Xocolat: A Chocolate Haven

Xocolat in Katipunan is a favorite among students from UP, Ateneo and Miriam because they serve unique dishes (everything has a touch of chocolate) and of course YUMMY desserts. It was back in December last year when Geraldine and I had lunch here to satisfy our sweet cravings.

To start off this is Xocolat's Parmesan Crusted Sole Fillet served with Potato Gratini (Php195). It is just an ordinary fish with parmesan crust I could hardly taste. The sauce that came with it was okay as well. But nothing extraordinary about this dish.

Parmesan Crusted Sole Fillet

Xocolat's Cream Dory (Php185) is also served with Potato Gratini and comes with cream sauce. This is a CRAVE HIT for us. The five spice dory with a little bit of that basil cream sauce was just really delicious. They said that this was one of their bestsellers and we highly recommend it too.

Cream Dory

Cream Dory

For the dessert we ordered their bestseller: That Xocolat Cake (Php95). It did not disappoint. It had the right kind of chocolate sweetness. This is highly recommended specially when there are occasions such as birthdays, valentine's, anniversary, monthsary, weeksary. You name it all. This cake is perfect for any day of the year. One whole cake will cost you Php695 but I say it is worth it.

That Xocolat Cake

We ordered this other cake but we totally forgot what it is called. It was not in the menu either. We even forgot what it tastes like. If it was good we would remember it. Since we did not remember, just skip this and try other cakes.

We would surely go back to this place and try their other chocolate-laced dishes and other delicious looking cakes. This is a place for those people who enjoy the company of chocolate in everything they eat. Even their pastas, paninis and meriendas have a touch of chocolate. This homey place in Katipunan is truly a chocolate haven :)

Xocolat
172 B. Gonzales St.
Loyola Heights
Quezon City

929-4186

xocolat.com.ph/

Army Navy Burger + Burrito

Army Navy is a burger and burrito place that caused a hype for quite some time already. Most of you must have tried it by now but we just wanted to share our love for their burritos. 

Geraldine and I are not fans of spicy food. But Army Navy's burritos are sooooo good that we are willing to tolerate the pungency. Add the salsa, sour cream and squeeze lime on it and you get one hell of a burrito. We specially love the sour cream because it complements the food. So if some of you have not tried Army Navy yet, this is highly recommended! They also offer vegetarian burrito for Php165. What we always order is their Steak Burrito worth Php195, quite expensive but worth it! CRAVE HIT!!!

Steak Burrito

We are yet to try other stuff  in Army Navy. Once we do, we will share the experience with you. Don't hesitate to comment on this post about your Army Navy Crave Hit experience as well :)

Army Navy

2nd Floor, Trinoma Mall

EDSA cor. North Ave.

Quezon City

333-3131

http://armynavyburgerburrito.com/

Iscreamist @ Teacher's Village

Iscreamist is a famous ice cream place in Teacher's Village. Every afternoon the place is jam packed with a lot of students from different schools. Only problem with them is that they have a very small space for so many customers. Their popularity is largely attributed to its famous dragon's breath. Smoke comes out of your mouth once you eat this because of the liquid nitrogen. Hence the name dragon's breath.

In the picture below, you can see their best selling Dragon's Breath S'mores. This is their biggest HIT. Just dip it in the cup (not too long because you might not be able to bite it anymore), eat it then be fascinated as smoke comes out of your mouth.

Dragon's Breath S'mores

For me however I prefer their ice cream more. They have lots of flavours. My favorite is Nutella. Sadly, we do not have a picture but it is highly recommended. They use real Nutella (not Goya) for their ice cream.

Their Toasted Mallow ice cream was good but not something to look forward to. They have better flavors. Just skip this.

Toasted Mallow Ice Cream

Here is a picture of Blueberry Cheesecake ice cream. It is also a HIT. You will be able to feel the blueberry bits in your mouth which makes the ice cream more "authentic".We do not even need to explain further. Iscreamist just makes delicious desserts. So for those who haven't tried it, it's a must!!!!

Blueberry Cheesecake

Blueberry Cheesecake

Iscreamist

46 D Magiting St., Teacher's Village

East Diliman, 1101 Diliman District

Quezon City

https://www.facebook.com/TheIscreamist

https://twitter.com/theiscreamist

Sebastian's @ Regis Center, Katipunan

Sebastian's is a CRAVE HIT. It is quite expensive for 100 pesos a scoop but it is very much worth it. Some of their flavors are weird like the Green Mango with Bagoong, but you can skip that if you don't like it.  If you are reluctant on which flavor you would like to try you can ask for a free taste. Some of my favorites are Salted Butter Caramel (yummy!!!), Blueberry Cheesecake and Red Velvet.

Panna Cotta Rusticana with Dark Chocolate Rhum Fudge on top

I am not a fan of Blueberry Cheesecakes but this surely won me over.

Blueberry Cheesecake

Sebastian's Ice Cream

Regis Center

G/F Lobby

Katipunan (in front of Ateneo)

0927-290-1633

https://www.facebook.com/Sebastians.Ice.Cream
https://twitter.com/iloveSEBASTIANS

Homemade Red Velvet Ice Cream

Homemade Red Velvet Ice Cream topped with Red Velvet Crumbs

       Since my mom loves to bake Red Velvet Cake, I decided to make my own version of Red Velvet but not a cake but an Ice Cream instead. Every time my mom bakes, she has left over Red Velvet cake so I decided to use this instead of throwing it away or just eating it as is. What I did was, I made it into crumbs. Then I searched for some recipes on the Internet on how to make an ice cream. Below are the ingredients I used.

*Homemade Red Velvet Ice Cream: 

- 1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk - 2 pint heavy whipping cream (all purpose cream) - 6 cups crumbled red velvet cake - 4oz 1/3 fat cream cheese, room temperature or warmed - 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

First, figure out your red velvet cake crumbles. As you can see in my ingredients, I used a lot of crumbled red velvet cake but you can lessen this depending on your situation. You can also just crumble a store bought red velvet cake or cupcakes.
Once you have your crumbles ready, pour your heavy whipping cream or the all purpose cream into a large bowl. Make sure your whipping cream is as cold as possible. With an electric mixer, beat the cream until it is thick enough.
Then, empty the sweetened condensed milk in a separate bowl. Mix the vanilla extract and room temperature cream cheese. Add in 3 cups of red velvet crumbles and stir until smooth. 
Add this to your all purpose cream and add another 2 cups of red velvet crumbs. This will make the ice cream a bit "chunkier" than the other ones. Reserve any other crumbles for topping.
Finally, place the ice cream mixture in a freezer safe container and freeze for 6 hours.
Once frozen, scoop out ice cream and top with extra red velvet crumbles. Enjoy!

Homemade Red Velvet Ice Cream with Cherry on top

*http://www.wifessionals.com/2013/02/easy-homemade-red-velvet-ice-cream.html