MAITRE CHOCOLATIER Boutique Cafe the answer to all choco-holic lovers!

  

Today ... I am celebrating the 7th month birthday of UNA... my grand daughter... Cris  ( her mom )  suggested that we should try a new eating place called MAITRE CHOCOLATIER in Makati.. ( just outside Bel Air Village, Makati ). The first thing that entered my mind was... " will it be BETTER than MAX BRENNER ??"... I am a chocolate lover ( or should i rather re-phrase it .. to  "WHITE CHOCOLATE lover " is more like it..). I LOVE chocolate especially when they are colored WHITE.. ( my kids know me -- no dark chocolates.. just WHITE will do! ). so I asked .. " will there be any WHITE CHOCOLATE on the menu??

MAITRE CHOCOLATIER opened last year with a promise to bring ONLY THE BEST to the Metro Manila's choco-holics. The store is located along Jupiter Street on the corner of Astra Street, Bel- Air Village, Makati City. My best landmark in finding this place is to look for the STARBUCKS  and RJ Bar. Unlike other chocolate shops, Maitre Chocolatier is far from the crowded malls thus it can be the secret place you can share with your family and friends. It is owned by Eva Wong. Maitre Chocolatier is her first retail business.  I found out that her family has been in the chocolate business for almost 25 years already. They are the exclusive distributor of Ferrero Rocher ( my favorite chocolate ), Toblerone, Lindt and Rittersport to name a few. As you can see all these chocolates I have mentioned come from Switzerland, Germany and Italy. I concluded that this Wong family knows their chocolates. It is in their blood!

    

Maitre Chocolatier offer an extensive selection of chocolate cakes and desserts. They also have a tempting gelato bar to make you stop dieting forever. I would suggest that you should come here in groups of 4 or 5 people so you can be able to sample more desserts.

We started off with a couple of chocolate tartlets and some milk chocolate squares in a miniature fish bowl.

Then our orders came....

Iggy and Cris had the FERRERO ROCHER HAZELNUT CRUNCH..... it is the most popular dessert in MAITRE CHOCOLATIER.

Since I love white chocolate... I ordered the VIRTUOUS TEMPTATION ( 237 PHP ) - it is while chocolate mousse cake topped with slices of fresh strawberries and Lindt's classic white chocolate... This was just very good!!

Both cakes were sinfully delicious!!!

Maitre is open everyday except Sundays from 10 am to 11 pm on weekdays, and on Fridays and Saturdays they are opened at 10 am to 2 am... They accept walk - in customers but since they are always full any time of the day... I suggest you have to make a reservation.


and when they say " ONLY THE BEST CHOCOLATE HAVEN for chocolate lovers " they really meant it!

I would give Maitre Chocolatier a 5 star rating for their sinful desserts... Hmmmm... I think I found the answer to my chocolate craving~~~... it's MAITRE CHOCOLATIER ! It is the best chocolate shop in Makati.

FIGHT STRESS !!! EAT CHOCOLATES !!


MAITRE CHOCOLATIER Boutique Cafe

28 Jupiter Street
tel.nos.  897 8559  and 896 2529

CORNER TREE CAFE- a diary of a NON VEGGIE EATER !!

I always like to hangout with my son Iggy and Cris... since all of us are into photography and being  adventurous when it comes to food....... but sometimes I get myself into tight situations like today... I still try to make the best out of a bad situation... at least... I TRIED!!!!

and this is my story....

Iggy called me and asked me if I wanted to have lunch with them... He was coming from a photo shoot in Tagaytay . Cris and I were going to meet him at this new place he " discovered " ...  called  CORNER TREE CAFE ".... little did I know... this restaurant ONLY serves VEGAN dishes.... OH NO!!! I am not a VEGAN... I do not like VEGGIES ... and  I am the farthest thing from being a vegetarian. I am the exact opposite of a vegetarian ( I think )... every time I am offered veggies I would always answer " I AM NOT A GOAT!!  please pass the meat over here !" I would set aside the veggies on my plate or pass them to the one sitting next to me......   Yes, I LOVE FOOD.... in all forms.... BUT.... this will be my first time to try VEGETARIAN food...what will I order here ???? Will I survive this meal??? ME??? a NON- veggie eater eating in a VEGETARIAN restaurant?? I started to go into PANIC MODE!! I was  scared maybe because it was JUST VEGETABLES and I would still end up hungry at the end of the meal....

Too late to back out now!!! I was already on my way to the restaurant when I found out what  kind of food was being served. I just had to psych myself ... telling myself..." EVERYTHING will be fine.... I will not transform into a GOAT or at worst would end up looking like YODA of  STAR WARS!!! ".... I just prayed that there was going to be something in the menu that I would like to eat or go HUNGRY !!!!  ........" Veggie for lunch??? this better be good IGGY !! ".... was all I could say.

after looking at their menu here is what we ordered..

Iggy and Cris shared the BAKED TOFU WALNUT BURGER  (  260 PHP ) - It is a burger patty made of baked tofu and walnuts and served in a whole wheat bun slathered with mint yogurt sauce and sweet potato fries and mayo on the side. Iggy asked for tomato catsup and they gave him ORGANIC tomato catsup ( HEINZ ).. You can also  add Gruyere ( 35 PHP ) , Cheddar Cheese ( 30 PHP ) or Fried onions ( 25 PHP ) with your tofu burger.

I had SPINACH FETA CROQUETTES ( 285 PHP - for 6 pcs ) -  is made of fresh spinach, feta cheese and organic red rice, served in mint yogurt sauce.

My comments about CORNER TREE CAFE.....

It was an eye - opener for me to the world of vegetarian food... Thank God I didn't turn green nor did I transform into a goat! I have always thought vegetarian food was mostly composed of vegetables and everything they eat was bland. But that has all changed just going thru their selection of vegetarian dishes on the menu. I was able to choose something I wanted to eat! ...being a non - veggie eater... I SURVIVED that meal!! he he he!

Since he was treating ... Iggy made a comment that the price was a little high for the portion that was served to us.

.... I must admit that I enjoyed my vegetarian food !!!!!!!! Indeed it was tasty and really satisfying! 




CORNER TREE CAFE

150 Jupiter Street
Bel - Air, Makati

tel.nos.   897 0295
             ( 0917 )  848 - 1004
             ( 0916 )  614 - 9927

Valentines Day in Subic dinner at A TAVOLA

I did not know where we were going to have our Valentines dinner in Subic.... so I asked my friend, Jeremy Simpson, where they serve good food.... he recommended to me ... The Lighthouse and A Tavola. Since I love Italian food ... I decided to give this restaurant a try. Tom, my son made reservations.

Located in the Duty Free Shopping center off Argonaut Highway in Subic Bay. It is in the same shopping center as Pure Gold and Subic Duty Free.

When we walked in the restaurant, the first thing that caught my eye was the checkerboard floor..the stone oven and the wooden furniture that gives a feeling of quaintness to the place.

here is what we ordered....

CARCIOFI OLIVE E CAPPERI....  ( 220 PHP )

We all liked this dish....  it is pan-fried artichokes with black olives and capers.

CALAMARI FRITTI.. ( 250 PHP )

INSALATA CAPRESE ( 350 PHP )

fresh tomatoes and Italian mozzarella topped with fresh basil and garlic..... We also liked this one... the mozzarella melted in our mouths. 

                             

PARMIGIANA DI MELANZE ( 250 PHP )..

this was a bit salty.

                            

CALZONE FARCITO  ( 450 PHP )
Cris ordered this dish....... we all loved it..... It is a folded pizza stuffed with mozzarella, salami, ricotta cheese and mushrooms.... We wanted to order another calzone but we were scared it would take another hour for it to arrive.

LINGUINE ALLA PESCATORA ( 350 PHP )..

Seafood in light tomato sauce and olive oil. Lulu ordered this and she commented that it lacked shrimps in this dish. Again... the dish was a bit salty.

                             

SCALLOPINE ALA MARSALA
they used Australian Beef.... Ernie said it would have tasted better if they used pork instead. The dish was salty.

RAVIOLI AL POMODORO ( 320 PHP )

this was my order..... I found the dish a bit salty and the ravioli was like it was fresh out of the can... I wasn't able to finish my dish...

SPAGHETTI AGILO E OLIO ( 260 PHP )

Tom had this dish.... he said... it was also salty to taste. 

My comments about A TAVOLA:

If you want to know what we all thought about the food in A TAVOLA???? We all liked our appetizers ( especially the CALZONE , CALAMARI and the  pan-fried ARTICHOKES )... although their serving was so small we could not even share the dish. Our main course was salty.... all the dishes we ordered were a bit salty.  If you notice all the dishes that was served to us .... had no garnishing at all on the plate.. I wanted to order another calzone but was scared to do so because it might take long before we can get served again. 

What about their service???? They only had 2 waitresses that night ( can you imagine??? ).... There were other people who came in and left because their orders were not attended to or it took ages ( we had to wait for almost 20 minutes for bread and another 10 minutes for the water to be served )..

and lastly..... they had one huge dining room... we asked to be seated in a NO SMOKING AREA since we had a baby with us.... they gave us a table by the bar... which was fine... but they did not have a door that would separate us from the smoking area. Iggy had to bring Una ( my grand daughter ) to a table near the entrance of the restaurant because there were people smoking in the main dining room.... yes, he had to have his dinner there too... 

What could have been a wonderful evening spent with my family and friends turned out to be a SALTY EXPERIENCE for all!!!!!

Valentines Day in Subic aboard the SHIBUMI for a sunset cruise.

I together with Ernie and Lulu Kamatoy wanted to experience the SHIBUMI sunset cruise. This was my second time aboard the SHIBUMI and the first time for Ernie and Lulu. I have been telling them all about my experience on the SHIBUMI last new year's day... it was fantastic!! They should try it!!!

Iggy dropped us off at the Subic Yatch Club to meet up with Jeremy Simpson, owner of the SHIBUMI, for another sunset cruise around Subic Bay. This time we came early.... We set sail at 4:00 pm that afternoon... the water was calm. But it was overcast that afternoon... I was scared we might not be able to have a beautiful sunset....

Jeremy had invited another couple Tony and Au... to help with the sails.

Lulu and Ernie tried their luck in sailing the Shibumi.....

When we got out in the bay... the weather cleared up..... the sun started to shine.... a good opportunity for me to take some photos while waiting for the sun to set.

and have some wine perhaps??

after an hour..... the time we were waiting for has arrived..... Jeremy positioned his boat towards the mountains ( called cinco picos ).... and we got our cameras ready......

You can hire SHIBUMI.... for the sunset booze cruise. You can charter SHIBUMI and its skipper, Jeremy Simpson. It costs 8,000 PHP ( for the boat ) and 500 PHP per person for the booze and chips.... Usually it takes 2 - 3 hours long.... The maximum number of people that can board this 42 footer sailboat is 10 people. You will have to book in advance if you want to do this.

as the advertisement goes... " YOU MIGHT GET HOOKED and fall in love with sailing the SHIBUMI and SUBIC BAY.... but then there is nothing wrong with that!! "

 I would reccommend this sunset cruise..... SHIBUMI is the perfect place to spend the afternoon sailing!!!!  You won't regret it!

Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentines Day to you all!!!




SHIBUMI SUNSET CRUISE


contact person : Jeremy Simpson
tel. nos.   +63 918 903 4226

Valentines Day in SUBIC

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY and a HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR to you all!!


This weekend was a good opportunity for me to bond and spend quality time with my family and very good friends...

I went to Subic, Zambales this weekend with my family............

 Tom and Maite with their kids Miguel and Rocio ,

Iggy and Cris with their daughter Una

and Ernie and Lulu Kamatoy ( friends from the States who were visiting ). We all stayed at Vasco's. After lunch, Tom, Maite, Miguel and Rocio went to Zoobic Safari, Croco Loco, watched the Aeta show and the   animal show.

Miguel enjoyed his adventure to ZOOBIC SAFARI and had a lot of stories to tell us when they got back from the zoo. Maite, my daughter-in-law, was able to document it for me...

The rest of us drove around Subic and we visited the Triboa Country Club. It was the place where the 18  heads of state stayed during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ).

Today, the Triboa Country Club is being used as wedding venues, functions and seminars.

Later that day we all went to Scuba Shack to wait for the sunset and had dinner there... 

So.... How did you spend your Valentines Day??????