Chachago: New tea place to love on Visayas Ave.

Visayas Ave. in Diliman, Quezon City, is my second home, being my work place. This is a long stretch of road dotted by many foodie places which my co-workers 
and I go to during our lunch or afternoon breaks. 
This year, not only new restaurants have been added to our list of favorite places, but also milk tea shops (There are so many of them nowadays!) . Recently, Chachago, said to be a franchise from Taiwan, opened its doors, and I wasted no time before
trying it. I love that they have snacks too, to munch on while I'm having my tea. 

My instant favorites:

California Mix Fruit Tea (L), P140.

Imagine having pineapple, orange, lemon, apple and calamansi all in one cup of tea! That's a lot of flavors for your drink! 

Needless to say (but I'm saying it anyway. Haha!), this fruit tea is bursting with flavors that you'd surely love. I did..a lot! I'd surely keep coming back 
to Chachago for this delicious and refreshing fruit tea.

Chicken Chops, P130.

This is another thing to love at Chachago. Crunchy, flavorful, bite-sized chicken that will keep you munching down to the last bit. So good!

California Mix and Chicken Chops
A match made in heaven! 

For the life of me, I can't remember what this was but I had this one time and didn't enjoy it much because the tea taste was too strong for me. It's not Chachago's 
fault, though. I asked for a no-sugar drink, 
that's why it was a little too bitter.

Some of their best-selling flavors to choose from 

Inside Chachago

Chachago at #45, Visayas Ave., Diliman, Quezon City.

Aside from their Visayas Ave. store, Chachago can also be found in other areas in Metro Manila. Just yesterday, I saw their kiosk at Fisher Mall, also in Quezon City. 
If you're growing tired of the milk tea you're usually having, 
try this newcomer for a refreshing change. 
Cheers!

Sakura Hanami: Your pretty place for tea

Love milk tea? My officemates and I certainly do and we often order it for delivery via Grab Food. Our favorite is Macao Imperial but we order a different brand every now 
and then to be able to try others, especially the new ones. 
Last week, we discovered Sakura Hanami on Maginhawa St. It's really new, having opened just on the last week of June. Since it's still not on Grab Food, one of my officemates and I went there to buy milk tea for all of us who are members of our office Milk Tea Club (Yup, we do have a group and I'm the vice president! Lol). Never mind that it was a rainy day as Tropical Storm Falcon was dumping water all over Luzon and classes in schools were suspended. Nothing could stop us 
from having our milk tea! Haha!

Anyway, Sakura Hanami is a small but very lovely and homey Japanese garden-themed dessert and milk tea place. Pink flowers, mostly sakura or cherry blossoms and roses, were all around, giving the place very girly feels. But much as we wanted to stay longer and drink our tea there, we still had work to do and must return to the office 
at once so we just ordered for take out.

What we had:

(Left to right) Sakura Signature Bubble Tea, Strawberry Rose Bubble Mousse, 
Cherry Blossom Fizz Tea, Lava Pearl Latte

These were just half of all our orders. And we all loved what we had! The one who ordered the Cherry Blossom Fizz Tea, didn't want to eat the flowers, though (They're edible!) Haha! Notice that the two drinks on the right are in really tall glasses. They're one-liter sized! Surely, that won't leave you wanting but fully satisfied! 

Strawberry Rose Bubble Mousse

I love this dainty, yummy thing! Isn't it cute? We loved the taste too. The mousse was soft, milky and smooth. Those are black pearls on top, which added 
sweetness to this dessert/snack.

Menu

In, around and outside Sakura Hanami

The whole ceiling is covered in flowers, too!

Sakura Hanami at #168 Maginhawa St., Diliman, Quezon City

Visit Sakura Hanami, guys and enjoy having your tea hot or cold, in this charming and very Instagrammable place along Maginhawa St. Their drinks and a handful of desserts are not just equally IG-worthy, they're also yummy. I just wish they'd expand 
their menu to include more snacks, and I'm pretty optimistic that they will. 

Black Scoop Cafe on Manila's UN Avenue

There's this cafe that's been opening up branches here and there lately. One day, I got excited knowing it would have a store in our office neighborhood and I had been waiting. But Black Scoop Cafe surprisingly branched out near our church on Taft Ave. I saw on Facebook that it was jam-packed on opening day, so I let a couple of weeks pass before I set my foot in there -- with two of my kids in tow 
after the Sunday afternoon service. 
Our orders:

Buffalo Wings

I ordered this with a separate cup of rice for my son. There were six pieces which were a lot for him so he shared the wings with his "ate" and mom. I could say these were tender 
and savory but also sweet -- a no-no for me.

Clubhouse Sandwich

I love clubhouse sandwich but Black Scoop's wasn't that good for me. I don't know whether it was the ham or the gooey cheese that I didn't like, or both. But there was a lot in one order so two persons may share this plate of sandwiches. 
There's nacho chips too!

Blueberry Cheesecake

This was a surprisingly bland cheesecake so my kids didn't like it so much.

Mango Frappe
My daughter's drink. She liked it and I did too for the yummy mango flavor. 
Who doesn't like ripe mangoes anyway?

Hershey's Milk Tea
My boy's choice. He always goes for chocolate and he loved this one.

Hokkaido Milk Tea
My order. It was my first time to have this flavor for my milk tea and I loved the rich, creamy taste. But then, I asked for a non-sugar drink but this was 
still saccharine for me. Maybe it's the pearls?



Menu

Assortment of breads and cakes

Interiors

I love that long solid wood table!

Counter

Black Scoop Cafe at the UN Square, UN Ave. corner San Marcelino St., 
Ermita, Manila


I have yet to eat something I would love at Black Scoop Cafe but there's a lot more to try from the menu, which, by the way, is more extensive compared to those of other coffee shops. For now, it's the drinks that I approve of. I hope to be in front of the line when the Visayas Ave. branch opens! 

Always, Mi Amor

As a food blogger constantly looking for new places to eat in and write about, I rarely go back to restaurants that I've already reviewed. However, there's this one place that I keep coming back to even if there's nothing new to write about it. It's Amor Bakery along the busy street of Espana in Manila, near UST.

I first blogged about this place that was really just a "bakery" when it opened in April 2015. Today, I'm happy to report that it has grown really big, with several branches already! Amor also is now already a full service 

restaurant serving hot meals.

The new stores are in SM City Manila, Ongpin St. also in Manila, Tandang Sora in Quezon City, Katipunan also in Quezon City, and SM Center in Sangandaan, Caloocan City. There are also two stores now outside Metro Manila -- at SM Baliwag in Bulacan, and in Cagayan de Oro City. Soon, there will be branches as well 
in Pulilan, Bulacan and in Pampanga.

I visit Amor-Espana every now and then, usually on Sundays after going to church. I love whiling away time there, writing my blog. Sometimes, I tag the kids along; one time, a friend, who came all the way from Mindanao, and knew Amor is my favorite spot that really has a soft spot in my heart. Aww..

What do I love about Amor? The beauty of the place itself. If you haven't been to any of its stores, I strongly urge you to go and see for yourself the lovely interior and experience the relaxing ambiance especially at night when the lovely chandeliers are on, casting faint light as well as shadows. The capiz lamps on tables also 
set a fine, subdued mood that soothes. 

Now on to the food. It's last August that Amor-Espana started to offer hot meals. Before, I would just have bread and coffee or fruit tea as those were all that's available. Nowadays, I could go to have lunch as there's pasta, rice meals, soup and salad. Sliced cake is also available now, in case I'm in need of dessert. Haha!

These are what I've tried out of the new menu so far:

Corn-infused Cream of Cauliflower soup, P139.
This soup is healthy as well as tasty. I thought having cauliflower, it wouldn't taste as good as say, mushroom soup, but I was wrong. For once, I could have something both healthy and delicious. It's flavorful and creamy, only, too thick. I would have liked it more if it were a little more watery. But the piece of garlic toast was love. It was crunchy! 
I wished there were two pieces instead of one.

Kani Spring Roll Salad, P139.
This salad is heavy on the tummy because of the crabmeat and noodle-filled Vietnamese-style spring rolls. The greens are topped with very thin strips of kani or seaweed and everything is drizzled with a sweet peanut sauce. Delicious!

Kung Pao Pasta, P179.
You've gotta give this Asian-style pasta some love because it's really good! It's basically spaghetti noodles with maybe, soy and sesame oil and seeds, with lots of bite-sized chicken, carrots, peanuts and what seemed to me to be either cubed chayote or turnip. Thumbs up to this dish that could give one a filling and satisfying meal.

Braised pork belly with Buttered Vegetable Spears and Mashed Potato, P145.
I loved that there's a lot of veggies here. And the pork is really good! 
The sauce, with it's glorious red color, is sweetish and delightful. 

The only downside to this dish? The pork slices were horribly fatty and there 
was just so little lean meat for me to eat! Oh, Amor, please choose leaner pork 
as this one's gonna give me a heart attack! If you do, this Braised pork belly 
is going to be a perfect dish for lunch or dinner.

Matcha Red Bean cake, P89./slice
This was very new on the menu, offered starting only last Saturday, September 30, 
the server told me after asking if it was good. For me, this was heavenly 
although I'm pretty sure not everyone would agree. This cake's level of 
sweetness is really low, that's why it's the perfect cheat day dessert for
 diabetics like me. Haha! I love matcha and I shun anything too sweet, 
so me and this cake are a match made in heaven, methinks!
Meanwhile, Amor has made available several new bread varieties that 
aren't only visually appealing but yummy too! My top faves are the 
Sausage Danish and Ham BBQ Danish, while the others 
were my kids' orders which they loved.

Sausage Danish, P79. and Ham BBQ Danish, P59. I ordered these 
together with Cappuccino, P145.

Hawaiian Pizza, P79.

                                                Chocolate Bun, P45. 

Pork Floss Bun, 59.; Ham, corn and egg, P49. 

Drink is Chocolate Milk Tea, P95. 

                 As for the drinks, these are what my kids and  I love at Amor:

Caramel Macchiato, 500 ml, P170.

Mocha Frapmor, 500 ml, P160.

Lychee Smorthie, P120.

Lychee Fruit Tea, 500 ml, P85.

In and around Amor in Espana, Manila

Upstairs:

Downstairs:

Counter

Yummy-looking all!

Menu 

                Amor at the corner of Espana Blvd. and Tolentino St., 

Sampaloc, Manila

Amor Bakery won't be "mi amor" for nothing and you can take my word for it -- you're gonna love it there. Enjoy the food, drinks and the place itself 
together with your family and friends. 
Happy eating!