After our dinner at Mona Lisa Restaurant, my little sister persuaded us to try Magnum Manila.  We've enjoyed purchasing Magnum Ice Cream Bars whenever we go grocery shopping.  But, making our own is something new for us to try.
 

They have really cute snow globe decorations

For a pop-up pleasure store, I'm quite surprised at how grant it was.  It had a comfortable seating area.  This is where we ate our Magnum Ice Cream Bars.


It also had a spacious dining area.

I actually didn't know they served cooked dishes too.  Maybe we can try that next time cause tonight we were only interested in their Magnum Ice Cream Bars.


Upon reaching the counter, we were informed that we can avail of the Make My Magnum for the price of 100 php which comes with a choice of three toppings.  

There were 18 toppings to choose from but since the line was long, we tried to decide as fast as we could.  Some of the toppings had "new" status on them so I'm guessing that they change their offerings from time to time.  The toppings that were available were: Spicy Chicharon, Caramel Popcorn, Edamame, Potato Chips, Crushed Oreos, Mini Mallows, Sea Salt Flakes, Freeze Dried Raspberries, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gold Nuggets, Double Speculoos Cookies, Roasted Almonds, Quezo De Bola, Chocolate Crunch Balls, Honey Comb, Dessicated Coconut, Caramel Crunch Balls and Dried Mangoes.

After choosing our three toppings, we had to choose between Vanilla or Milk Chocolate for the Ice Cream Bar.  Then, we had to choose the coating.  I wasn't too please that they only have White Chocolate and Milk Chocolate for coating and drizzles.

I watched as my Magnum ice cream bar is made.

Step 1: Dip

Step 2:Add Toppings

Step 3: Add Drizzle

So here are our creations:

Milk Chocolate Coating with White Chocolate Drizzle Topped with Roasted Almonds, Freeze Dried Raspberry and Chocolate Crunch Balls Magnum Vanilla Ice Cream Bar (100 php)

Milk Chocolate Coating with White Chocolate Drizzle Topped with Edamame, Roasted Almonds and Dried Mangoes Magnum Vanilla Ice Cream Bar (100 php)

Milk Chocolate Coating with White Chocolate Drizzle Topped with Crunched Oreos,  Chocolate Crunch Balls and Caramel Crunch Balls Magnum Vanilla Ice Cream Bar (100 php)

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Glad I got to create my own Magnum Ice Cream Bar.  The price is very reasonable for the unique experience.  I heard Magnum Manila is only open for a year so catch it while you can.

Mad for Pizza opened in at the second floor of Il Terrazzo a few weeks ago.  I've always wanted to check out Il Terrazzo so I gave it a go.


You can actually see from its clear glass the pizza topping option board.

Food
The name "Mad for Pizza" lead me to assume that it was pizzeria offering only pizzas.  When in fact, it has so much more to offer.

Starters

♥ Nachos (178 php)

I'll let the photos do the talking with the Nachos.  As you can see it has everything. =)

Salad

House Salad (158 php)

The House Salad has sliced eggs, peaches, tomatoes and lettuce in garlic mayonnaise dressing.

Pasta

Beef Stew Pasta (188 php)

The Beef Stew Pasta is a manly meaty rigatoni pasta dish with Angus beef belly chunks in a tasty herbed tomato-based sauce.

Main Dish

Classic Fish and Chips (198 php)

The Classic Fish and Chips is breaded dory fish fillet with vanilla essence served with fries.  The sweet lemon dip is a great complement.

♥ Tenesse Pork Spare Ribs (268 php)

The Tenesse Pork Spare Ribs is delicious!  It was mildy spicy, sweet, tangy, herby and savory.  The meat was tender too.  For the price, it's such a bargain.

Amboy (198 php)

The Amboy is Angus Beef Belly in thick sweet, salty and herbed adobo sauce.  It's strong flavors makes a compatible viand with the onion and tomato topped rice.


Create Your Own Pizza
What really drew us in was the Create Your Own Pizza concept.  For only 280 php, you get to create your own 10-inch (yes! that's huge and good for sharing) pizza with lots of quality toppings.
According to this board, Step 1 gives you 4 doughs to choose from: 1. Classic Dough, 2. Herb Dough 3. Garlic Parmesan Dough 4. Spinach Dough.  Step 2 allowed you to choose from 4 sauces: 1. House Pizza Sauce 2. Roasted Garlic Alfredo 3. Fra Diablo 4. Diablo.  Then Step 3: You can choose among the 40 toppings.

The way it works is that you will be given an order form at your table where you can do the Step 1 and Step 2.  Then the server will usher you to the open kitchen to do Step 3.


So you just point whatever topping you want.  Some toppings listed were not available during our visit.  But, they have more than those listed too like how the Italian Sausage are actually five types of sausages.


We were really delighted by with the variety of topping selections.
 

Ready For the Oven!

♥ Create Your Own Pizza (280 php)

I had it made oblong for a thinner and crunchier texture for no additional charge.  I'll honest.  My guy buds said there's some oddness to it.  But, the blending of the quality cheeses was so good that it was swiped clean.

Ready to Order

Justin's Favorite (250 php)

The Justin's Favorite has mozzarella, parmesa, cheddar cheese, pepperoni, bacon, sausage and meatball crumble.  In terms of toppings and flavors, I'd give this a thumbs up.  But, the dough was dry and not chewy enough for me.


Desserts

Panna Cotta (88 php) and Bannoffee Cubbler (88 php)

The Panna Cotta is a refreshing peachy meal ender.  The Bannoffee Cubbler is a more sweeter choice.

Beverages

Salted Caramel Milk Shake (95 php)

I was surprised by the size of the Salted Caramel Milk Shake.  It was very affordable but it was too overwhelmingly sweet that finishing it seemed impossible for me.

Frozen Iced Tea (88 php)

The frothy Frozen Iced Tea is the ideal refreshment for me.  The blend is just right.

Update (June 1, 2015): This branch is now closed.  But, I hear they will be reopening in SM Manila.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Mad For Pizza is a new addition to food places where you can hang out with friends.  The dishes and drinks are affordable and served in portions that are good for sharing.  Other than the cool Create Your Own Experience, you should try their other dishes too.  I've been told they'll have a bar and serve aloholic beverages soon too.

Every time we passed by Project Pie, we can't help but notice the full parking and the long line of people.
I thought the family would never try it because they do not have the patience for that.  But, I guess last night was an exception. 

Since parking was full as always, the guards instructed us to double park.  I think while we were ordering, my brother was attentive enough to notice the our plate number written on the white board being waved by the guard around the place so he was able to park it accordingly. 

I thought the place looks huge from the outside.  But, I then realized that its seating capacity is limited since the line and the counter occupies most of the area.  It had three long table with metal chairs.  And, three individual tables with cozy lofts by the wall filled with random scribbles.

It had a lot of dangling yellow utility lights.  It had a tall bar area and two round tall tables by the line area. 

It also had a non-functional photobooth.

There's a huge menu board indicating the start of the line.  At the back, there's also the paper menu holder. 

I grabbed one of their paper menu and marked the ingredients I wanted to put on my pizza. 

It took about 20 minutes to reach the pizza bar. 

The staff asked me whether I wanted white sauce or red sauce. 

The pizza dough base comes out of a machine so size and thickness is quite accurate. 

Next is the cheese section. 

 You could just say "ALL CHEESE" if you want to try them all.

This section is where it gets a bit confusing to distinguish which is which so better hold on to your menu and mention what you want.  This would be better if they had labels on it.  

This is where the rest is if it isn't on the prior station.  Aside from those listed in the menu, some ingredients used for the salad is here too.  You can request them too like the craisins and walnuts.



So, here are our 7 pizzas!  We ordered one for each.  Most of us "Built our Own" except for my brother and youngest sister who both chose "Order Number 2"

This lady right here writes the main ingredients of the pizza just by looking and places your name on it for ease in identification.

They also sell bottled drinks. We just requested for water.  =D

Around 15 minutes, we heard our name called as our pizzas are ready.  The problem was... we didn't have any seats as some were already seated before ordering when it was supposed to be the other way around.  Luckily, a lady was waiting for her take-out by the counter and told us she and her companions were about to leave and offered their table.  A very nice and appreciated gesture indeed. =)


There's a self-service dispenser for softdrinks and ice tea.  So, its bottomless at the fair price of 65 php.

Opposite the soda machine is the condiments counter.

Food

Our Pizzas!

Order by Number

Order Number 2 (285 php)

Order Number 2 has their signature red sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, Italian sausage, garlic and crumbled meatballs.  It's one wholesome garlicky and meaty pizza.  But, ingredients are not as fulfilling as when you "build your own".  And since their priced the same, I'd really recommend choosing the latter.

Build Your Own (285 php)

My Mom's Pizza

My mom is a great cook so she has an instinctive sense on what to put on her pizza.  Who would have thought Candied Walnuts would go great with Mushrooms. =)

Lil Sister's Pizza

My Build my Own Pizza (sorry for the crappy photo)

My "Build my Own Pizza" had Italian sausage, Jalapeños, Mushrooms, Cilantro, Tomatoes, Feta, Gorgonzola, Ricotta, Mozzarela and Artichokes.  It good but I thought it could have been better with more ingredients.  I also love the crunchiness of their crust and the chewiness of their dough.

This is what's left!  We skipped the dessert since we noticed most tables have those as left overs. 


They adopt a clean as you go policy which we happily complied with.  Just empty your trays and stack them there.  But as I've observed, it's generally not followed.  And, doing the cleaning job adds to the queuing time as well. 

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Project Pie offers a whole new experience by making your own artisan custom designed pizza.  I'd give it a thumbs up for concept, price and quality.

Turnover is really fast and this place is very crowded during peak hours.  It's not the ideal place to seat back and relax because you'd feel guilty as other people are standing and waiting for you to empty your table.  I guess that's what the Starbucks next door if for.

Since the parking space is not enough to cater to its customers, cars were mostly double parked.  We literally spent 35 minutes stuck on the parking area because the white board had incurred a bottleneck as the owner of the previous cars probably did not know that they should be on the look out for it.