BONO Artisanal Gelato now open in The Podium

I was so thrilled when Bono Artisanal Gelato finally opened in The Podium! If someone would let me choose Gelato or Ice cream, I would choose Gelato, because of the texture and many flavors to choose from. Like Bono said on facebook, in eight (8) weeks you can try all of their Gelato, imagine how many variants they have for dessert.

That's Chef Zarah Zaragoza-Manikan ( in White Short Sleeve) assisting the BONO staff

They are different because of the love to experiment with flavors. A new and exciting flavors which would delight customers.

Photo taken at ClickTheCity.com

What I liked about BONO the most is that they have fun, unique flavors which you can't find in other gelato stores! Their best-selling flavors are Speculoos and Taho. You can ask to try out the flavors first before ordering.

Red Velvet Cupcake

Since it was my first encounter with this flavor, I was bracing myself for some of cupcake sweetness, but it turns out, this one is just mildly sweet and ultra creamy. I loved this flavor, and I'm so looking forward to try out their bestselling Taho next.

Pistacchio

Its unique nutty flavour is what defines this ice cream.

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For Cup/Cone

Single (1 Flavor) Php 130 / Double (2 Flavors) Php 200

For Cup only

Single (1 Flavor) Php 85

click to enlarge

If you happen to drop by The Podium, SM Aura and SM Makati, do try BONO Artisanal Gelato! I'm sure you'll find a unique flavor from their amazing lineup that will be a sure hit. For more information, check out their Website and Facebook.

BONO Artisanal Gelato

The Podium

G/F 18 ADB Ave.

Ortigas Center Mandaluyong City

SM Aura Premier

LG/F 26th Street

cor. Carlos P. Garcia Avenue,

Taguig City, Metro Manila

SM Makati

2/F, East Drive corner Hotel Drive,

Ayala Center, Makati, Metro Manila

551-0587

Giveaway! Win a Dakasi Gift Certificate!

Nobody does milk tea like Dakasi. Dakasi, aptly translated to “big cast”, is a popular milk tea brand from Taiwan. Where other milk tea brands only have a few flavors, Dakasi offers a gamut of confections from traditional bubble milk tea, fruit teas, to hot tea and even coffee. There’s definitely something for the drinks lover at Dakasi!

Founded in 1990, Dakasi has over 400 stores in China alone, and is rapidly growing in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Each one of these locations is guaranteed to deliver the same high quality of taste and freshness in every cup. More stores were opened in Metro Manila and other key locations just a few months later. Today, there are already 17 branches all over the Philippines.

Prize: Five (5) Winners Php 140 Gift Certificate each

PLEASE READ!

Guidelines to enter the giveaway raffle:

1. Open to Philippine residents. we will be shipping out the prizes through Xend.
2. Follow the Rafflecopter mechanics below to join.
3. Make sure you do all the first six mandatory steps to be eligible.
   
   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway raffle will run from today until August 18, 2013, 11:59PM. The winners will be drawn the next day and will be contacted within that week. Join now and quench your thirst with richly flavored milk tea and other delicious drinks

Disclaimer: Giveaway was not sponsored by Dakasi Philippines.

Cronuts and Crookies at Wildflour Café + Bakery

A simple Wildflour Cafe + Bakery script on one of the glass walls. Very nice lighting inside. Hardwood tables and chairs. It really gave local corner cafe vibe. As we walked inside we decided to take the low chairs with the full view of outside. The waiter greeted us and hand over the house's menu.

Its only been a couple of months since this humble corner store opened and yet it has already made a huge buzz. With foodies around the metro falling in line to get a seat and have the opportunity to eat at this much talked about restaurants.

My favorite among all the dishes that were served is this one, Croque Madame. It contained a lot of eggs and cheese so it is not really a healthy option.

Baked macaroni topped of with gruyer and cheddar cheese. This is an ultimate comfort food specially with the rich hot cheese having a very consistent sticky texture. Unfortunately, this dish lacked the seasoning. had to add a few dash of salt just to kick start this dish. Great for sharing.

Chocolate Cronuts and Strawberry Cronuts
Other Flavors: Dulce de Leche, Mixed Berry, and Vanilla
Php 120 each

Finally tried their Cronuts and it lived up to the hype! It's yummy and not so sweet, I like the custard creme in the middle. NOTE: You have to line-up (even if you're dine-in) to buy this scrumptious Cronuts and you can only choose two flavors per person. 

Crookie Php 120

It's a Croissant Oreo Cookies, a Wildflour’s Oreo-Stuffed Croissant. Similar to the version of their Cronuts, they have the custard feeling but with Oreos in the middle. I find their crookie too sweet for my taste.

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click to enlarge

Overall, Prices are expensive specially if you consider the quality of food being put out but nonetheless, I loved the place and how the staff were very accomodating and friendly. Freshly baked Cronuts' batch hours: 12nn, 2:30pm and 4pm.

Verdict:

Place - 5

Service - 5

Environment - 5

Taste - 4.5

Price - 4

Wildflour Cafe + Bakery | Facebook | Twitter | Looloo

The Podium

G/F ADB Ave., Wack Wack,

Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila.

8AM - 10PM

Bonifacio Global CIty

4th Ave. Corner 26th St., G/F Netlima Bldg.

Bonifacio Global City

Fort Bonifacio Taguig City

(02) 856 7600

Cafe Shiro

We grab the opportunity and had our breakfast in Cafe Shiro (Formerly Shiro Shiro Japanese Restaurant). The restaurant is looking very inviting cozy and quite enjoyable for me since there are a lot of posters with different phrases translated in Japanese. They have a modern Japanese feel with panels of iconic places in Japan. The cozy lighting and use of dark panels lets customers feel comfortable.

Gyudon Php 300

Gyudon, a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce flavored and is topped with a raw egg. I love the thinned cut beef plus the sauce that make it amazing.

Hot Chocolate

I can say that this is not their specialty because of the lack of sweetness and taste like Milo, plus, it's just warm not hot.

Their staff was not very Japanese-y. Their staff does not pay much attention to the customers. We kept calling for a crew member’s attention and had to wait a little before one came over to our table. We even had to wait long just for water to be served.

Though the food was great, the service was poor.

Verdict:

Place - 5

Environment - 5

Service - 3

Taste - 4

Price - 4

Cafe Shiro

G/F Boulevard Hotel & Residential Suites, 

Roxas Blvd, Ermita, Manila

Monday-Sunday
6:30AM - 10:30PM

Cronutz at Anybody Coffee TriNoma

Here in Manila, the latest craze is for the Cronut™. And there's no doubt, that Chef Dominique Ansel had a great idea of creating a new version of croissant with a twist of making it a doughnut, which is why many have unveiled its version of the hybrid pastry.

One of the new coffee shops is Anybody Coffee who followed the new trend of selling another version which is Cronutz. It comes with five (5) unique flavors which are...

Dark Chocolate; White Chocolate;
Milk Chocolate; Strawberry;
and Pistachio

Image from Anybody Coffee Facebook Page

Verdict

I like the Dark Chocolate Cronutz because of the right sweetness level. On the other hand, the topping of other four (4) Cronutz are a little sweet to my taste. Overall, I like the quality of their Cronuts, so I'll surely come back for more Dark Chocolate Cronutz.

More reviews about Cronut™ in Manila

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Anybody Coffee | Facebook | Twitter

2/F Trinoma, Mindanao Ave., Quezon City

Monday - Thursday - 10am - 9pm
Friday - Sunday - 10 am - 10pm

Starbuck's White Chocolate Pudding coming on July 16, 2013

Starbucks Philippines will officially launches their new line of products on July 16, 2013. They are offering a new line of beverage, the Dark Mocha White chocolate pudding Frappuccino and the Green Tea white chocolate pudding Frappuccino.

The Dark Mocha flavor features rich, dark cocoa, signature Frappuccino Roast coffee, chunky java chocolate chips with silky smooth white chocolate pudding.

The Green tea flavor is an indulgent velvety milk shake with tasty, authentic green tea and silky smooth white chocolate pudding.

Tomorrow, from 2:00PM until 5:00PM, for every purchase of their white chocolate pudding featured beverage, you can get a second white chocolate pudding featured beverage for free (equal or lesser value) . This promotional is limited to two featured beverage per transaction. So, head over to any branch to taste their new featured white chocolate pudding beverage and share it with a friend.

This promotional is a good strategy to attract starbucks patrons and also customers to get to try their new line of featured beverage. Kudos to Starbucks!

Cold Stone Creamery

After having our hearty dishes in Saboten, what come's next is the dessert! :D It was late afternoon and my sweet tooth is on alert mode, wanting to be pacified.

We have our very own choices of ice cream scoops placed in paper cups or waffle cones.

I randomly selected the flavor so I chose Salted Caramel with Roasted Almonds.

And not bad for a first time like me, its definitely the taste what I'm looking for.

Salty yet sweet. I love the buttery feeling that exploring all over my mouth.

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Those people who love ice cream so much would be ecstatic to get their hands on these beauties. I would certainly come back here for another round.

Verdict:

Place - 5

Environment - 5

Service - 5

Taste - 5

Price - 4

Cold Stone Creamery | Website | Facebook

G/F Serendra Piazza, 

Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

0923-8460460

Operating Hours:

11am - 10pm

Mon - Sun

Saboten: Japanese Cutlet Specialist in Serendra, Taguig

First of all, I tried my first Saboten in Hong Kong International Airport last June 7, 2013. I had a great experience with their pork tonkatsu so what more if I tried the branch in Serendra Piazza, Taguig. 

Where does Saboten came from?
Shinjuju, Tokyo first opened its door on 1966. Now it has one of the largest Tonkatsu chains in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and China with over 500 shops. Raintree Restaurants, which operates a collection of innovative and successful diing outlets now partners with Saboten to bring the famedmouthwatering signature Tonkatsu to the Manila for the very first time. - http://www.saboten.ph/

Present Time. Since I was craving for Japanese food last Wednesday, I pushed myself and my friend to eat at Saboten. Usually this place would have long lines And it's rather busy during dinner time so we aimed for lunch time. So lucky for us, there wasn't any. :D

That's Me! w/ the Special Sharing Set

We were surprised by the size of the platter when it was served. It occupied the half table already. I have to say that it was able to surpass my expectations for this dish.

Special Sharing Set

2 Deep-fried Shrimp, 1 Loin Cutlet 65g, 2 Crab Cream Croquettes, and 2 Rolled Cutlets (Cheese and Asparagus)

Miso Katsu Tenderloin

Everything I was looking for in a Katsudon was superbly delivered by Saboten. Crunchy, non fatty, lightly breaded and tasty pork strips, with sweet Katsudon sauce with a heavy serving of rice (that I myself can't finish) made up my meal.Of course it still came with the miso soup and unlimited shredded cabbage.

Get to prepare our own Katsu sauce

We're both first timers here and it was a really fun and satisfying experience the food here were really good and delicious, Saboten is worth every peso that you'll pay.

Verdict:

Place - 5

Environment - 5

Service - 5

Clean - 5

Taste - 5

Price - 4

Saboten | Website | Facebook

G/F Serendra Piazza, 

Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

625-2000

Operating Hours:

11am - 11pm

Mon - Sun