Scrumptious Saturday: Slice's Granola Champorado

I love Champorado. I grew up in a home where my dear mom would cook this comforting chocolate rice porridge for merienda.  I am also convinced that it was probably Champorado that Goldilocks ate at the three bears' cottage. Haha.

A few months ago, my friends and I got together for an afternoon out with the kids. We ate at Slice in Bonifacio High Street. It was my third time there. I'm not a big fan of the place - the food is good, but a bit overpriced. The cupcakes look yummy, but I am still a die-hard fan of Cupcakes by Sonja.

I must say though, that their champorado is worth checking out! They call it Belgian Dark Chocolate Champorado. The name itself sounds yummy already. It's an interesting take on my favorite merienda - they serve granola instead of the usual malagkit rice. There's peanut butter and bananas on the side! What I did was dip my spoon in the peanut butter before I dip it in the bowl, and I get a spoonful of peanutbuttery-chocolatey goodness in every bite. The idea is probably to enjoy the peanut butter with the bananas, but they didn't have bananas that day. Boo. I was determined to still order the Champorado, so I requested they substitute watermelon for the bananas instead, which I figured I could eat for dessert (and share with Little Moon). Yes, chocolate for the main meal and fruit for dessert. Am I weird or what?

The Belgian Dark Chocolate Champorado is a bit pricey at Php200, but it's worth trying. My Little Moon likes the carrot soup. I like it too - it doesn't taste like carrots at all! Yummy! Slice is at the new section at the end of High Street, where Uniqlo and Jamba Juice is located.

Scrumptious Saturday: Have you been to Qizia?

There's a quaint little cafe in Marikina called Qizia (pronounced ki-zha). The strange thing about it isn't its name, but its location.

The first time I was brought there by my friend Jessica a couple of years ago, my jaw dropped. You see, she was building up my expectation about the food all day long, but she didn't warn me about the location. We took a cab and got dropped off in front of SDS Hospital. After all the talk about this cool cafe, I couldn't believe she was making me eat in a hospital. I wanted to strangle her. I was close to tears. She was laughing her ass off at my reaction.

Turns out, the cafe wasn't inside the hospital - you'll find it in an obscure corner behind it, in the parking lot. Whew. I was relieved I wasn't going to be fed hospital food. Hehe. And I am thankful to Jessica for introducing me to what has become one of my favorite places for comfort food.

Beef tapa served with egg, garlic rice, and iced tea - Php135

The only meal I ever order there is their beef tapa with egg and garlic rice (Php 135). The beef is sweet and tender, and you dip it in spiced vinegar. I am writing this at 12:30am, and just thinking about it makes my mouth water. This is what I order all the time.

Cheese sticks (Php95)

Their cheese sticks are sought after. The first few times I visited Qizia, these intriguing appetizers eluded me - they were always sold out! Finally, I got to try them in their Antipolo branch (which is now unfortunately defunct). I imagined the usual cheese slices in lumpia wrapper, but I was so wrong. These are 6 fat fingers of mozzarella cheese rolled in flour and bread crumbs, with a sweet tomato dip. The cheese oozes out ever so slightly as you bite into the crunchy stick. Oh my gosh.

The last time we ate there was just last Saturday, and we took home one order of cheese sticks. After sitting in the fridge for three days, they were still surprisingly good. I just popped them in the turbo broiler for a few minutes (sorry, we don't have a toaster!). The breading wasn't as crunchy as when ordered fresh, but the cheese sticks were still yummy!

Qizia also serves pizza, pasta, coffee, and dessert. We tried a slice of their banana caramel cake, and it looks and tastes a lot like Banapple's! I'm thinking they're the same thing! (Is that possible?)

If Qizia wasn't so far from where we live, I'd probably be there every week. Be sure to try this hidden gem in Marikina, you won't be disappointed!

Qizia Cafe

Katipunan Ext Concepcion II, Marikina

(02) 489-0760

My happy place: Cupcakes by Sonja

This cupcake bakery in Serendra makes happy. Every time I'm in the area, I make sure I go inside Cupcakes by Sonja, sometimes just to whiff the yummy scents coming out of their kitchen.

When I had dessert there before Christmas with my college friend Ateen, the place was even more dreamy because it was decked in Christmas cheer.

Cupcakes by Sonja opened in September 2006, and I was there at the opening. I remember being shocked by the prices. I still find their goodies expensive, so I don't indulge too often. The simplest cupcakes are Php65, the special ones are Php115.

My favorite cupcake has always been Berries 'n Cream (above). But on that fateful night last month (lol!), I took a bite of the Valrhona Flourless Chocolate Cupcake. Oh. My. Gosh. Heaven! I think I found my new favorite. Now I don't know why I didn't try it sooner. Probably because it looked plain. It's the one without frosting below.

Look who became a new fan?

This is an early post for Scrumptious Saturday, ok? Hihi.

Cupcakes by Sonja is at Serendra Piazza in Bonifacio Global City.

Bakery Hours:

• Monday - Thursday 10 AM - Midnight
• Friday - Saturday 10 AM - 1 AM
• Sunday 10 AM - Midnight

*Thanks Ateen for dessert!

Late night cupcake surprise

Just when I thought I didn't have fresh material for Scrumptious Saturday, my cousin dropped by unexpectedly last night after dinner. Look what she brought me! My favorite Berries 'n Cream cupcake from Sonja's, and a chocolate cupcake I've never tried before. Eeeeek! I regret eating three pancakes before dinner.

 

Chic Custaroons

What a pretty box! Guess what's in it?

 

Ta-da! The chic little box holds yummy custaroons by Gigi Gaerlan!

 

Custaroons are what you get when melt-in-your-mouth flan marries a chewy macaroon! I don't like macaroons (read: the ones with the double o's, not the french macaron, ok?). But this version is sinfully delicious. I think I can finish two big ones in one sitting. There are two flavors: original and cheese. I like the latter better - the cheese lends just enough flavor to balance the otherwise sickeningly sweet macaroon top.

We discovered the Custaroonery by accident the day we bought ornaments. I've tried these before (thanks to my Tita Vi), but this is the first time I've been in their tiny yet very pretty little store.

The store. Oh my gosh. Love. Not only are their goodies beautifully packaged, the store's interiors are gorgeous too. They even have my dream Daphne chairs, and a chandelier to boot! All in a tiny space that's probably just nine square meters. It gives new meaning to the phrase "great things come in small packages"!

Find the Custaroonery at the St. Pio Church parking lot. I hear they have a bigger branch in Eastwood. You can visit their website for details.

 

Scrumptious Saturday: Cream Cheese Cupcakes

 

If I told you I baked these, would you believe me? Haha! For today's Scrumptious Saturday, let me share with you a favorite cheap thrill from the grocery! These store-bought cupcakes from Shoppersville in Katipunan are so yummy!

They call them Cream Cheese Cupcakes, but they look like muffins to me. Whatever they are, I love them. Nothing too fancy - they're like your regular, cheap cupcakes (think Lemon Square), only better! Light and fluffy, and almost melt-in-you-mouth. Yum yum yum! They're Php 205 for a box of 12. Other flavors are cheese and chocolate, but these cream cheese ones are my favorite. Perfect for merienda or your child's baon!

 

Scrumptious Saturday: My Bare Cupboard

Let's try something fun on this blog: why don't I do a few regular columns every week, so there's always something new to look forward to? Let's start with my favorite subject: food! I'll blog about yummy finds every Saturday - be it delectable desserts or savory dishes. I'm so excited!

For the premier edition of Scrumptious Saturday, I want to share with you the mouthwatering blog of my friend Anne Regalado - My Bare Cupboard. I met Anne through an online forum many years ago, and I fondly call her Tiyay Lisa. She's a Pinay working in Hong Kong. Anne is one of the kindest people I've ever met online, and I hope to meet her someday soon.

Her blog didn't exist yet when I met her online, so I was pleasantly surprised when the link she shared on Facebook led me to this delicious discovery. My Bare Cupboard is where you'll find magazine-worthy photos of Anne's adventures in the kitchen: from scrumptious-looking cupcakes and homemade ice cream, to amazing hand-kneaded bread and savory dishes like stuffed tofu. All photos in this post are from her.

The styling simply blows me away - it looks professionally done, it's hard to believe she isn't a stylist!

Anne likes to tease her friends by posting her work on facebook. She'll often say, "Hungry? Come and grab one!", to the chagrin of the likes of myself, who lives thousands of miles away.

Well Tiyay, when we finally get to meet, please don't forget to bring me a box of those brookies! Hihi.