Food

Soup
Since we love classics, we'll start of with items in the regular menu. 

Mushroom (160 php)

Salads

Classic Caesar (250 php)

Pasta

Agli e Olio (200 php)

The serving size is also quite generous. 

Carbonara (250 php)

Both pasta dishes we've tried:Agli e Olio and Carbonara had a comforting blend.

Holiday Set Meals
For this Christmas, Press by Fully Booked has prepared a Holiday Group Meal Set inspired by our Filipino Nocha Buena tradition.

Arroz Valenciana

Set A (999 php) is the budget meal choice with Arroz Valenciana, Homestyle Fried Chicken and Press Iced Tea.  Because the  Arroz Valenciana had bountiful toppings (which you can see!) and the rice was so sticky and heavy, we found Set A to be an already fulfilling choice.

Homestyle Fried Chicken

The Homestyle Fried Chicken is not breaded like the fast-food ones.  Instead, it was adequately spiced and goes well with the gravy.

Lechon Belly

The perks with Set B (Php1,499) is the addition of the Lechon Belly.  For many, a Filipino celebration is not complete without this. 

Cakes & Pastries

Chocolate Cake (1250 php/whole)

Chocolate cakes are one of the most popular cake variant available in the Metro.  Till the time we've encountered Press' Chocolate Cake, we thought we've tasted all the best ones.  We've read all sorts of top lists or best chocolate cake in Manila list and none of them has mentioned Press by Fully Booked.  What a wild card!  What a hidden gem!  This Chocolate Cake is rich, bitter sweet and oh so soft and moist.  Although huge and thick, you won't hesitate to take each and every bite. 


Holiday Pastries
Like the meals, Press also has holiday pastries.

Ube Custard (650 php)

Raise your hand if you're a ube and leche flan lover!  This Ube Custard is for us!  Compared to the Chocolate Cake, the Ube cake layer is a bit dry.  Hence, the smooth and creamy leche flan give it the nice fine finish in every forkful. 

Four Seasons Cheesecake (Php1,350)

Cookie Sampler (Php440)

Bar Sampler (550 php)

and the Bar Sampler with Food for the Gods and Butterscotch.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict

I've long been a fan of Chef Miko Aspiras.   I just couldn't believe it when he messaged me on instagram inviting me to launch of his new cakes with Yardstick's coffee at The Workshop Bespoke Bakery located inside Le Petite Souffle in SM Mega Fashion Hall.


This is my first time to visit both Le Petite Souffle and The Workshop so I was amazed by the interiors.

The display was awesome.
Who wouldn't be enticed to buy upon seeing these right?

Everyone was gathered for the highlight of the event...

When a young genius like Chef Miko Aspiras demonstrates about his pastry, he doesn't need a spotlight to draw the crowds attention.

Everyone was eager to see his creation.  Isn't his 17 Layer Chocolate Cake drool worthy?  The perfect match for this is Yardstick's Non-Dairy Mocha.  Believe me, the mocha is so smooth that you can't tell that it doesn't have dairy on it.

I really loved the light and subtle flavors of pistachio of the Pistachio Creme Roulade.  I knew the family would appreciate it so I  brought them home some one time.  Indeed, they had so much praise for it.  Chef Miko suggests this cake to be paired with Yardstick's Madagascar Vanilla Iced Latte.

The crowd favorite is the Basque Burnt Cheesecake.  This is indeed so good.  This is best when freshly baked or shall I say burnt?  It doesn't taste bitter and burnt at all.  The caramel isn't too sweet either.  The best coffee drink for this is Yardstick's Burnt Butterscotch Iced Latte with Salted Cream. It sounds intriguing right?  I want to try that on my next visit too.

So here they are: 17 Layer Chocolate Cake, Pistachio Creme Roulade and
Basque Burnt Cheesecake.  Try them all out.  I bet you'll find one (if not all) to be a total indulgence.

Thank you so much Chef Miko for inviting me to try this amazing desserts!
  
The Workshop SM Mega Fashion Hall Map  Like This Post? Subscribe here Follow @tsinoyfoodies    

I first spotted Macao Imperial Tea being constructed when we dined at Shabu Shabu Ichiban in Circuit Makati.  To my surprise, they have another one in Banawe (right in front of Eng Ho) and I was so fortunate to be invited to its grand opening!


Yey! Finally, Macao Imperial Tea with over 200 branches in Macau, Vietnam, China (Shandong, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hainan, Guangdong, Fujian, Juangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Anhui and Guizhou) United States and Canada is finally here in the Philippines.

 The store in Banawe is so spacious with an al fresco and cozy indoor area.

I just love its interiors.


I highly recommend this as a student study area and work area.  It is so comfortable, private and more importantly, there are power outlets for each table.

Food
I initially thought that they were all about drinks.  But, turns out that they have food too.

I heard the Apple Pie and Chocolate Lava Cake is good.  But, I didn't get to try those.

Chocolate Dome Cake (120 php), Marshmallow Chocolate Cake (120 php), Kitten Milk Tea (130 php) and Walnut Black Sesame Fresh Milk (160 php)

Instead, this is what I had.

Chocolate Dome Cake (120 php)

The Chocolate Dome Cake is really good!  It was rich and bitter sweet.

Marshmallow Chocolate Cake (120 php)

I really had no idea what I was thinking by ordering two kinds of chocolate cakes.  But, it made me realize that I liked the Chocolate Dome Cake better because it was richer.  But, the Marshmallow Chocolate Cake offered smooth mallow icing and some chocolate chunks which made it a bit interesting and worth a try.

Drinks

Special Drinks (served hot)

Kitten Milk Tea (130 php)

The special feature of the Kitten Milk Tea is that it comes with a cute kitten paw marshmallow that melts and expands and then vanishes.  I didn't get to take a photo of the expanded version because by some unfortunate circumstance, it got knocked off...  But, I'll probably get another one of this on my next visit just to show you so watch out for it on Instagram. ;)

I also loved the Walnut Black Sesame Fresh Milk.  It comes with red beans as toppings.  I will probably order that again when I'm not craving for caffeine.  

Tip: One of the perks in ordering their hot drinks is that its served in a cute royal kitten cup. ;)

Special Drinks (served cold)

For You (195 php) and For Me (195 php)

A must buy on your first visit to Macao Imperial Tea is the For You - Caramel Macchiato and For Me - strawberry milkshake (reminds you of a song right?).  These are so cute!  I was surprised that it is actually made of glass.  For the price, its quite a steal.  This is a perfect little surprise for your loved one/s.

Midsummer Soda (145 php), Over the Raibow Soda (160 php), Blue Curacao Soda (145 php), Cherry Blossom Soda (145 php), Green Apple Soda (145 php)

Overheard from the When In Manila team from the next table, "you guys must order and take a photo of their sodas!  That's the highlight".   So I was intrigued and ordered the Over the Rainbow Soda.  It is served in a plastic tumbler.  It's not as cool as the bear-shaped glass tumbler of For You and For Me but the rainbow color makes you want to try it right?  According to owner Fredley, this is best consumed within 2 hours from purchase.  I tried shaking my technicolor-ed Over the Rainbow Soda and it turned light pink.   I was a pretty good sweet drink.  But, I think I prefer the special drinks I've tried. 

I feel that I barely scratched the surface in trying out Macao Imperial Tea's drinks because they have so many options.  I have to come back and try their Chestnut Cream, Cream Cheese, Tea, Milk Tea, Red Bean, Yakult, Coffee and Mpresso series next.

Every year we try to cook up a surprise birthday dinner for the greatest foodie in the family: our mom.  Choosing some place undiscovered used to be easy.  Now with my advent of Instagram and Facebook, it is usually our mom being the first to know every new restaurant joint that pops up.  So, we decided to go with the classic at Impressions.

Located at the 3rd floor of Maxims Hotel, Impressions is a fine dining French restaurant spear-headed by celebrity chef Cyrille Soenen.

The family has already tried celebrity chef Cyrille Soenen at Brasserie Cicou before.  But, we're more epicurious to try this one after seeing its collection of awards.


We made reservations only to find out the the place is barely empty.  The function room is occupied by Senator Enrile so the staffs were very preoccupied there when we came in.

After a few minutes of waiting, we were ushered to our seats passing by a bar...

and an open kitchen.

Although empty, each table already has a table set up. 

There was a cheery long table near us.  We recognized celebrity Gretchen Barreto as one of the guests.  And since they might think that we're a paparazzi, I just took a photo of the empty side of the place. =))

Food

Soups

French Onion Soup (350 php)

The French Onion Soup has a fragrant and sweet flavors of caramelized onions topped with huge pieces of crouton and a generous amount of gruyere.

♥ Philippine Prawn Bisque (390 php)

The Philippine Prawn Bisque is beautifully presented with tiny sea urchin flan and caviar.  Aside from visual appeal, it is so delicious!  This is one of the best prawn bisque version we've tried!

Create Your Own Set Menu

• 1 Appetizer or 1 Main Course + 1 Dessert (950 php)
• 1 Appetizer + 1 Main Course + 1 Dessert (1,500 php)

We opted to order the Soups separately because it is actually more affordable than being included in the Create Your Own Set Menu.  And, then we chose the 2 course of the  Create Your Own Set Menu.  Although the Main Course is limited with this option, they actually offer it in the ordinary serving size which is huge. 

Mains

♥ Impressions Bulalo (650 php)

Hearing bulalo sounds native right?   But, the Impressions Bulalo is nothing familiar to us.  It is a completely different French interpretation.  The Impressions Bulalo is a US beef short rib in creamy truffle beef broth with vegetables.  I liked it.  The truffle is not too strong bringing a wonderful balance with the beefy taste.

♥ Bavette U.S. Hanging Tender with Shallot Sauce (788 php)

The Bavette U.S. Hanging Tender with Shallot Sauce is superb!  The meat was cooked consistently and I couldn't pick a better complimentary than the shallot sauce.

♥ 12 Hour Cooked Lamb Shoulder Tajine-Style (820 php)

Among our orders, I loved the 12 Hour Cooked Lamb Shoulder Tajine-Style the most.  This is a must try!


Cheese and Desserts

♥ Minestrone of Compressed Fruits (360 php)

My mom got the Minestrone of Compressed Fruits.  She absolutely adored very bit of this beautiful masterpiece.

Flourless Chocolate Cake (350 php)

Framboise (350 php)

The Framboise is probably the worst option.  We failed to appreciate this.

Mom's Complimentary Surprise Birthday Cake

They prepared a little surprise treat for my mom which was cool.  We got to take home this flourless chocolate cake.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
We were very satisfied with the serving size and quality at Impressions.  For us, it the price we paid was a worth every peso.  If  you're looking for a fulfilling French dining experience, then this is a great choice.