Dessert and coffee at Dolcelatte

Being diabetic, I avoid desserts especially when eating out. But I do give in once in a while, when I have company to share something sweet with. This way, I can have just a small portion and leave the rest to whoever is with me. 
Recently, after my friends and I had a really good lunch at a Korean restaurant and were on our way to the office, we saw Dolcelatte on Quezon Ave. and had a spur of the moment decision to swing by for dessert and coffee. It was my first visit, though I see this nice-looking place daily on my way to work. 
Oh my, it's a diabetic person's nightmare of a place with all those mouthwatering cakes on display! On the other hand, the place is heaven to those who have sweet tooth and don't have to worry about their blood glucose shooting up. I was just glad my good friend was with me, we split a slice of heaven..
in the form of carrot cake :)
Our orders:

Valrhona Crunch, P225.

 Carrot cake, P150.

Blueberry Danish, P68.

Cafe Latte Blended, P150.

Dark Mocha Latte (blended), P175.

Frozen Hot Choco, P195.

Cafe Latte, regular, P125.

Cakes on display

Croughnuts! Dolcelatte was famous for these when they 
were the craze five years ago.

Deli meats for sale.

Inside Dolcelatte

Dolcelatte along Quezon Ave., near EDSA, in Quezon City

We all enjoyed the pastry, cakes and drinks. The carrot cake, which is my favorite, was moist and delicious. I wished I could eat the whole slice! 

But Dolcelatte isn't just about desserts. They have a full menu - from appetizers, soup, salad, to main entrees. They even sell frozen imported deli meats. 
My friends and I had quite a lovely time, though we didn't get to stay long. The place was quiet and cozy, and the crew were friendly and patient with our whims. You know when good friends are together, everyone's "makulit"! We hope to be back soon at Dolcelatte for a full meal and lots of banter and laughter. :)

St. Marc Cafe: My new chill-out place

I'm not sure if there really is a saint named Marc (spelled this way, I mean, because the apostle Mark's name has "k" as the last letter) but I find it a bit odd to name a restaurant after him. Well, you name a school, a funeral parlor or a church after a saint but I think it's not a usual name to call a cafe. But apparently, somebody in Japan thought it was the best name for his (?) business and thus, opened St. Marc Cafe in 1987. It became such a big hit that it now has over 350 branches in Japan alone. In 2014, St. Marc Cafe was brought to the Philippine shore by the Suyen Group and to date, there are already six branches in the country, all in Metro Manila.

I had been passing by St. Marc Cafe at SM North Edsa and Robinsons Place Manila for too long and drooling over the most beautiful display of desserts I've ever seen (I know they're faux food but they look so real and delicious!), before I was finally able to go inside and eat and drink. I'm happy I finally did -- and three times at that in a single week! On Sunday last week, I was with my son and three days later, with my office group of friends so aptly christened "Kain Club". Then that Saturday, 

I went solo after running an errand.

These were my/our orders on those three occasions:

Sepia Nero, P320.
This pasta may look gross for some people, but it tasted really good! Squid gave it it's beautiful black-as-night color but the flavor from the seafood was just an undertone and there was no unpleasant fishy taste. If there was, the zing from chili reduced it to a miniscule. I sprinkled more parmesan cheese into the pasta and mouthed a forkful of it with a piece of the halved baby tomato and my taste buds went partying! I so loved this Sepia Nero because not only was it delicious, it was also a departure from the usual pasta with cream or tomato-based sauce served in many restaurants. And yes, it comes with a piece of a rather rubbery but tasty garlic toast, and is filling enough for lunch or dinner. I've had this pasta dish twice 
and I won't mind having it a third time.

White Fish Katsu Burger, P245.
Want a healthier burger? This one's a perfect choice if you're cutting down on red meat or avoiding it altogether. And there's a lot of shredded cabbage for a bonus of vitamins and fiber. What's more, each bite into this sandwich is a heavenly treat! The fish katsu is perfect - crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, and flavored just right. There's also mayo 
and cheese for added delight.

Carbonara, P300.
Two of my friends ordered this. I asked if it was good and they both nodded in agreement. The dish was topped by a raw egg and one has to break the yolk and mix it into the pasta while it's hot and not yet "cooked". By the looks of it, I know this is one delicious plate of carbonara.  

Bacon Cheese Croissant, P75.
My boy, who loves croissants, ordered this and it's just the way he loves it -- crusty and flaky. 
I loved it too!

Chicken Teriyaki and Vegetables sandwich, P150.
When I was with my friends at St. Marc, I shared this, the Sepia Nero and dessert with my bestie. Not an outstanding sandwich but we were quite happy with it. I never thought chicken teriyaki would make a nice sandwich filling.


Egg and Ham Sandwich, P150.
This was another friend's order together with a plate of Sepia Nero.

Strawberry Heaven, P250.
I planned to skip dessert but my bestie ordered this and insisted that I share it with her. No regrets! This lived up to its name. It was heavenly indeed! First, we loved that it was just a bit sweet and the little sweetness that it had was countered by the sourness of the fresh (frozen?) strawberries. Also, the crunch of the cereals added much delight to eating every spoonful of this dessert that took our taste buds to Cloud 9!

Elvis, P150.
I wanted to say this was like a banana split in a cone but quickly, I realized it couldn't be because there isn't a trio of ice cream flavors. Anyway, my son enjoyed eating this one 
on a hot Sunday afternoon. 

Iced Cafe Mocha, P150. (M) 
A friend paired this one with carbonara and was satisfied with her meal.

Iced Matcha Latte, P130. (S)

I love matcha and this was no exception. It was refreshing and guilt-free for a diabetic like me because there was just a wee bit of sweetness in it.

(L-R) Cappuccino P120 (S); Matcha Latte P120. (S), Cafe Latte, P120. (S)

The cappuccino was my friend's but she wasn't very happy about it. I liked my cafe latte, though, but loved the Matcha Latte which was just a little saccharine and very creamy. I found out from Spot.ph that it landed at #9 in their list of Top 10 Matcha Lattes. 
To me, it's no surprise. This matcha is really good!

Iced Yuzu Tea, P170. (L)

My friend's drink which she loved and described as citrusy and refreshing.

St. Marc Cafe at the ground floor of SM City North Edsa Main Bldg.

Faux food but still drool-worthy!

Thumbs up for St. Marc Cafe! The food and drinks are yummy and out of the ordinary. The servers are friendly and attentive to our needs. The ambiance is very comfy and relaxing and remarkably quiet compared to other coffee shops, allowing good conversations and even reading, working on a laptop or studying. 

To top it all, there's free and fast wi-fi!

Visit the nearest St. Marc Cafe, folks and enjoy a relaxing meal 

whether you're alone or with company. 

Happy eating!

*Note: I learned this October 2018 that the SM North Edsa branch has permanently closed, but the one at Robinsons Place Manila is still operational.

Amor sBread Your Love: Manila's hot, new thing

Last month, my daughter and I saw a new foodie place, still closed, on Espana Blvd. in Manila as we commuted going to church on Taft Ave. Both of us were baffled by its name: "Amor, sBread your Love". I thought something was wrong with it and tried to figure it out. Do they mean 'Breads you Love'? I wondered. Then, one day last week, my daughter came home from work telling me Amor had opened and looked really beautiful outside. I decided that we go there before going to church last Saturday. And I'm glad we did! I was instantly enamored by this lovely place. On the ground floor is where their assortment of breads and the ordering counter are. On the second floor is the dining area. After ordering our food and drinks, we went up and my jaw dropped upon reaching the top of the stairs, amazed by the beauty all around me. The walls are unpainted cement but the lamps and chandeliers all around, the wooden tables and chairs, lamps on every table, dried tree branches from where more lamps are hung, all made the room look both classic and modern. The beautiful lamps hanging from the ceilings, particularly those that seemed antiquated, elicited the most superlatives from me. There was not one bright lighting fixture, giving an ambiance of coziness and relaxation. 

Then, our orders arrived and it was time for a snack:

Strawberry Donut, P45 

Blueberry Cupcake, P59 

Sausage Bun, P49. 

Lychee Fruit Tea, P85.

Wintermelon Milk Tea, P95.

Afternoon tea and munchies 

Chocolate Milk Tea, P95.

Caffè Americano , P135

Interiors

Students hang around here to chat with their friends and study

There's a mural of women working on a farm on this wall.

Gentlemen's restroom on the left, ladies' on the right

Chandelier inside the ladies' room. Beautiful!  

Pick a book here 

Please excuse my bottle of water. Haha! 

Stairway 

Counter
 

Order numbers are printed on the teddy bears' shirts. If you order for take-out, 

they give you a teddy to play with while waiting. Hehe 

Bread display 

Cakes

Amor on Espana Blvd. corner Tolentino St. in Manila

Truth to tell, there was nothing outstanding about the food at Amor. My bread, the so-called sausage bun, has a big room for improvement with regard its quality, particularly its texture. It would have been better if it were softer and fluffier. Also, the filling looked and tasted like hotdog and not sausage. They should have called it a hotdog bun instead. Hehe..My daughter liked her strawberry donut, yes, even though she was not really heaping praises on it. The filling was good, she said, but the donut itself again, should have been softer. The blueberry cupcake, however, gave me a little bit of surprise because it had the consistency of mamon (sponge cake), not a cupcake. Not that it was bad. It was good! I liked, too, that it was just a little bit sweet. As for our drinks, we both loved our own - Lychee Fruit Tea for me, Wintermelon Milk Tea for my daughter. 
Again, I loved that mine was just a little bit sweet. 
Anyway, the following day, I returned to Amor with my youngest child. This time, we didn't order something to eat because we came straight from two parties - our office anniversary and my sister's despedida - and had no more room in our tummies except for drinks. So, it was Chocolate Milk Tea for my son and Americano coffee for me. My son so loved his drink that he had me buy him a second cup. I liked my Americano too, which, by the way, is expensive here at P135 a cup! Latte here costs P155! Pricier than in most coffee shops, right? Also, after paying that much for coffee, I expected it to come on a nice china cup. However, it came to me on a paper cup. How disappointing..Nevertheless,  I now have "amor" for this chic and lovely place aptly called "Amor". Well, they're still on soft opening so there's still plenty of time for improvement with regard their products. 
Surely, I will always be dropping by Amor on church days for my caffeine fix.