Kubiertos

Happy Valentines Day to all the couples, lovers, singles and not so single people out there. Whether you are celebrating hearts day or like me, just looking for an excuse to celebrate, then go out to Greenbelt 5 and drop by Classic Confections.

The small sweet shop is a perfect addition to the posh Greenbelt 5 mall where shops like Banana Republic will soon at. The store had blue and brown interiors that somehow made me think of the word “yummy”. The place was small and cozy which was great except when there are more several customers inside. If the tables are all occupied and you had several other customers waiting in line at the cashier, it created some sort of cramped chaotic mess.

But you will realize that the wait is worth it once you get a glimpse of the glistening mini cakes encased under the glass counter. I recognized the famous dessert - Nono’s Chocolate Oblivion and the Mocha Sansrival that many have already raved about. Their cheesecake was pure heaven as I have never expected to like cheesecake that was not frozen and made with gelatin. Although the word meant small, the mini in their mini cakes is an far cry from the tons of deliciousness that grab you at every mouthful. I commented to my friend that even if my eyes were seeing small, I never once felt that I was being cheated out of what I paid for because the cheesecake was packed and rich with flavor.

Nono’s chocolate oblivion - P145 - I love the walnut praline bits that surrounded the cake. It is no surprise why it was awarded as one of Manila’s top ten desserts. My husband loves this!

Cheesecake/Cheesecake Obsession - P145/P175 - The difference is that the obsession offers three different flavored cheesecakes - chocolate, mocha and vanilla. But both are equally good.

Banana cream pie - P120 - I loved the banoffee pie but this definitely surpasses that. The mixture of caramelized bananas, creamy custard on a nutty crust was divine.

Chocolate cake - P100 - Simple. Rich. Its not at all chokingly sweet that you will be unable to finish it all. We did. In one sitting.

Would you believe my friends and I were at this store more than five times in the past week? I think the owner already recognized us. But the treats are so good and the place is so near where I work that the walk is really worth it.

Classic Confections
2/F Greenbelt 5 Makati City
4th Level 87 West Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo Pasig City
Tel. No. 746-2773, 0917-5245892

New restaurants tend to enter the dining arena with a big bang. In a country where food and eating is an art, new joiners have to offer something exciting or different or simply great tasting in order to become more than a one-hit wonder.

The novelty of John and Yoko and the persistent invite of a colleague made me try this so called Japanese fusion.

The place was hip and happening even if it was only minutes until the lunch hour. The wait staff was noticeably composed of almost a hundred percent female sporting all black outfits. I am sure that the short skirts and high heels did not escape the attention of the males that passed by the place or of those who dined there.

The menu was a large black hardbound one filled with inviting pictures of the food that the restaurant offers. I loved the menu. It screamed totally chic and current and the surrounding were more of the same.

It took a while for me to choose what I was torn between my desire to try something new and my fear of throwing my money on something I might not even like. It is unfortunate that the prices of some of their dishes were so expensive. Finally, we settled on what my friend has tried and tested. We ordered the Chicken Teriyaki and Mango Pizza. I like Chicken Teriyaki and I like Mango. The combination should be interesting.

The pizza was thin crust and busy. It had bits of chicken, mango, tomatoes, cheese, onions and some more. The first bite was just heavenly. It was as expected and more. It tasted like sushi in a pizza. And I really love sushi. Although I wished it were bigger in size, it was alright for P160 an order. It was affordable compared to the Wagyu rice that cost P300!

The other dish we order was the Pepper crusted chicken with Linguine pasta. I did not post the picture because it turned out to dark to really be worth it. In any case, the dish was as unforgettable as the picture. The linguine pasta with garlic sauce was too bland and unappetizing. The chicken was disappointing. The pepper did not stick to the chicken and the meat did not absorb the spice. What happened was that you tasted the pepper and chicken separately which made the experience unpleasant.

Our lunch was so-so and I was prepared to leave without a rant but as we walked to the door, we found our path blocked by the tables and the diners that filled the place. There was insufficient leg room (and I mean leg) to allow you to walk through without your booty scraping the back of someone’s chair. The walk out was more embarrassing than anything else and there was no other choice but to interrupt the people in between mouthfuls so that my friends and I could all pass through.

All in all, John and Yoko is simply a fad. It has what it takes to catch your attention, but lacks the substance to endure.

John and Yoko, Greenbelt 5
2nd Floor Greenbelt 5, Legaspi St., Legaspi Village
Makati City
Tel No: 729-8698

I know very few people who do not like french fries. Even those I know hate potatoes, say that french fries are the exception for them. French fries is one of those that actually differentiates McDonalds from Jollibee. I love McDonalds fries!

Potato Corner was the first french fry stall that offered flavored french fried potatoes. I am now imagining sour cream and onion flavored fries. Yummy! I never let myself pass by Potato corner without buying large fries.

One time while grocery shopping at SM Hypermart at C5 Pasig City, we decided to buy ourselves a big bucket of fries from Potato corner. I approached the stall and was preparing myself to be hit by intense heat from the very hot oil used in frying the potatoes.

I was surprised to feel no heat. I was surprised that no smoke was coming out of the stall. I initially thought it was because there were no customers yet but it was not that. I did not immediately recognize the contraption that was on the counter but I realized there was no deep fryer. The lady saw me staring and went on to explain that instead of frying they cooked the fries inside the turbo broiler. I was too shocked to retract my payment and leave. I did not want turbo broiler-ed fries. I wanted deep fried, dark brown and steamy hot fries!

True enough, the result from turbo broiling the frozen fries was a pale chunk of potato sticks that was dipped in cheese (which was good to hide the pallid color). There was no crunch, no browning, no hint of the fried taste that I love. It tasted similar to how it looked. Go figure.

Many of us have probably encountered fusion cuisine even if most of the time we are unaware of it. It is especially true these days when there is pressure to come up with something new or reinvent the classics with the hopes of enticing the taste buds of discriminating diners.

Fusion cuisine refers to dishes made with ingredients, tools and techniques that come from different places or countries in the world. An example would be something like BBQ chicken topped pizza or deep fried california maki.

Fuzion Smoothie Cafe aims to bring that concept to its diners. Their specialty, as their name implies, is the fruit smoothie. They offer a variety of flavors and mixes and it really was hard for me not to buy more than one during my visit.

The first thing that attracted me to the place was the colors. The place was so orange! So deliciously orange. It makes you think of “fruit” or “citrus”. I loved it! Another thing that I took notice was the company logo. There was a picture of a Kokopelli in the counter. I lived in Arizona for more than a year so the Kokopelli is a familiar presence. The place also offers the perfect hangout for friends. They have a place filled with **soft couches where you can kick back and relax. (** may or may not be offered in all branches).

Show me the monkey! This smoothie is made with mangoes and bananas. Since they make their smoothies with frozen yogurt, you get a very smooth and rich blend. Other items from the Tropical Selection are: FlaMango, Spontaneous, and SouthPeachTry-It. For the anti-tropical, they offer the Berry selection, Power selection and the Sinful selection (think chocolate and ice cream).

Don’t think that all you get are these yummy desserts. Fuzion also offers fusion cuisine. They have asian rice bowls, salads and sandwiches, pasta, wrapps and crepes. They even serve coffee and tea.

I read through their menu and decided on the Braised beef ribs. The picture on the menu looked so yummy and the description made it even more so - Succulent short beef ribs slow-cooked in Korean sesame stew. Mouthwatering eh?

When my food came, my initial reaction was - I can’t finish this! There was more than a cup of rice on my plate topped with juicy slices of beef. The dish was served with a side of braised beef sauce which is something I really really loved. The beef was so tasty and succulent (as the menu said) and the white rice was a perfect complement. Not long after, I had emptied out the plate clean. My friends were laughing and teasing me for my earlier complaint. But what can I do? It was soo good.

On my next visit, I plan to try their Chicken with Balsamic Strawberry Salad and their Seafood Aligue pasta. Just the thought makes me salivate.

Fuzion Smoothie Cafe
3rd Level, Greenbelt 3,
Ayala Land, Makati City
Telefax: 729-6071

(they also have branches in Greenhills, The Podium, Eastwood, TriNoma and SM City The Block)

Next to Italian food, Japanese cuisine would be the next best thing for me.

Years ago, the only Japanese I let myself get close to were the fastfood-type… deep fried with tons of sticky rice. I stayed away from the cold, raw and slimy fare of sushi and sashimi. Not that I had ever tasted it but back then, I could not imagine myself subjecting my stomach to anything uncooked.

My time in the States changed all that and I was converted to a Japanese food addict. I realized that there was really nothing scary about those pink squares we call tuna and those orange ones that scream salmon sashimi. All you needed was to ensure that what you are eating is fresh and you can sit back and enjoy truly Japanese dishes. One downside to it is that most establishments that serve high quality Japanese dishes also tend to charge you a hefty price for it.

Thanks a lot to the likes of Kitaro and Tokyo Tokyo, anyone who frequents the mall can now enjoy the taste of Tonkatsu, Tempura or Sukiyaki. Although they offer dishes less sophisticated than let’s say Saisaki, they still offer something that I personally feel can satisfy my humungous appetite for it.

It was my first time to eat at a Kitaro restaurant. It was not as if I was looking to eat there. I got a whiff of the aroma of hot japanese rice as I passed it at the Robinson’s Pioneer mall that my stomach suddenly jolted me in that direction.

Kitaro is not fastfood (although I thought it was). There are no lines to the counter and you have to wait to be served at your table. The menu is laminated white paper decorated in red and inked in black, nothing fancy though.

I ordered their 5-piece tempura and one serving of plain japanese rice. The other stuff like katsudon and california maki were similarly inviting but I was lusting after shrimp at that time. The food came hot and steamy and I couldn’t wait to dig in.

I was halfway through the meal before I became conscious enough to taste it (I was THAT hungry). Not surprisingly, the tempura was more flour than shrimp and the oil had not totally dried out when they served it so I swallowed most of it. Also, I was not sure if it was the flour, or the oil or the heaviness of the sticky rice but after wolfing down about three fourths of the meal, my head started to spin. Or maybe I just chewed and swallowed too fast. I really couldn’t say.

Despite that, the one thing I really appreciated is how piping hot and newly cooked the food was when they served it. I have had just about enough of prepared food served as is without consideration of the expectations of the customer. That alone made Kitaro memorable for me. Will I go back? Maybe.

Watch the steam rise.

Kitaro Japanese Restaurant
Robinsons Place Pioneer
Mandaluyong City