Thursday, December 18, 2008

Krispy Kreme Update

Krispy Kreme has a new, seasonal flavor for December. Caramel Apple Pie, a filled doughnut of apple pie filling with a graham cracker crumb topping. Hands down, this is my doughnut of choice at KK. It is the least sweet of KK's cloying treats and goes extremely well with the instore americano.

Unhappily, the flavor may be discontinued after the holidays. I encourage everyone to run to the nearest KK store and order enough of the Apple Pie doughnut in order to ensure counter permanence.

Christmas Dinner at Chelsea

Finally got to try Chelsea. Was a bit apprehensive as I had gotten mixed reviews about the restaurant. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined.

We had the whole roast chicken, the green apple and walnut salad, 5 cheese macaroni, cheese and bacon, and the Sausage and Meatball Rigatoni. The chicken was excellent value for money; at P650ish, it was enough to feed four to six. The chicken, however, I felt lacked flavor.

The salad was another value for money order. The huge portion served six as an appetizer. My only request would be for more apple and walnut and less of the salad. BTW, the salad green was baby arugula, one of my current favorites.

The 5 Cheese Macaroni, Cheese, and Bacon (I'm not making this up; this is what was written on the menu) looked small but again the portion size will serve two as a light lunch and four as a side. The Mac was a brilliant orange but tasted pretty good. But if i had to pick a winner for the meal it would have been the rigatoni. Again the dish would have been enough for two to four (large serving sizes must be a signature of the restaurant). The meatball was flavorful and the pasta was dotted with chunks of tomatoes.

For dessert, we had the restaurant's famous Chocnut Valrhona Cake. The cake was really good; it wouldn't win any awards for good looks (initial impressions were of dryness and crumb). But each bite was full of choco goodness (of the highest quality). I really liked the cake (so much so that I'm including it in my list of favorites, the only chocolate cake so far); but at P310/slice, I'd have to think twice before i re-indulge.

Coffee was a letdown; the restaurant serves the Illy (italian) brand of coffee but something must have gotten lost in the translation.

All in all, a pretty good meal. Good value for a restaurant in Serendra (the land of overpriced, overconceptualized food). P500 to P600 per head.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Lengua de Gato

Am eating one of the best lengua de gato I've ever had. It came in a big, white plastic tub (akin to the old one gallon ice cream containers), no label, no idea who makes it or where one can buy more (must buy more!)

The lengua are paper thin, irregularly shaped and sized, some are a darker hue, others a pale cousin.