffing in every slice. If a version of this kind of flavor is what you’re rooting for but shying away from meat, go for the baked fish of the day (P1, 100+)—grilled and made tender with lemon, capers, thyme, and almonds. Judging from the risotto’s heavily-packed add-ons such as squid, shrimps made tasty in chicken and fish stock then topped with butter and parmigiano reggiano as a tasty finish, the risotto is the only fitting pair for a delicately cooked main course.

Dessert is as special as it features the melon’s juicy sweetness. Called the white cloud melon sabayon, it’s a refreshing dessert, lightly sweetened with poached meringue on whisked custard with melon and amaretto.

If planning for a romantic date, fork it out with a hot French dinner affair. Inventive and made from the freshest raw ingredients, Chateau 1771’s French-themed dinner focuses on the tasty yet uncomplicated classic dishes that are hard to find. For the soup, give the Swiss brown mushroom vol-au-vent with greens, edible flowers and pomegranate dressing a try. Delicately baked and in-house made, the French puff pastry round shell is filled with a creamy mixture smacked with garlic and thyme then deglazed with wine. With Swiss browns or the baby Portobello as the star in this soup, it results to an intriguing and heartwarming full-bodied taste.

Using a prime steak cut, the U.S. Angus bone-in rib steak with café de Paris butter (P2,600+), Duchess potatoes, and grilled ratatouille is every inch an irresistible meat from its cut to flavor. A ¾ inch thick slab of meat with the bone-in, it’s meant to be smothered with café de Paris butter spiced up with tarragon, rosemary, basil, and thyme with a spike of cognac.

If in the mood to try something exotic but not exactly like it, go for the French countryside comfort--the Rougie duck leg confit (P2, 400+). Another rare find, the duck meat is cured with salt, cooked in a special Dutch oven with the most-prized duck fat giving the flavor more depth and producing a velvety piece of meat. The result? A super tender meat that almost falls off the bones!

Good meal deserves a happy ending, so try the chocolate valrhona ganache tart with gorgonzola crème brulee on the side. Marrying the slightly salty flavor of Italian blue cheese and exuberant characteristics of chocolate valrhona plus the creamy and rich crème brulee, this dessert promises a palate-tickling cross between salty-sweet.

Chateau 1771 – Greenbelt 5 is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every Sunday to Thursday and 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 m.n. for Friday to Saturday. For reservations, banquets and catering services, please call 729-9760 to 61 or (0917) 8626467. Chateau 1771 is a member of the Chateau 1771 Group of Restaurants that include Sentro 1771 in Greenbelt 3, Sentro 1771 in Serendra, Bonifacio Global City and Café 1771 in El Pueblo Real de Manila, ADB Avenue cor. Julia Vargas Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

Village Tavern of the Bistro Group of Restaurants

One of the newest restaurants of the Bistro Group is Village Tavern, a US-franchise which celebrates classic American comfort food with huge portions good for sharing, located at the Bonifacio High Street Central.  It's definitely worth a try for food lovers, and for those wanting a good drink after work.

The other night, we were treated to the best of what Village Tavern has to offer: rustic whole wheat flatbreads made from scratch, fresh seafood dishes, juicy burgers, wide selection of cocktails and signature dishes, and decadent desserts. Village Tavern celebrates quality, value for money and complete satisfaction.



Asian Tuna Salad - Fresh center-cut Ahi tuna, seasonal greens, carrots, snow peas and edamame is sesame ginger dressing.



Grilled Chicken Spinach and Mixed Greens - Fresh spinach, seasonal greens, bacon, apples, cranberries, spiced pecans, blue cheese, sliced egg, and grilled chicken in sweet vinaigrette.



Blackened Shrimp - Shrimp served with Bayou cream sauce and toasted garlic bread.



Tavern Whole Wheat Flatbread - Homemade tomato sauce, pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, hamburger, onions and mozzarella cheese.



Gruyere & Applewood-Smoked Bacon Whole Wheat Flatbread - Gruyere, applewood-smoked bacon and caramelized onion.



Crispy Chicken Tacos - Chicken tenders with mango slaw and chipotle sauce, served with black beans in melted chocolate sauce and rice pilaf.



Maryland-Style Crab Cakes - Premium lump crab meat served with french fries, coleslaw and homemade tartar sauce.



Cowboy Burger - Applewood-smoked bacon, Cheddar cheese with caramelized onion and barbecue sauce.



Chicken Colorado - Grilled chicken breast topped with applewood-smoked bacon, barbecue sauce, tomatoes, scallions, Monterey Jack and Cheddar, served with black beans and rice pilaf.



Some of Village Tavern's Signature Cocktails: Tavern Mojito - Rum, Lime Juice, and Mint Leaves; and Honey Berry - Berry Vodka, Raspberry Vodka, Honey Syrup and House Champagne.



Very Best Carrot Cake - Fresh carrots, pecan and cream cheese icing served warm.



St. Barths Chocolate Torte - Rich and very moist French cake, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.



Double Decker Cheesecake - Layers of chocolate and traditional cheesecake served with raspberry and chocolate sauce.

I definitely enjoyed my Village Tavern food experience. I will certainly come back! Props to Chef Josh Boutwood, the corporate chef of the Bistro group, for making sure that what Village Tavern offers to its customers is simply the best. Thanks to Mitzi and Spanky for the invite! :)

Starbucks Philippines Asian Invasion with New Food and Beverages

Starbucks has another treat in store for you. Visit Starbucks One Rockwell in Rockwell Drive, Makati tomorrow and get a DOUBLE UPSIZE TREAT on all beverages from 4pm to 8pm :) Sounds good? Go! But besides this treat, Starbucks will be launching this June 12, new drinks and new food items, which will surely go well with your taste buds.


Starbucks Philippines will be launching its refreshing and mouthwatering Asian Frappuccino blended beverages: the Hojica Tea Jelly Frappuccino and the Red Bean Green Tea Frappuccino. These new iconic hero Frappuccino beverages use high-quality ingredients sourced from different parts of Asia, which fuses East and West.

HOJICHA TEA JELLY FRAPPUCCINO - An equally innovative beverage combining Hojicha, a type of Japanese roasted tea, with Starbucks own Tazo Earl Grey tea-infused jelly, giving this beverage a one-of-a-kind taste and mouth feel never achieved before. The nutty and toasty flavors of hojicha is flavorful yet refreshing to the addition of the firm, bite-enticing earl grey jelly.

RED BEAN GREEN TEA FRAPPUCCINO - This beverage combines juicy whole kernels of red azuki beans and matcha, a finely-milled green tea which is the most superior form of green tea in Japan. The refreshing combination of green tea with the juicy plumpness of sweet-savory azuki beans give this beverage a deliciously rich distinct flavor.



Alongside these new Frappuccino blended beverages, Starbucks is also launching new food items that would go well with the drinks. These will be available for a limited time at Starbucks stores in the Philippines beginning June 12, 2012.

Meet my personal favorite, the Green Tea and Berry Cheesecake - An exciting contrast of the creamiest green tea cheesecake bursting with refreshing blueberries on a crispy walnut crust, finished with white chocolate ganache curls. They call it chic and sophisticated. I call it dessert heaven :) Another cake offering is the Purple Yam Cake with Macapuno and Red Bean - a marriage of two classic Filipino dessert with a unique twist. Three stacks of moist purple yam chiffon cake filled with soft macapuno strips and red bean, and covered with irresistible creamy purple yam buttercream icing and sugar sprinkles.



Other pastries include the Beef and Mushroom Pie - golden brown, crispy, flaky and buttery pastry crust filled with moist and tender beef strips, sliced mushrooms, carrots and creamy fresh mashed potatoes; Bacon and Cheese on Italian Country Bread - sinfully delicious gooey grilled cheese sandwich coupled with six types of cheeses (Gruyere, Emmenthal, Provolone, Mozzarella, Feta and Cheddar) and crispy bacon strips, subtly seasoned with creamy pesto sauce and Italian herbed butter on bread.



Last but not the least, the Chicken Parmigiana Wrap - juicy and tender chicken breast fillet, sliced eggplant, covered with Italian tomato sauce and grated cheese, wrapped in crispy chewy pita bread.

The White Hat's 10 New Yogurt Hats

The White Hat presents 10 new exciting and yummy hats for everyone. Worry no more, as they provide a variety of toppings to choose from to suit your yogurt. Whether chocolate's your favorite, or you just want to indulge in something healthy yet extraordinary, The White Hat has it for you! :) For only P125 for a Regular Cup and P155 for a Large Cup, you now have more reasons to enjoy every cup of this guilt-free dessert!

New Krispy Kreme White Chocolate Filled Doughnut with Kitkat

Krispy Kreme Philippines released its newest treat, Snack Doughnuts with KitKat, which comes in three varieties, the Glazed Cake, Chocolate Filled and the White Chocolate Filled :) Since it's new and it has KitKat, I decided to give it a try. The doughnut was definitely Krispy Kreme - if you get what I mean (it's sweet and really chewy). I love the KitKat, but I am not sure I tasted the White Chocolate filling that much. Although, overall, it's yummy for me, don't expect too much from it.

Scramble in Megamall Food Court

I was introduced by my best fried to Scramble, a popular street food found in the Philippines. I really didn't know what it was until I saw it, and tasted it. It's made of "sweetened shaved ice served in a paper or plastic cup, drizzled with milk and chocolate syrup, and eaten with a wooden popsicle stick." This time, we didn't eat it from the streets, we found the popular treat in SM Megamall.

The smallest cup costs Php 10, medium costs Php 14, while the large one costs Php 17. You may add additional toppings (chocolate sprinkles, candy sprinkles, powdered milk, tapioca balls or sago, or mallows) for Php 3 each. I love how the taste mixes with all that's in it. For something cheap and yummy, I would go for this dessert anytime! :)

Photo-op! Enjoying every mouthful of the Scramble :P

Gold Delight's Banana Crunch

Ice Cream's one of my comfort food. As I have blogged about before, I like anything with nuts. One of my favorites, in fact, is the Selecta's Vanilla Almond Ice Cream, among others like the famous Coffee Crumble, Rocky Road, and a lot more.


The other day, on my way home, I passed by the Ice Cream House outside our village to buy myself a pint of Gold Delight's Banana Crunch, banana ice cream with chocolate coated peanuts. I tell you, it tastes like real banana, and the nuts come in generous serving. It was a perfect dessert to seal the night.

It's summer, so have a Fling!

Before heading to our destination, Taal View Heights, in Talisay Batagas for the Philippine Blog Awards strat-planning, we stopped over in Tagaytay to indulge in a semi-food-trip and glutton over Bag of Beans, Fling and Buon Giorno over at Cliffhouse in Tagaytay City.

Bag of Beans was our first destination, our "pre-pre-lunch," as my fellow bloggers suggested. I just had a cup of brewed coffee and hash brown. After Bag of Beans, we headed to Cliffhouse to have Fling, which is famous for its frozen yogurt.

I had a casual (Php 85) Fling with apples on top (+Php25) which costs Php 110 in total. The apples were sort of Flambé, minus the alcohol, and placed on top of the Froyo. The base yogurt wasn't as sweet as all the froyos I have tasted (which is good for me), while the sauteed apples were a bit tangy, which contrasted with the yogurt. It was a yummy dessert - I love it! :)


This was what Juned got - the topping is quite like Mochi, or what the saleslady says to be like "bilo-bilo," or rice balls.

I can have Gluttony everyday!

Straight from the Stove - Wicked Kitchen's Gluttony (to share) - Oven baked large chunky chocolate chip cookie with Manticado Vanilla flavored ice cream melting on top of pure heavenly dessert! I have been craving for this treat since the day we have reviewed this restaurant.






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Costa Brava Cakes at the Rockwell Powerplant Mall

I first tasted the heavenly dessert cakes of Costa Brava when Jones, my cousin Tippi's boyfriend, brought one for Mimi during her birthday. Since then, I was already looking for this treat. Then CSA interviews came, and Chelsea brought cupcakes from this, and it was really delicious. The more I became head over heels trying to look for this place.

After attending the Dayo Blogger Event, Arpee, his wife Noreen, Nina, Eric and I went to Rockwell. And this is when I finally met Mrs. Juda Liu, maker of the famous cakes. She recommended that I get the Caramel or the White (which she said is Kris Aquino's favorite, "the one she wrote about," Mrs. Liu added). I got both, at Php 120 a box each.

I think you can still find Costa Brava cakes at the lower level of Rockwell Powerplant Mall until the end of October. Hurry and taste this divine dessert creation! :)

~Costa Brava~
12 Polaris St.
Bel-Air Village 3, Makati
+632=8966872 or +632-8961267

Funnel Cake Factory

I was intrigued by this appetizing treat when I first saw it in Glorietta 4 food court. But because of some reason I have already forgotten, I wasn't able to buy and taste Funnel Cake Factory.

But some Sunday back, we saw this in Unimart, Greenhills. It's a recent addition to the food stalls right before you enter the strip of stores from Unimart going to the V-Mall. I knew that that was the right time to convinced my parents to buy and taste this at long last.

We got the Caramel Almond and the Nutty Chocolate. Caramel Almond stands out, and is a winner -- though I would love a scoop of my favorite vanilla ice cream melt on top of it. Yumm :)