Delayed Gratification

Cupcakes by Sonja is now open at Stores at Serendra, The Fort. We got to meet the lovely owner herself, and she mentioned that they would be introducing new flavors regularly. When we went, they had strawberries and cream (the priciest at P75 a pop), carrot, chocolate surprise, flourless, red velvet (looked very interesting), and vanilla (the cheapest at a little over P40). It's such a charming store, so girly, and when you buy the cupcakes, they're put in this cutesy Tiffany box-colored box. It's the kind of store you would imagine in a little Gilmore Girls-esque neighborhood in the US. Lots of people were dropping by, and I heard a foreigner mention that she had a place in Boracay, and that she was "inspired" by the store. Hmmm, cupcakes in Boracay. An interesting concept. (While we're on the topic of Bora, today I missed the sinful mango crepe at Jonah's, my default Bora breakfast. Aaaah). The other stores/restos in the area weren't open yet, but Cafe Xocolat is opening a branch next door. Mmmm. I will be dragging my girl friends to this area in the near future.

Inside Cupcakes by Sonja. Pretty!

After three days of craving, I was finally able to get a hold of those cupcakes I had a hankering for. The ones I got to eat during the shoot were actually more moist and (it must be said) more deelish, but the ones I bought still didn't disappoint. The chocolate surprise was terrific!

From top: Carrot cupcakes; flourless chocolate cupcakes; our selections:
chocolate surprise, strawberries and cream, and vanilla; at long last!

Posts to come (sorry, I've been such a delinquent): Sebastian's ice cream (gourmet ice cream!), En-Snow (the weirdest thing I've ever tried drinking), and In-Yo (a new place along Esteban Abada near Katipunan).

Killer Cupcakes

Since yesterday, I've had a major craving for these strawberry shortcake cupcakes I ate at a shoot. (Who knew I could eat three cupcakes in one go? Could've eaten more but I was trying to be "disciplined." Riiight.) Our stylist got them from Cupcakes by Sonja Bakery, which will have its soft opening tomorrow at the retail area of Serendra (The Fort Global City). They're terrific on their own--moist cupcakes with uber-yummy strawberry filling and topped with whipped cream icing (can you say "drool"?)--but the stylist topped them with Hershey's Kissables, and ooh-la-la, they were just heavenly! (If you're a fan of chocolate-dipped strawberries, you would love it!) I tried my darndest to get H to buy me some yesterday, but my pa-cute powers didn't work as he wasn't in the area. (He got me a substitute though--a yummy blueberry muffin.) Come hell or high water, I will be at that opening tomorrow.

Photo by Ocs Alvarez. I would kill for these right now.

Brekkie in Tagaytay

It's 1:30 in the morning and I have an early shoot, but figured it was about time that I posted. This'll be short and sweet. After a night in Tagaytay, H and I decided to have breakfast at Breakfast at Antonio's (not to be confused with just plain Antonio's--Breakfast at Antonio's is for walk-ins and, duh, their specialty is breakfast. Hehe. Antonio's serves lunch and dinner, but a reservation is required). It's one of those places with a view of Taal Lake. Service could have been better, but I did like the food. H ordered the Roesti, which is Swiss crisp potato pancake supposedly served with panini (he was given some other kind of bread though). I asked him to get the one with chorizo, onions, Swiss cheese, and eggs over easy (P295), since I'm a bit of a chorizo fan. I ordered their cheese French toast. It was raisin bread dipped in vanilla cream and cinnamon egg batter, served with hot apple compote and whipped cream. It was P240, but we paid an extra P85 for the slightly overdone bacon. I really liked the French toast. Had me some fresh orange juice, and H had brewed coffee (he says it's quite good). By mid-afternoon, I was still stuffed!

Up until college, I would generally skip breakfast since I was always rushing in the morning (ask the Philo teacher who almost dropped me from his class because of my perpetual tardiness). I think it was only when I started working that I discovered the joys of a big, unhurried meal in the morning. (It was my delaying tactic, er, warm-up at my old office, to prepare me for a day of harassment.) Having breakfast at Breakfast at Antonio's was a treat because it was different from my typical cereal or fast-food morning meal. Plus having the first meal of the day with H is a great way to start the day!

(Top) The Roesti; (bottom) cheese French toast with bacon.