If you've been to Hongkong, I'm certain you've encountered Hui Lau Shan 许留山!  It's so famous that you'll find in almost everywhere especially the busy districts. 


I was lucky to be invited for a sneak peek prior to its opening.  I'm sharing here what I had then.  I'm aiming to go back soon to try more!!!

Food

Handmade Mango Desserts

Mango Romance (170 php)

The Mango Romance is Hui Lau Shan's world-famous set because as you can see, it seems like an ideal sampler to order.   You get three desserts in one plate: (1) Mango Chewy Ball (2) Mango Crystal Jelly (3) Mango Mochi.  All of them are equally good!  I noticed the pricing here is cheaper than in Hongkong perhaps because their mangoes are sourced here in the Philippines.  Lucky us!!!

Handmade Snacks

Mango Mochi (90 php/3 pcs)

Mango Pancake (140 php)

The first time I've tried a Mango Pancake was in HK 88 Dessert in 999 Shopping Mall Food Court back in 2012.  Unfortunately, it closed down and I haven't had one since.  While I loved the Mango Pancake upon first try, I never thought that it could be as good as how Hui Lau Shan made it out to be.   The pancake had such a light and velvety texture that was well-complimented by the light and fluffy cream-filling and refreshingly sweet and tangy mango.

Drinks

Mango & Coconut 

Mango & Coconut Juice with Red Bean (110 php/18 oz)

When it comes to coconut juice desserts, I can only think of Buko Bar and Haokang Hongkong Desserts who offer the same.  While I am also still a fan of Hao Kang, I would say that this Mango & Coconut Juice with Red Bean is just as good.  Both of them offer them at subtle sweetness.  I think some would prefer this to be sweeter though.


My companions had these... I will try these out soon!


Hui Lau Shan 许留山 also offers desserts as take away!  I will buy some of these on my next visit for the family!

Welcome to the Philippines Hui Lau Shan 许留山!  I hope you can be consistent with the sweetness and pricing cause I will surely keep coming back for more!

On summer days, I just can't keep myself away from cold treats.  While we Tsinoy Foodies were roaming around SM Megamall, I spotted Mochi Creme which was a really cute cart in pink and green.

On some days, I'd inhibit myself a bit knowing my companion is not fond of frozen sweet treats.  But, there are also times when my curiosity got the best of me.  I did offer to treat him but he refused so I went on to order trying to hide my enthusiasm and excitement of course since I feel guilty that he's missing out on something awesome.

Black Sesame, Purple Yam, Green Tea, Azuki Red Bean and Mango

I'm so lucky that a lot of flavors were available.  I noticed that the Azuki Red Bean has the least stocks so it must be the best-seller.  On the other hand, the Black Sesame is almost untouched.

Black Sesame (65 php)

I couldn't help but smile with glee at the sight of its cute wrapper!  I tried the Black Sesame because I've tried other versions of it and has always enjoyed it.  Since its frozen, you have to allow a few minutes for the coating to soften and become chewy.  I'd say the coating was pretty good in terms of consistency. 

Black Sesame (65 php)

The mochi ice cream is bite-size so I decided to take small bites to make it last longer.  It was delicious!  The Black Sesame is filled with vanilla ice cream with black sesame bits.  The sweetness is just right which is expected from Japanese ice cream.  It kind of looked like cookies and cream but definitely tasted of roasted black sesame with some crunch too.  My only concern is that it could have been more creamy. 

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Mochi Creme is a great treat for the summer.  It has ample amount of variety to choose from.  I'm looking forward to try the Azuki Red Bean next.  For the size and availability, the price is reasonable.

For decades, my family has been a huge fan of Mochi, a Japanese rice cake made from glutinous rice with fillings at the center.   Whenever our relatives and friends would go abroad, they would often bring home Mochi for us as "pasalubong".  We've bought some of the Mochi brands here as well from Chinese, Korean and Japanese grocery stores but the brands vary as well as their availability.  

So, we were so glad when we saw Mochi Sweets at SM Mall of Asia.  I've encounter them before at the The 2nd Rockwell Ultimate Taste Test but I was too full and lacking in time to appreciate its taste. 


Mochi Sweets opened its first store in Shanghai and has now expanded to over 250 stores in the Philippines, China, Malayasia, Singapore and Vietnam.   According to their staff, Mochi Sweets sold ere are imported from Hongkong. Thus, they offer it in its frozen state and must be thawed from 15 to 20 minutes before eating.

 They currently have 17 varieties available.




The Mochi Sweets are well protected and in their freshest quality because of their decent packaging.

♥Green Tea, ♥Red Bean, Blueberry Cream, ♥Sakura, ♥Black Sesame, Purple Potato              (420 php/box)

The mochi coating is pillow soft, mildly chewy and slightly moist in every bite. It's perfect in form and thickness too.  Each variant is delicious in its own way.  It just depends on your preference.  The mochi contains paste, cream or mousse.  You can call me traditional but I like the paste form the most.  What I like most about the Mochi Sweets brand is that they are very consistent in offering their mochi with superb blend of flavors especially the right amount of sweetness.

♥Sakura

 My favorite is the Sakura or cherry.  I love the contrast of the sweet and tanginess in it. 

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Mochi Sweets will surely win the hearts of many with their consistent and superb quality and yet, being marketed at the same price range as those locally produced.  We just couldn't stop ourselves from buying them as often as we could.  

How about you?  What's you favorite flavor? 

Unlike other gelato stores, Mio Gelati only has one main store.  According to their staff, they've been around since last year.  Although their place is limited in space, their lighting and glass windows are successful in enticing passers-by.



Food
Upon seeing the selections, we instantly laid our eyes on their Mochilato.  I've tried Mochi Ice Cream (see previous entry) and Mochi Yogurt Ice Cream (see previous entry) before, so I wanted to try Mochi gelato this time.
There were six Mochilato flavors available: Salted Caramel, Matcha Green Tea, Vanilla Nutella, Mango and Cream, Strawberry and Chocolate.

Our Mochilato: ♥ Matcha Green Tea (75 php) and Salted Caramel  (75 php).

I had the Matcha Green Tea and I loved it!  Although the Mochi coating was a bit too powdery on some parts, the thickness of its sticky rice is consistently thin and chewy.  What impressed me more is the Matcha Green Tea gelato inside.  The serving size is generous and it was delicious!  The flavor is almost at par with the Matcha Green Tea Ice Creams served in authentic Japanese restaurants at hotels.  The taste of  Matcha Green Tea is rich and clean.   Compared to other gelato, I enjoyed their version which had a light consistency and a right blend of sweetness.  

My friend was also impressed with their Salted Caramel.






Update (January 2015): This branch is closed but you can find them in Bellysima and other Mercato Centrale markets.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Mio Gelati offers quality gelatos in terms of texture and taste.  I would definitely come back to try more of their interesting gelato flavors.  I was tempted to buy a buy of Mochilato for my family.  However, we've been told that they don't provide dry ice so the box of Mochilato could only last for an hour within an air-conditioned vehicle without melting. 

All flavors are available at 25 php.  To order they had three steps:

1. Choose your Mochi
2. Choose your Sauce
3. Choose your Flavor

We've tried many types of mochi before.  But, we've never encountered a deep-fried mochi this big so we were really intrigued.


Food

Beef and Mushroom Mochi (25 php)

I ordered the Beef and Mushroom Mochi and had it in cheese flavor.  The lady placed it in the deep fryer and sprinkled cheese powder on it.  It was handed over to me still warm.  As I bit into its crunchy breaded coating, I was surprised to see plain rice with beef and mushroom in the middle.  The flavor reminded me of the ones sold by Rice in a Box.   You can have as much sauce as you want.  I tried all three: Hot Chili, Lemon Sauce and Teriyaki Sauce.  I liked the Lemon Sauce the most.


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
The First & Original Mochi sells rice meals in a neat presentation.  It was fun to eat but the taste needs improvement.  The price is pretty affordable as one order almost equates to a cup of rice and viand. 

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Mochiko offers unique mochi ice cream flavors that's great to try out and explore.  With their wide flavor selections, I'm sure you'll find one that will captivate your taste buds.  It's one of the pioneer local mochi ice creams in the Metro that has successfully gained popularity among many.  Its price is a bit on the high side but its certainly worth the try.  

Frozen Yoh-Gurt Bar Plain Froz (70 php)

The  Frozen Yoh-Gurt Bar Plain Froz is a plain froz bar coated in chocolate with pinipig.  It was crunchy in every bite.

♥ Frozen Yoh-Gurt Mochi Green Tea (70 php)

The  Frozen Yoh-Gurt Mochi Green Tea is really good!  The texture of the mochi is light, smooth and chewy.  It is almost similar to that of Haagen Daz.  The Green Tea is the best flavor for it.

Frozen Yoh-Gurt Mochi Taro (70 php)