五十六：Rocci Chocolate Kitchen

Happy Mother's Day! It's also.. Election Day!!!

Anyway here is another sweet entry for this month.

Rocci Chocolate Kitchen, as its name implies, is a cafe that sells chocolate.

Again this is just along Malugay Street in Makati City just beside Happy Cream Puff.

It is a small cafe about 3 by 4 meters in size but it's interiors are nice. Very cozy with its minimalist design.

We were greeted by their cheerful staff, I forgot her name but she was very helpful when we were choosing what dessert to eat.

Since it is a cafe that sells mostly chocolate, we of course ordered chocolate desserts. 

I ordered a chocolate cheesecake and my friend ordered their flourless chocolate cake.

Since it was lunch time, we also ordered their Tuna Pasta. We did not order any drinks but the staff was so kind to give me a cup of hot water so I can steep my Twinnings Four Reds Fruit Tea in it because I believe tea and chocolate go well together as it cuts down the sweetness and it is very calming.

While waiting for the pasta, again the staff, very helpful that she is gave us some samples of the other chocolates that they were selling. I'd say everything was delicious but I did not have enough money to buy more that day but I am telling you, it's worth your money to try their chocolates and their cookies.

When our orders came of course we had to take some pictures first and because we were also waiting for the pasta.

The tuna pasta was delicious. The serving was delicious but I felt like it was not enough for one person haha.

As you eat, they play some Jazz music mostly by the famous Bossa Nova singer, Sitti.

It was funny that when we told the staff that she was lucky to be listening to such great music, she answered by saying that, it was not that great as she has been listening to it for 3 years straight already. We all laughed.

Since it was a small cafe and it was hot outside, the air conditioning was set high enough to cool us down really well even though we were the only customers there.

According to the staff they are open until 10PM and since Makati is a business district, mostly young professionals visit their place at night.

Some small companies actually hold their meetings here though you can only fit maybe a maximum of 20 people inside and there are two tables outside for those who cannot find a seat inside the cafe and prefers Al Fresco dining. ^_^

If I am not mistaken, they also serve some alcoholic drinks since they are open a bit late at night but I would rather prefer drinking coffee than get drunk at night.

Since I enjoyed my experience, the following week, I brought another friend at their cafe. Again I was not disappointed though I think my friend find it a bit expensive.

For the poets at heart, they have these little red notebooks which I thought were menu lists and you can write  and draw anything in it like your comments, suggestions or experience with the cafe.

I read some jokes, stories even cellphone numbers looking for text mates. LOL!

My friend draw something cartoonish, the other one wrote her number looking for a text mate because she just broke up with her boyfriend and I drew some gayish face which I blame on the chocolates that we ate. ^_^

Visit Rocci's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rocci-Chocolate-Kitchen/290778367166?ref=ts&fref=ts

Rocci Chocolate Kitchen

Unit 5A The Zone Malugay cor. Buendia Streets Barangay Bel-Air, 1209 Makati
+63 2 840 2085

五十五：Happy Cream Puff

My friend and I were walking along Malugay Street in Makati City one night when we saw this little store with red and white colored banner. Staring at it, it looked familiar to me.

It was the famous cream puff store, Happy Cream Puff.

The available cream puffs that night.

I've actually heard of Happy Cream Puff like years ago and based on the reviews, a lot of people really like their cream puffs.

Croquembouche towers for special occassions.

 I myself like cream puffs and I bake my own cream puffs at home. I like how it is crunchy on the outside and then when you bit into it it is soft and creamy.

Just behind their display is the kitchen itself.

Since it was around 9PM already, we were left with a few choices of cream puffs. My friend got the almond chocolate puff and I got the ordinary caramel cream puff.

Wooden seats for customers.

 Their cream puffs are priced from 25PHP for the bite sized ones to 55PHP for the larger normal sized ones depending on the flavor.

Almond Chocolate Cream Puff

  The choux or the puff itself is easy to make but the goodness of the cream puff is on it's cream and how it is complimentary with your puff.

My cream puffs are a little crunchy on the outside but Happy Cream Puff's cream puffs are really crunchy. You can hear lots of crackling noise when you bite into it and the cream is mildly sweet and smooth.

Plain Cream Puff with Caramel topping

 So, I like that their cream puffs are crunchy but I think it was too crunchy that it lacked chewiness that it was just like a crunchy shell and cream pastry than a crunchy, soft, chewy bread with cream pastry.

Our orders

Overall, I might consider trying their cream puffs again but not that soon. I'd still say it's good but it's not the cream puff that I grew up liking. ^_^

Visit their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Happycreampuff2006?fref=ts

Happy Cream Puff
7224 The Zone, Malugay St corner Buendia, 1209 Makati
817-4234

五十四：YMCA Hostel Baguio CIty

Just this year I have been going back and forth Baguio City for a total of three times already. Usually when my family goes to Baguio, we either check in at a hotel or rent a transient house.

Just last year, I brought my friend to Baguio because she has not been there ever. We were supposed to just do a day tour when we decided to stay overnight. 

We were walking along Session Road just in front of SM Baguio when we saw this YMCA Hostel. We immediately inquired inside and were told that they have a couple of rooms available.

We were given a choice whether to get a room for two or stay at their dormitory. For the private room, you get either two single beds or one queen sized bed with a private bathroom with hot and cold shower, an LCD Cable TV, fresh linen and complimentary bottled water. The dormitory has 30 beds in a room with a shared bathroom. The en suite room is 1,200 PHP per night and the dorm bed is 600 PHP per night. We of course went for the en suite room.

Check in time was 02:00 PM and we arrived at around 11:00 AM so my friend and I decided to continue our tour but the receptionist was so kind to let us leave our things inside the room and gave us our keys already but we were not allowed yet to stay in our room.

The corridors leading to the rooms is very clean. The tiles and walls are white so you can see any dirt but at YMCA, you can definitely tell that they maintain their place really well.

When we got into our room, the sheets and pillows were not placed yet but it only took about 5 minutes for the staff to set everything. Again the walls and tiles are clean. 

My friend and I liked the colors of the sheets and the theme of the room. It's white with wooden and red accents and our bags matches it really well haha!

Baguio is in Benguet which is a plateu and so the climate is cold all year round so do not expect electric fans or air conditioner because it will be useless.

The sheets provided are thick and comfortable enough for the cold weather. Their pillows and the bed itself is also nice and comfortable.

We checked the bathroom and again, it's clean. From the tiles, shower curtains, sink, we really liked how everything is clean in this place. The hot and cold shower is also working really well, we did not encounter any problems at all in this hostel.

For those who want to visit Baguio City, I highly recommend YMCA Hostel. It's just along Session Road almost right in front of SM Baguio, very near the famous Our Lady of Atonement Church and all the restaurants and cafes especially if you want night life or just want to stay up late. They do not have any curfew so you can go home anytime. Do not worry, they have security guards in front of the building and the place is quiet except for Sundays because you might hear some singing from the next building due to some Sunday service but it is tolerable.

By the way they also have a family room for the larger groups. During peak season which is from December to April, try to have your room reserved at least a month before.

Visit their website at: http://ymcabaguio.org/

YMCA HOSTEL

(YMCA BAGUIO)

Post Office Loop, Session Road, Baguio City, Benguet, Philippines

Phone: +63(74)4424766