One of my little sister's friend from college is a Buddhist Taiwanese and he has long been recommending Caffe Dolce.

So one night, my mom once against drags as all out just to have some dessert and coffee there.  If you've been reading my posts... that is usual for my mom.

We were surprised upon reaching the mezzanine level that there is a cute and coffee cafe hidden therein.  


And despite being late for an ordinary night, there were numerous couples and groups who seem to be enjoying the comforts of the serene place.  Caffe Dolce also has an Al Fresco area.
While waiting for our orders, the family had fun taking photo ops with these teddy bears.

Cafe Selection

Marshmallow Caffe Hot (135 php)

The Marshmallow Caffe was enjoyed by my little sister.  The marshmallow adds a mellow tone of sweetness and a lovable puffy and creamy texutre. 

Rose Caffe Latte Hot (135 php)

My other sister chose the Rose Caffe Latte which she loved till the last sip.  It's fragrant rosy flavor and aroma complements their coffee well.

Caffe Jelly (135 php)

I had the Caffe Jelly which passed my picky standards.  The froth and jelly brings a liveliness to the coffee coffee.

Saint Petersburg Selection

Chamomile with Apple Hot (120 php)

Their pot of Chamomile with Apple is good for sharing.  I loved the combination of the real apple bits and refreshing chamomile tea.

Classic Tea Selection

Iced Pomelo with Peach (109 php)

My youngest sister who isn't much of a coffee and tea fan ordered the Iced Pomelo with Peach.  We were all thrilled when she finished this.  She rarely fully consumed what she orders.


Honey Toast Selection

♥ Chocolate Green Tea Honey Toast (209 php)

A must order for me in every Taiwanese Cafe is their honey toast.  My majority vote, we got the Chocolate Green Tea Honey Toast.  It was good but not the best we've tried.  The toppings were great but I guess it was the honey toast which could be better.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
When you're in the Banawe Area and looking for a place to relax, definitely give Caffe Dolce a try.  Their ambiance and drinks offers a unique cafe experience.  The price is affordable too.

Recently, more and more Third Wave Coffee shops have been opening in the Metro creating a fuzz that has successfully drawn my attention.  So after a family dinner in Century Mall, I invited the family to try Toby's Estate Coffee Roasters.  It's a third wave coffee shop that originated in Woolloomooloo, Sydney last 2001 and has expanded internationally with shops in Brooklyn and Singapore.  



What are Third Wave Coffee Shops?
Although our family are coffee affecionados we really had no idea what this third wave coffee shops are so I had to do my research which I'd share prior to my Toby's Estate review.


Apparently, it is a movement for the culinary appreciation of artisan high-quality coffee.  The improvement is to be implemented in all stages of the production (coffee bean growing, harvesting, and processing, tstronger relationships between coffee growers and coffee traders and roasters, quality and fresh roasting).   Third Wave Coffee include direct trade coffee, high-quality beans, single-origin coffee (rather than blends), lighter roasts of the beans and latte art.

Third wave focuses on appreciation.  It's called third wave coffee because there were supposedly two prior wave.  The first wave is the 19th-century surge that put Nescafe and Folgers on every table.  This focuses plainly on consumption.  The second wave begun in the 1960's from Peet's to Starbucks grande decaf latte, of espresso drinks and regionally labeled coffee.  This focuses on enjoyment based on identification. 

I think that classification is quite broad.  So you're probably wondering if I'm buy into this new American-coined concept?  Yes in a way that I welcome their introduction of added coffee drink variety.  But, I won't in anyway think that they are superior to others such as classic Italian coffee shops.  During my research, I found out that our local Kuppa Roastery & Cafe which is one of my favorite coffee shops is a third wave coffee shop.  But then, my other favorite which is Black Canyon Coffee which is not labelled as such is equally good.

Toby's Estate Coffee Roasters in Century Mall is limited in space.  You'd see the crowd drop in and take off as soon as they have their orders.


 The place is well-utilized as you have a counter for necessaries.


There's also a long bar with charging stations that unfortunately don't work anymore.

Drinks

♥ Cappuccino (130 php), ♥ Macchiato Regular (110 php) and ♥ Chai Latte (140 php)

Our third wave coffees were served in various latte art.  Indeed, all our orders were good and you can tell its quality that you are paying for.  Even the Chai Latte was fulfilling.  I want to try their Mocha next time which was not available during our visit.


Food

Bucky's Not a Brownie (Facebook Fan Page)

♥ Original Buckies (75 php)

Despite just coming from a heavy dinner, mom just couldn't resist being an epicurean and ordered the Original Buckies.

♥ Original Buckies (75 php)

We were told that it's not the usual brownies because it's denser.  We were really surprised that it is indeed unusual.  It is really fudgy and dense.  I'd say it didn't have any air at all.  I was a but hard to slice but chewy to bite.  The Original Buckies is made of rich dark chocolate and salt.  It was really good and a definite must try!

Baked by Anita (Facebook Fan Page)

♥ Truffle Mushroom Bocaditos (65 php) and Spinach Bocaditos (65 php)

Bocaditos means "snack" in Spanish.  These are puff pastries with fillings at the center like a pie of some sort.  The Truffle Mushroom Bocaditos was awesome!  I'd say the Spinach Bocaditos was just okay and not worth the price.  It was pale in comparison to the former.


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Toby's Estate Coffee Roasters offers quality third wave coffee indeed.  I'm not surprised if I see more branches open up soon. 

A little over a month ago, my friend Justin and I discovered Mrs. Graham's Cafe along Scout Rallos in Quezon City. 

The lighted sign is visible from Tomas Morato if you have a good eye-sight like my friend J.

The facade looks like a cute Parisian cafe I've seen on post cards. movies and television shows.  Upon the sight of it, I knew J was so excited to take his fashion shots there.  Yes, in case you don't know yet.  J is a very popular male fashion blogger with lots of followers under his wing.

That's my handsome date J right there!

It occupies two floors but the second floor was closed during our visit.  Everything is just so cute...

even the lighting see... And, I don't usually mention this but their rest room soaps are also shaped like macarons.  We're told that everything was hand-crafted by the owner herself.  She sure has a handful of skills. I'm envious!

I've first encountered Mrs. Graham's at the Electrolux Discover-E Food Festival last year.  Back then, they didn't have a stand alone store.  And, now I'm happy to see that they don't only offer macarons but other pastries too.


The macarons available are displayed on their chiller.  That got me really excited since I'm always in search of interesting macarons to try.

They also sell other gift items.

They also have some games you can play.

Food and Drinks

Jade of Africa (110 php) and ♥ Bibingka Macaron (60 php)

J had the Jade of Africa and he said it was a bit watered down.  We split the Bibingka Macaron and we really liked its tickling salted egg twist .  The texture of the macarons was really good.  In fact, it's one of the best macarons in terms of consistency I've ever encountered.

Cappuccino Milk Shake with Extra Shot of Espresso (120 php + 40 php)

For my drink, I had their new Cappuccino Milk Shake.  Because I really like my coffee strong, I ordered an extra shot of espresso.  As a stand alone coffee drink, it was too light for me.  But, I appreciated its lightness and milkiness as it didn't overpower the unique flavors of the macarons.

♥ S'Mores, Tiramisu and ♥ Bittersweet

The S'Mores was fun to eat.  The Tiramisu was a great macaron rendition of one of my favorite cakes.  But, the winner among all the macarons we tried was the Bittersweet.  It was rich, moist, bittersweet, crunchy and fudgy all at the same time.  It's just amazing!

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Calling all macaron enthuasists like me!  I highly recommend Mrs. Graham's Macaron Cafe for its unique flavors.  The quaint and cute macaron-theme of the cafe also makes it worth suggesting as a chill place. 

Cupcakes by Sonja is one of the pioneers of cupcake shops here in the Metro.  Its success has quickly paved way to many branches sprouting like mushrooms.  They cupcakes has also become one of the popular food items in a party.  

Mini Cupcakes
I recently attended a party with a mini cupcake buffet.  I was told by the host that the mini cupcakes are made to order at a minimum order of a dozen with 4 days advance notice.

I think the mini cupcakes are a good idea because it allows you to try more flavors and makes each cupcake easy to finish.

Dessert Comes First, ♥ Peppermint Patty, Vanilla Sunshine and Bunny Hugger Carrot

The  Peppermint Patty is a Valrhona dark chocolate cupcake topped with peppermint frosting. 

Bunny Hugger Carrot

The Bunny Hugger Carrot is a  moist classic carrot cupcake hinted with cinnamon and topped with cream cheese icing.

♥ Lemon Drop, Mocha Motion and PB & J

The Lemon Drop is a light vanilla chiffon cupcake covered in sour lemon buttercream frosting.  The Mocha Motion is a chocolate cupcake topped with a dollop of frothy mocha buttercream on top.

Chocolate Surprise

♥ Red Velvet Vixen

The Red Velvet Vixen is their best seller!  It is the traditional Southern Red Velvet cupcake made with Belgian cocoa and topped with luscious cream cheese icing.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Cupcakes by Sonja is sure to please guests in any party.  With so many flavors to choose from, I'm sure one will fit your sweetness preference.  They continuously make new flavors too.

          It was one of those days when you’re craving for a perfect breakfast meal to boost your day and yet you’re too lazy to wake up early in the morning to dust off the frying pan and cook up some ham and sunny-side up eggs. And so, there was no other option other than to hit the car and ride down the streets to a place where breakfast is served the way it’s supposed to be – as the most important meal of the day!
 
          Along the streets of the recently trending Maginhawa St. (Thanks to the facebook shares of the possible foodtastic adventures in the area) is a building that houses a small yet home-like restaurant that serves breakfast at its best all day long, The Breakfast Table.

 

         While The Breakfast Table may offer your typical breakfast meals like omelettes, pancakes, and some Filipino favorites, which you can probably cook up in your own home if given the time and inspired with the much needed effort, it tries to give a different experience to its customers by adding a little twist to these traditional breakfasts.

Food

Rice Meals

Sardine Omurice (165 php)

               One of which is the Sardine Omurice (165 php), a Japanese omelette preparation which is normally just rice wrapped in scrambled eggs but in this case, the rice is mixed with bits of spicy Spanish sardines. Unfortunately, while other food items in the menu are even more tempting, being a strict follower of the no-meat Fridays during Lenten season left me with a limited variety to choose from, but after tasting it, I wasn’t disappointed.  The sardines was blended nicely with the omurice, giving just enough spiciness to color up the normally dull Japanese breakfast meal.  And for someone who’s not fond of spicy foods, it was actually pretty good, and definitely filling.

Ala Carte Eggs on Toasts

Eggs TBT (195 php)

         Another no-meat meal that I was able to chance upon is the Eggs TBT (195 php), the restaurant’s version of eggs benedict. For this version, the poached eggs are served with tinapa flakes and a drizzle of the restaurant’s special hollandaise sauce.  The outcome is a delicious egg dish that’s a mixture of sweet and salty.

Stuffed French Toast

Sweet French Toast (150 php)

           And because I believe breakfast is the perfect time to enjoy sweets, I went ahead and tried the ever-tempting Sweet French Toast (150 php).  While the thought of having peanut butter, chocolate, marshmallows and strawberry jam in one dish might normally scare sugar-conscious people away, it’s not as bad as it sounds when you get to taste it.  Although it is sweet (as it claims), it actually serves as a good dessert that goes pretty well with a perfect blend of coffee.

Drinks

Coffee from the Press

Kalinga-brew (60 php)

                Speaking of coffee, one of the reasons why The Breakfast Table is a good breakfast place is because of the variety of coffee that they serve.  Their coffee menu include coffee coming from Kalinga, Sagada and Benguet.  And all of them comes in an individual coffee press, filling up more than one average-sized cup for a reasonable price! And being a coffee-lover, I was greatly pleased with my Kalinga-brew (60 php).

Taho Shake (99 php)

         And then there was the Taho Shake (99 php) that I’ve heard about even before I got to the place.  And true enough, the drink is one of the most refreshing drinks I’ve ever tried, embodying the coolness of an ice-blended drink while having the sweet soya taste of a regular taho.  Though it’s a little price-y compared to my perfect cup of coffee, it’s definitely worth a try.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
        Overall, The Breakfast Table is a great place to crash when you’re up for a good breakfast meal and too lazy to cook one up yourself.  The price and the ambience are reasonable, and there’s a lot of variety to try.