Red Mango

I was at SM Megamall earlier and after some time of not going there, I found myself discovering several new stores and restaurants there. There were several food stalls and restaurants waiting to be tried and I can't wait! Bread Talk has moved location and beside it is Red Mango. I knew there was a yogurt craze happening and so I didn't hesitate in jumping in to the wagon. I am not exactly a fan of eating yogurt but I am definitely a fan of trying something new.

Red Mango offers yogurt with the smallest size prized at P80. That size can easily fill a person's craving. Green tea yogurt is also being sold at P85 for the smallest size. Adding one topping costs an additional P20; while it costs additional P30 for 2 toppings and P40 for three toppings. Toppings range from nuts, varieties of cereal, cornflakes to various fruits like mango, kiwi, banana etc. I chose the Special K (Kellog's cornflakes) and mangoes.




The yogurt tasted really good. Of course, it was quite sour but the combination of cornflakes and mangoes was perfect. I'm clarifying though that my only experience with yogurt is that with Nestle. I've yet to try the other yogurt craze and by that time, let me be a better judge about this. But so far, I'd be willing to buy this again. Although it was quite pricey for P110. Does yogurt really cost that much?

Anyway, I am glad that I ate something healthy today and something new. Although, I may have to clarify the exact number of calories I had! Oh, and probably next time, I will also try the green tea flavored yogurt.

Red Mango also offers yogurt smoothies.

Throwdown with Bobby Flay

I am not a big fan of Bobby Flay. Well, actually not at all. He is my least favorite Iron Chef. I find him too arrogant. I do not really find his masterpieces that amazing. If you regularly watch Iron Chef America, you might have observed that he is fond of using green and red sauces, both of which were extracted from chili. Somehow that leads me to a very undue conclusion that he is not that creative. Yes, I may be that cruel.

When my Saturday afternoons are free as I go straight home from school, I usually enjoy the time relaxing – just lying in bed and browsing through different channels. Usually I would just be flipping between Lifestyle Network or the Asian Food Channel, with an occasional dose of HBO or Star Movies if there is a good picture showing. Once I came upon Bobby Flay challenging the very nice-looking Michelle Doll in the creation and design of a wedding cake. Doll is well-known for her cake designs and a regular for hip New Yorker brides. As I later realized the format of the show is like this: The crew would search for the best ‘food’ being sold – it may be cake, ice cream, bbq, pizza and many others. The creators of these best foods would then be asked to feature their talent and creation in a food show sponsored by the Lifestyle Network. What they do not know is halfway through the show – Bobby Flay barges in proposing a throw down. In this case, Flay challenges Doll that he can make the better tasting and looking cake. Of course, Flay does not come unprepared in every challenge. After all, he is aiming to win. Backed by a team of culinary experts, he practices and alters recipe good enough to face up to the connoisseur.

I have only seen four episodes – cake, doughnut, pizza and fried chicken – all of which Bobby Flay did not win the challenge (perhaps the reason why I like the show LOL). He came close though to winning the pizza and cake challenges.

I enjoy watching the show because it showcases food experts who sometimes are not at all chefs with formal training. They just happen to love food and had the passion to experiment and come up with the best tasting type of food that one can taste. The best doughnut maker worked in the basement of his home for five years perfecting the recipe of his now best-sellers doughnut. If only I live in the States, I’d want to try the restaurants and stores of these food enthusiasts. It makes me wonder who cooks the best Filipino food. Who bakes the tastiest chocolate cake in the Philippines? Who cooks the best sinigang? Where are the not so well-known restaurants whose food are home-cooked and simply the best? Hmm, sometimes I just have to go blog-hopping and perhaps I’d find the answer already. Perhaps it will be another throwdown, if I’m home this Saturday.

Here is the cake Michelle Doll created for the challenge.

Sweet Night @ Icebergs

(From L - R: French Vanilla milk shake, strawberry milk shake,
super halo-halo, peaches and berries sundae and cappuccino sundae)
Prices start at P100.

My high school friends and I had these last Saturday night at Icebergs branch at Metrowalk.

TCBTL's Chocolate Fudge Cake

It was rich and creamy and the best part of all . . .

It wasn't that sweet, di nakakaumay.
With a mocha ice blended drink, it was the perfect sweet ending to the night.

I had it last night at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf @ Fort Bonifacio.

The Chocolate Kiss Cafe

. . . is a place close to my heart.

The place was a witness to several hours of girl talk, catching up, laughters and celebrations spent with my two closest college friends, Joanne and Zarah. With meager budget, we contented ourselves to sharing servings of taco salad and chicken fingers. We made most of the bottomless iced tea, served with honey and calamansi; refreshing, with the non-commercialized authentic taste of tea. We satisfied our sweet cravings with a slice of cake, shared by three. Those were the days we can't even afford to buy ourselves a slice each. Times have changed; and we have all grown.

Earlier, I attached a new memory to this place. We celebrated E's birthday with a simple dinner here. Again, a slice of random sweetness was shared. There was music playing in the background. The nostalgic feel of college came back.

Amidst the rustic and busy campus lies this quaint store. Do you have any Chocolate Kiss memories?


The Chocolate Kiss Cafe is located at the Ground and Second Floor
of the Bahay ng Alumni at UP Diliman, Quezon City.

Mom and Tina's

It might be quite difficult for E and I to shed off the way extra pounds we so badly to get rid of. Yes, we’ve eliminated (he did) and lessened (I did) our intake of rice. BUT we’ve substituted another carb for it. E is more religious with eating his wheat breads but we both don’t say no to any pasta, potatoes, and noodles served to us. The late lunch we had earlier is a testimony of that. We ate at that dainty bakery café, Mom and Tina’s, located along E. Rodriguez Ave. (C-5) at Pasig. We only ordered two dishes and dessert but they left our stomachs full. So full that until now, that I’m typing this, I can still feel my stomach digesting the food we just ate. Hahaha. Seriously, it was already 8pm and I was still not craving for dinner. All probably because of the starch and sugar overload we had there.




If you live at the east part of the metro or if you’re just heading to QC, you’ll find that Mom and Tina’s is always packed during dinner time. The place is bustling. Seeing that everyday, I know I must try that place too. Probably avoiding lunch and dinner hours would be the best time to visit the resto. Mom and Tina’s occupies a small space so it tends to be filled up immediately by hungry customers during meal times.




What did we have? E went for the roast pork served with steamed veggies and mashed potatoes. We asked the rice to be substituted with bread, so we had garlic cheese rolls instead. The meal costs P175. I had chicken and spinach lasagna, also served with garlic cheese rolls (P110 I think).




Oh, I’ll be raving about the mashed potatoes that came with the roast pork. It felt so smooth and soft in my mouth. It did not have any strong flavors like butter or milk or chives. It tasted simple yet really yummy – like a secret recipe of home-made mashed potatoes! E is crazy about it!




As for the lasagna – it has both of the good and negative sides. Remember when you were a kid and you wanted your pasta to be swimming in the sauce and have tons of cheese? That’s how the lasagna tasted for me. It was served hot and the cheese just melted in my mouth. Kudos for that one! The only down side was I found the pasta soggy at a certain point. The dish tasted good but overall, the pasta was overpowered by the sauce. If they can probably retain the al dente consistency of the pasta – the dish will be perfect.




And then we had dessert. E had chocolate profiteroles (P35 for the cup). Being a fan of strawberries, I had strawberry walnut torte. If you plan to have chilled dessert at Mom and Tina’s, I suggest you have dessert taken from the fridge while you are still enjoying your main dish. That shall provide enough time for the dessert to soften enough in time for the ‘actual’ time of having dessert. Both of what we had were frozen and not chilled. It was so difficult to eat the dessert continuously. What I did with mine is to leave it for a while to allow it to thaw a little. Again, they should have been chilled and not frozen. But still, I have good reviews for the strawberry walnut torte. I loved it! As for the chocolate profiteroles – I didn’t enjoy it that much because it was hard.






They offer a variety of pastries and dessert. After all, it is foremost a bakery. For an extensive explanation on how Mom and Tina’s came to be, you can read on the insightful article written by Lori Baltazar of Dessert Comes First about Mom and Tina’s. They have breads, torte, cupcakes, cakes and cookies. I noticed that they have sugar-free cupcakes.




Mom and Tina’s is a homey place. I particularly enjoy eating at the couches. Prices are reasonably priced. And they have an extensive menu of desserts waiting to be tried. This place is definitely worth a second visit.


Mom and Tina's is located at:
along E. Rodriguez Ave.
Ugong, Pasig City
just right across Tiendesitas