Best Desserts in a Filipino Restaurant, Sentro 1771

You would not probably expect to get the best and yummy desserts from a Filipino restaurant. At most you would ask or be offered with their best selection of cakes, sometimes halo-halo, purple yam or more known as ube, or probably leche flan. But you can easily get halo-halo probably from Razons or ube and leche flan from your trusted bakeshop. 

Sentro 1771 invited some bloggers today to sample their food, which for me is my personal favorite, anytime of the day! But what I want to highlight now, is their dessert menu, which is filled with really delicious and noteworthy entrees.

Let's start off with their signature Sentro's Cheesecake, a baked but light, no crust cheesecake served with queso de bola and red egg. "Parang bibingka na hindi!" they say. You can distinctly taste the deep flavored cheese in the cheesecake, just perfect rendition of the popular "leche flan," but made differently.

If you are not into cheese, then probably their Coffee Bean Sans Rival is for you. It is more exciting and upbeat that the regular Sans Rival you see arround. Look at how it was presented! It is like a work of art which you hesitate to destroy, but you have to because it is really yummy.

Their Fried Suman and Magoes is made of rolled out suman fried to a light crisp and topped with ripe mangoes and served with sweet coco jam. Perfect Filipino dessert to end your meal.

Another must try is their Maja Blanca Crepe, a delicate and thin rice crepes filled with melt-in-your-mouth coconut milk custard with corn.

Last but definitely not the least, is their bestseller, which is really heavenly - the Coffee Pie. I love coffee, and infusing it in your pie is just so genius and satisfying. The coffee pie is one of its kind. Chocolate-cashew crust with coffee fillings topped with cream cheese and tofee sauce. Spell dessert porn.

Thanks to Kirk and Vannah for the invitation for lunch. :)

Pinkberry arrives in the Philippines

The first ever Pinkberry store opened in the Philippines last December 07, 2011 at Greenbelt 5, Makati City. Pinkberry introduces to us Filipinos the fresh flavors and sophisticated style for which the brand is known.

Pinkberry is premium frozen yogurt made with real nonfat yogurt and fresh nonfat milk. It is made only of the highest quality ingredients and is the perfect balance of tangy and sweet, resulting in a light, refreshing, and craveable taste.



Ron Graves, Pinkberry CEO, says, "We're excited to introduce Pinkberry's one-of-a-kind experience to the Philippines we are particularly thrilled to be opening our first store in the Philippines and Asia."



And so, Pinkberry is finally here in the Philippines, with six distinct flavors to choose from: the signature original flavor (a sweet and tart yogurt with refreshing finish), pomegranate (a bold and tangy flavor made with 100 percent pure pomegranate juice), green tea (slightly sweet with earthy flavor note), chocolate (rich and indulgent), mango (fruity and light flavor made with mango puree for a soothing finish), and watermelon (crisp and refreshing flavor perfect for summer).

Customers can personalize every Pinkberry yogurt experience with any combination of delicious toppings like the daily fresh cut fruits, premium dry toppings (organic gummy bears, toasted crunchy almonds, etc), luxe toppings (peanut butter crunch, swirly whip, etc), and liquid toppings (pom puree, italian caramel, etc). Each topping is selected with the highest quality standards.



Besides their premium yogurts, Pinkberry carries fresh fruit bowl, fresh fruit parfait, and smoothies (green tea and banana, or you can customize your own smoothie just how you like it to be).



Last night some of us bloggers were invited to try out Pinkberry. One of our activities was "Create Your Own Signature Pinkberry Mix." At first I was really confused to what I will concoct, because honestly, I really wanted to put all the things I want in the cup, but that will surely be messy despite being really yummy.

I opted to do this instead (see photo below). I call it the Pinkberry Fiesta, Pinkberry signature original flavor with strawberries, banana, pineapple, watermelon, mangoes, mixed nuts and coconut. "As we welcome Pinkberry to the Philippines, it is just apt that we create an original Pinoy flavor, rich with the island paradise goodness and freshness the Philippines has to offer to the world - fresh fruits, and a smile," I explained. Guess what, I won, together with Gel's "Angel's Choice." Hehe :) Thank you Pinkberry!


After that we were taught by the staff of Pinkberry how to swirl, or prepare Pinkberry yogurt in a cone. It seems easy, but trust me it's quite hard for first-timers. It was hard to perfect the "pouty peak" or alfalfa, as I would call it. Look at my creation. I was not able to make the yogurt stand. I tried... I pouted. ;)

Starbucks Philippines introduces new food items for summer

Along with the launch of the new Starbucks Personalized Frappuccino, comes the newest, limited-time offer, food selection at all Starbucks Philippines' stores nationwide. We sampled all these earlier at the launch, and personally, I would vouch for the Coffee Brownie for dessert, and the Five Cheese Turnover and the Chicken Buffalo Bleu for the pastries. You should try them, and tell me how it is for you. ;)



TIRAMISU CHEESECAKE
(made with Starbucks VIA™)

A marriage of two classic favorite desserts. A tango of tantalizing flavors: wonderful New York Cheesecake and heavenly tiramisu combined in one amazing dessert. You’ll fall in love with this creamy, smooth, rich and dense cheesecake infused with our very own Colombia Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew, enhancing the intense flavor of dark chocolate folded in the cheesecake base, and soft and light lady fingers enrobed in dark chocolate on a butter cookie crust. Dedicated to all cheesecake lovers!



MANGO PEACH CREAM PIE

Summer heat cannot diminish anyone’s sweet tooth. One of our all time favorites, fresh mangoes, thick chunks of peaches, rich vanilla pastry cream, topped with fresh whipped cream and drizzled with buttery caramel on a baked sweet graham crust. A delectable pie to cool you down this summer. Simply ecstatic!



COFFEE BROWNIE
(made with Starbucks VIA™)

It’s back and it tastes better! Wake up your taste buds with this delicious, moist, fudgy and rich brownie spiked with a generous amount of Colombia Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew It makes a wonderful afternoon treat.



FIVE CHEESE TURNOVER

A delicious mélange of warm gooey cheddar, cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan and Emmental cheese with hints of Italian basil in a golden brown, flaky, buttery puff pastry. Extremely delicious! Perfecto! Mama Mia! A true comfort food. Best served warm!



CHICKEN BUFFALO BLEU

This tasty wrap is a perfect summer treat. A mix of chicken coated with fiery buffalo sauce, crunchy celery, juicy sliced tomatoes, fresh greens and piquant blue cheese dressing all wrapped in soft tortilla.



CHICKEN GALANTINA AND FONTINA CHEESE ON PANDESAL

Chicken galantina is a mainstay during holidays and other family get-togethers as an appetizer or a main dish or as a sandwich. This sandwich is filled with moist and tender slices of chicken galantine, savory mushroom sauce and aged melted creamy Fontina cheese on a warm grilled whole wheat pandesal. Best served warm.

O'sonho Portuguese Restaurant

I knew of O'sonho, a Portuguese restaurant along Jupiter Avenue, Makati, from its opening a few years back when I was still an intern at the Board of Investments for my requirement for Public Administration. O'sonho stands for "Dreams" in Portuguese. With the owners love for food and their dream to have a restaurant, O'sonho was born. Last month, I met the brains behind the restaurant, its owner, 1/2 at least, the wife, Cris Barancik, who treated us to a sumptuous meal, O'sonho's bestsellers.


Calda Verde. A Portuguese national dish made with finely sliced kale leaves, potatoes, and sometimes with sausage.


Chorizo Sisig. O'sonho's take on the Filipino classic. I never imagined their homemade chorizo can go well and pass as a sisig dish. In fact, it tastes really good, a great alternative for those who want a new taste but equally yummy or even better.


Portuguese Chorizo. O'sonho's homemade chorizo, which was definitely the star of the night. It was really irresistible. This dish definitely can stand alone, with some drinks, or with hot steamed rice. Yummy!


Peri-Peri Chicken Pasta. Tender juicy boneless chicken, marinated with their spicy peri-peri sauce, on top of a pesto sun-dried tomatoes pasta.


Peri-Peri sauce. This sauce is a a perfect spicy sauce that goes well with practically anything, if you're a chili lover, or if you love your food hot and spicy. Definitely my favorite!


O'sonho's Salmon. Two large strips of salmon, with savory sauce of soybean paste, served with herb rice.


Fish Fillet in Saffron Broth. Another great dish which balances the tastes, with the melt in your mouth fish fillet.


Tarragon Tea. Made with real Tarragon leaves and hot water combined.


Tres Leches. 3 kinds of milk in one awesome chilled dessert.


Java Toblerone Mousse. Chocolate heaven, made with layers of chocolate.


Sorvete Frito. As the name means, it's fried ice cream. It's ice cream inside a bread-like covering topped with mango syrup.