Review: Cold Rock Ice Creamery

I bought a CashCashPinoy voucher for a sundae and a large cup of ice cream with two mix-ins. I'd specified the Trinoma branch but it closed before I could claim the voucher so we were forced to go to the last remaining branch at the Greenbelt 3 Cinema.

The servers were very helpful, explaining that for the sundae, we could choose three ice cream flavors and for the large cup, two flavors. We chose the chocolate indulgence and white macadamia for the large cup, with maltesers and cashews (I would have preferred almonds but cashews were the only nuts available) as mix-ins. For the sundae, we chose strawberry, green tea and macapuno.

I liked the large cup ice cream mix, served in a paper cup that wasn't really all that large. A scoop is around 2.5" across or smaller only. It wasn't too sweet and I really liked the cashews and maltesers. The chocolate indulgence flavor didn't have too much of a chocolate/cocoa taste. However, it was a bit too soft for me. I'd have preferred a harder, colder ice cream. By the time we were done with the cup, the sundae had started to melt. It was served in a banana split glass boat and had whipped cream, nuts and a cherry on top. The macapuno was too creamy for my taste while the strawberry did not have the intense flavor I wanted. But the green tea was pretty awful. The taste of macha was intense and it didn't go well with the creaminess of the ice cream. I wish there was pistachio ice cream available but the fruit flavors were just too tropical/Pinoy: langka, avocado, ube, etc.

For P280, the ice cream was an expensive treat (you can already buy half a gallon of supermarket ice cream for that amount!) but at P576? I doubt it! If I had dough to drop on expensive ice cream I'd prefer Haagen Dazs or even Dreyers. It's not like Ben and Jerry's is available in the Philippines!

Next thing to try: mochi with gelato!

Review: Manang's Chicken and Bon Chon Chicken

I'd heard about about Bon Chon Chicken first then I heard that
Manang's is either the Pinoy version or the better version, depending
on who's giving the comment. So I decided to try both.

I ate a 1 pc chicken breast with mild spicy sauce, P75, at Manang's
Chicken in their first shop on Garnet Rd. in Ortigas. Service was
friendly and at 10 am, I was their sole customer. I guess that's why
the crew felt it was ok to talk rather loud and scold at the other.
Chicken tasted good although the neck was included and was difficult
to eat so there wasn't that much meat overall. The chicken was a bit
too sweet for my taste although the spiciness was just right for a
heat-wimp like me. I liked it overall but wouldn't be looking for it
anytime soon. I'd probably take KFC over it since they generally serve
meaty breast parts.

At Bon Chon Chicken in Robinsons Ortigas, service was friendly too and
the place was nice and cold even though it was packed. A single
chicken pc. with a drink was P95. Unfortunately, you can only get a
drumstick. I prefer white meat so I ordered the chops which come in
two pieces of breast fillet for P145. What a letdown! The fillets were
tiny, dry and worst of all, tasteless! I ordered the soy chicken
instead of spicy knowing the Korean predeliction for tongue-burningly
spicy food (even noodles!). The coating was crisp but the taste was
really bland. Next time I order Bon Chon, I will try the drumstick.
There's more meat in a drumstick than in their breast fillet.

Where Bon Chon won hands down was with the rice. The rice tasted great
and was cooked just right. On the other hand, the rice at Manang's
tasted like NFA rice and worse, there was one 1-mm stone, one insect
that looked like a large rice weevil, and one unidentified dark thing
twice as big as the weevil. I wish I had a camera so I could have
taken a picture of it.

Ube Sansrival

I've long wondered about Cafe Ysabel's sansrival sold at the supermarket.
One day I found someone to share the container with (there used to be a smaller rectangular microwaveable container size but I don't see those anymore---just the 750 mL ones) and tried the ube version. It comes in original (buttercream), mocha, chocolate and ube variants.

For frozen sansrival, I guess it's forgivable that it's chewy and not crunchy but the meringue came in thick, spongy layers and not the thin crunchy layers I prefer. Also, there was just too much buttercream for me. The ube flavor was not distinct. The best thing about it was the abundance of crushed cashews.

I might try the mocha or chocolate flavors but only if they come in the smaller containers.

You can see how thick the meringue was in the photo below. Sorry for the quality--crummy cellphone camera.

Dunkin' Donuts: Big Dunk Chocolate Chocolate Kreme

I was surprised to see Dunkin's new huge donuts for P20. The Boston Kreme looked attractive but since I don't like bavarian cream much, I opted for the Chocolate Chocolate Kreme donut. Why two chocolates? Because the dough, aside from the filling, is chocolate, too!

Verdict? Bleagh. Dry, dry, dry and tasteless dough. Kreme's the usual high transfat, low chocolate flavor stuff you've always found inside.

No wonder I only like the Choco Wacko and Black Raspberry Filled donuts!