Saturday, April 28, 2007

Cello’s Doughnuts. And you thought Gonuts was good….

Cello's Cheese Doughnut!!! MUST TRY!!!…- well you ain’t seen the half of it- the local doughnut world, I mean. You must MUST MUST try Cello’s! Sure, Gonuts Donuts are great. Fine. (Maybe they’re a tad too sweet for me.) BUT- Cello’s, in my opinion, is even better. Lemme rate it for.. me.

  1. Cello’s
  2. Lil Orbits (now known as Little Doughnuts)
  3. Krispy Kreme
  4. Gonuts Donuts
  5. Dunkin Donuts
  6. Mister Donut
  7. And those rocks they have at those 24-hr convenience shops *nudge nudge*

You can’t go wrong with Cello’s Cheese doughnuts. Seriously! IT IS SOOO GOOD! It’s light and fluff-enough. And don’t be fooled by the “cheese” title, coz it ain’t salty and it ain’t topped with grated quez-o LOL! It’s sweet. Think… ensaymada sweet, except waaay better. Cheese with caster sugar. Every bite’s a lil piece of heaven! (Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit now hehehe)

Every first-time Cello’s customer MUST try the Cheese doughnut. Dude, it’s just PhP 20.00! Then Cello's Originalafter that, and you still wanna try the other flavors, go right ahead.

I’m not so crazy about their dips though.. I think the price is a bit too steep, even if it is made from Toblerone. Hey, if their dips would rid me of bad aura and take me to the rabbit hole, then Php 40.00 is sulit! But it doesn’t have that effect (not like their Cheese doughnuts! trust me, everything else around the world would seem like rainbows and bunnies for a span of one doughnut). Auntie Anne’s dips are fine enough.Cello's original

Aside from their v. v. VVV famous Cheese doughnuts, they also have quite an enticing line-up of other flavors and varieties. Among the doughnuts, there are three varieties; original, chocolate dough (new), and premium.

Original doughnuts (sold at just PhP 20.00 per piece), though the tag “original” would seem to make them sound bland or bleh, are actually one of their bests. The Cheese doughnuts fall under the original category- Cello's Originalsso does the chocolate, oreo, m&m, chocnut, strawberry, Cinnamon, coffee, candy-sprinkled, honey-glazed (now that, in doughnut language, just screams out PLAAIIIN!!!), Cinnamon crunch, chocolate sprinkled, caramel, peanut butter, sugar glazed (PLAAIIIN!!!), choco-oreo, etc. Now, does any of those, aside from the two “glazed” ones, sound plain or blah? Nope. And they don’t look it either! If you wanna try a bunch of flavors, I suggest you get their packages to save a lil. Like this one, buying a box of 6 would amount to PhP 110.00- that’s PhP 10.00 less. Yeah okay, that might not be so much to you, but that’s enough for the parking dude outside.
Cello's Choco Dough DoughnutsChocolate dough doughnuts are, well, made with chocolate flavored doughs. They’re basically chocolate originals, topped with different flavors as well. It’s Cello’s latest add, and is priced only at PhP 22.00!

The premium doughnuts (oh we love the sound of that word, just like we do platinum, VIP, and other stuffs) are kind of specialty doughnuts. They’re fancier looking, and takes a minute longer to make. Details details details… They come in blueberry cream cheese, Premium Doughuts: Blueberry Cream Cheesedark belgian chocolate, and other flavors (just ask). Sometimes they’re cream-filled, or stuffed with some jam or something inside. They look pretty, they taste yummy, but these are too much for me. I mean I get weezy easily sometimes when doughnuts go a tad over the edge. Heck, I get weeeeeeazy with Gonuts’ Dulce de Leche. I feel like what’s supposedly “extras” overthrow the doughnut itself. I can probably finish an entire premium doughnut if I’m given the rest of the day to nibble on it haha!!!These pretty babies go for PhP 30.00 a piece.

Now enough of those roung thingies, let’s check out their even more interesting selection. the C’s and their Pillows! PS: Do try their Pillows.
Cello's Pillows!!Cello’s Pillows are square-shaped, honey glazed, bite sized doughnuts. Well, maybe 3-bite sized hehehe…. A bag of 20pcs is just PhP 110.00, and that’s perfect for sharing with friends over a choco dip- which, in this case, is an okay buy- but not with the other doughnuts that have sprinkles, coatings, or toppings. A bag of Pillows PLUS dip is just PhP 140.00, that’s PhP 10.00 less buying the pillows and dip separately.

Another cute treat in their menu is the C-shaped doughnut. Their C’s, like the Pillows, are also honey glazed. I think the honey-glazed doughnuts are the “plainest” they have. Yes, I make up words that would seem to fit in the context which it’s used.

Cello's C's DoughnutsWhy C? Why Cello’s? Well, because the owner’s name is Cello! I love her for creating Cello’s doughnuts haha!!! Cello’s opened up Cello’s doughnuts with her boyfriend. I wonder if his name also starts with a C… Hmmm… maybe for me an A(agapeia)-shaped or K(kyrie)-shaped doughnut would do! Hehehe….Oh, and doughnuts aside, Cello’s also have interesting drinks! I didn’t get to try the Raspberry soda (i love raspberry iced teas) coz we already got fizz (coke light), and you know.. I have a drinking problem. I don’t drink a lot hehehe! I have a hard time drinking a glass of soda over a meal!

Cello's Doughnuts! Must try!!Cello’s is located along Katipunan Avenue, and is open until 10pm. Hey, they used to sell their doughnuts cheaper an hour before closing to finish up the stock- they might still be doing that hehehe. They don’t spare what’s left for the day and sell it again the morning after. Nope!

They have a branch in both Taft and Greenhills. For inquiries, call them at (Katipunan) 928 2649, (Taft) 521 6236, or (Greenhills) 7239632.

More pics:

Cello's Original, just Php 20.00 each Original, Choco Cookie Choco Oreo Original, Chocolate

Oroginal Cinnamon Original, Honey Glazed Original, Oreo Premium Choco Mallow-Nut

Greens!! This time, with camera and senses!

Soy Chicken with Mushrooms whatnotI finally ate at Greens once more, and this time, I not only had a camera with me (a bad one, but a working one still), I also somehow had my senses functionable! Yep- I remembered to take pictures hehehehehe!!! Their appetizing hold over my neurons is weakening, bwahahahahaha!!!

As usual, I had my Soy Chicken with mushroom thingies (PhP 175.00), along with a serving of brown rice. My staple Soya milk is gone now though… I wonder why…. second time in a row where I went here and they’re still “out” of soya milk. Hmpf!! And it’s such a bargain! About 1000ml for just P50.00- that’s like 60-70% less than the Fat and Thin’s soya milk!

Is it just me, or does the platter of Soy Chicken look smaller? The first picture is the “untouched” version- the second picture, where my brother’s spoon is reaching, means I’ve taken a ‘chink’ of it already. Somewhere between taking the two shots LOL! The one on top. Lesser serving? Hmm…. Oh! No, I think this time, the slices are just thicker, hence fewer.

This meal is unbelievable! Really! It’s almost the same as the real thing! They really placed effort in the details- the bean curd (i heard that’s what they used, though it doesnt resemble beancurd at all) is layered a bit thinly, just as you’d notice with cooked chicken flesh. The outer layer, imitating fried/roasted chicken skin, is salty and crunchy, reminds me very much of a deep fried Spring Chicken! Except this one is boneless AND vegetarian! Haha!

Soy Chicken (mwah!!) with Brown RiceThe matching gravy is made of mushrooms and, uhm… tomatoes? Something like it. No- not catsup. Don’t think tomato sauce. Think lil tomato dices stirred into the mushroom gravy. Authentic one, not those instant versions. The red tomatoes add a much appreciated kick that deviates from the button mushrooms. Of course, I wish this comes with a spicy variety.

Like most of the other meals, mine came with a side of achara. Let me jsut say that I’ve never really been a fan of ginger. Not much. But their achara’s, despite the obvious ginger tang, is quite nice. I think I like it better than regular acharas!

I wasn’t able to finish my meal solo again.. maybe it’s the brown rice. I’ve been told it fills up your tummy faster than white rice. Is that stupid? Well.. whatever it is.. I wasn’t able to finish mine LOL!

My brother had the house specialty, at least the one they’re more famous for, the Tofu kebab. People keep telling me to order that, but not once have I betrayed my Soy Chicken. And, after nibbling off from my brother’s order, I’m not sorry at all! Ha!

Not that it wasn’t bad, no. it was quite good, but jsut not as good as the Soy Chicken. Plus, I still think that Grill Queen’s Grilled Tofu is way better.

Tofu Kebab- good!Their Tofu Kebab comprise of big button mushrooms, zucchinis, veggiemeat, and chunks of tofu all skewered together by a bbq stick. It’s bigger than it seems. The tofu is soft, but not of the same texture as japanese Silken soft tofus. It’s somewhere between the local tofu, and the silken tofu. Wait, no.. softer.. It’s like a bad batch of leche flan LOL! I mean not BAD bad, just not so delicately made. Opposite of a thick heavy creamy leche flan. It’s texture is more of the airy, cheap version, leche flan. But it’s tofu. So it’s quite good haha!

The kebab’s basted with a sweet and salty bbq sauce. You can taste a hint of garlic on the veggiemeat in it.

My eldest brother got the Faux BBQ (sorry, forgot to take a pic before someone took a swing at it hehehe). It’s not like Bodhi’s. Different(better) texture, and definitely not as sweet. It has less of that “bolabola” (extenders) texture that some veggiemeats are hated for. Hmm… it’s good. nothing special- I mean I don’t think I’d wake up in the morning (v. rare occassion) and crave for it.

Again, both the kebab and tofu are good. Faux BBQ ain't faux pas!Great even. But nothing I’d go crazy for. I can eat them whenever- I like them. I just don’t LUUUV love them, you know? haha!

Aside from the meals, they also have a mini section up front where they sell vegetarian snacks, veggiemeat, dehydrated tofus, noris, nuts, eggless cookies and sweets, soya treats and many other healthy products every vegetarian would snoop around for. Oh, and did I mention they are also very VVV reasonably priced? yep! Their Fake Cod Fish fillet (uncooked, 5 slices) is just PhP 85.00. Nori strips (i forgot how many gms) are just 30pesos. I even bought some vegetarian dried squid strips for 30pesos as well. They got faux mahu (the chinese snack that usually comes in pork or chicken). I’ll try that next time.

You know, Sonny, Liza, and I noticed something really weird… they have different veggiemeats available, but none of them is one they use to make the Soy Chicken meal.Get a soda! Hmmm… Sonny has a theory- “IT’S NOT FAKE CHICKEN! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!” To which I say- NOOOOOO!!!!! That’s worst than going to the bookstore at the first day of release of the Half Blood Prince, skimming thru the end and sending a text message to everyone in your phone book, saying “Hey, have you read the new HP isntallment? Dumbledore dies and Snape is the halfblood prince!! Go get your copy now!!!” urgh!

Though there’s a second theory… they might be using an Ethel. Yes. Ethel. The cartoon chicken, being boiled like a week-old teabag, and resucitated as she’s being squeezed for more cartoon chciken essence! Only to be boiled again! Haha!! Kidding kidding kidding kidding!

I believe Greens can safely say that, despite the amazing similarities to taht of a real fried chicken, no animals, nor Ethels, were harmed in the cooking of their Soy Chicken“. It’s really just THAT good. :D

Oh, and PS- order a soda, soya milk (if you like that), yoghurt, or fruit shake to down the food, rather than the fresh juices. The three of us got (a) calamansi juice, (b) dalandan juice, and (c) another dalandan juice, lol! They don’t fix their juices with cold water, so drinking below the “ice level” means room-temperature juice. Who wants that?? And drinking along the icey area means bland bland juice. Too bad.. Anyway, get a coke light!

If I had to sum up all them meals in one statement- i’d say “GO FOR IT!“. This place is a definite staple on my foodtrip list! None of the meals are dry, you don’t have to wait too long for your meal, they’re served ‘off the pan’- ergo you won’t bite into a chilled undone piece of faux meat, the service is great and the staff are nice and friendly. If you like spicy foods, bring Cayenne Pepper with you. Budget per head: PhP 150.00 - 200.00

Greens Café and Restaurant is located at Scout Tuazon cor. Scout Castor Streets, Quezon City (v. near A Taste of LA). Tel. 4102440

I wish…

Something I'd sell someone's soul for... wanna volunteer?…for a Nokia 7390. I was walking around with a few friends after a meeting (a couple of days ago), and we somehow ended up checking the Smart telecom booth. We were supposed to stick to the table for postpaid plans, but, unconsciously (as if driven by the Force lol), i found myself on the other end of the shop, staring at this beautiful baby! i want! Aaargh!

Up until that moment, I was just about satisfied and settled with my current phone. Sure it works 3/4’s of the time. Sure it blanks out every now and then. Sure it gets this weird “Card error” thingys. (You gotta give it credit for wear and tear I tell you that!) I didn’t wanna ask for more. UNTIL I saw this… N7390…. tsk tsk tsk…

I’m willing to sell someone else’s soul for this. Someone preferably evil. Anyone willing to volunteer? I’ll let you use the phone for a couple of seconds? Any takers?

Hmpf! Wuss!

dear God… if you happen to be reading this now, and find yourself particularly giving, please know that i just helped out coordinating for a very nice event for kids this summer. A fundraiser, no less. And that we plan to launch this “Kindness Club” too, wherein I also intend to help out. Please also know that I didn’t curse or put a hex on the person who did me wrong (trackback to this blog- I just got my wallet jacked).

God, I’ll leave you now with those to ponder on. :)

God, dude, you know I’m kidding right? No badblood between us! :)

“recall” paranoid? Solid Gold Products

Pet food recall paranoid? Click here

Japan’s taking over the world

Japan's Taking Over The World!!

Japan’s taking over the world!!

Animania has spread it’s parasol worldwide! Everywhere, Japanese architects and engineers are continuously heading projects and building skyscrapers! Japanese scientists are inventing technological gadgets that would make nobel prize winners drop their jaws! All over the world, Japanese merchandise has made itself a member of an ordinary family’s list of bare necessities! They’re a bunch of ingenious creatures! Way ahead of this time and way impervious to the sinking ships some of us find ourselves in.

And who can blame them for being so freaking great? While we were wiping muds off our shoes, they designed plastic boots that would protect footwear from nature’s troubles. While we were making home family videos, they were shooting documentaries that would help explain the mass extinction that occurred millions of years ago. While we were sending rockets to space, they have created satellites that sends back pictures of earth and displays it in an oversized hanging spherical lcd (Geo-Cosmos), which they created while we were taking our afternoon naps! They’re so advanced it’s beginning to creep me out!

I mean, how do we know for sure that they wouldn’t turn on the rest of the earth when they’re capable of surviving on their own? How could we, mere earthlings amongst their presence, defend ourselves from their

……….

wait a minute… they made Airconditioned suits??? Damn and I just said that the Philippine summer’s killing me…. … and… what’s this? they got painless injections??? Double dang!! And there was even a time in my life when I seriously would rather drop dead than get pricked by a needle!!

okay. I’m out!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Kids and Critters!!

Kids and CrittersKids and Critters Summer Camp!!

Enjoy 2 Fun-Filled Afternoons of Pet Care Demos, Interactive Games, Arts & Crafts and Film Showing with Guest Celebrities & Pets

The camp is for kids aged 6 to 12 - with pet dogs. =) Fee of P700 for 2 days (2 hours per day) is inclusive of t-shirt, bag, snacks, materials for Cooking for your Pet, Pottery Session, and will benefit the Philippine Animal Welfare Society =)

HURRY! ONLY 30 SLOTS AVAILABLE!Upon completion of the Course, all “Graduates” automatically become members of the PAWS KINDNESS CLUB who will be entitled to discounts on PAWS Merchandise and in PAWS-affiliated stores

P 700.00 Registration Fee includes :

  • Official Camp Shirt
  • Official Camp Knapsack
  • Snacks for Kids
  • Materials for Arts & Crafts
  • Certificate upon Completion of Course

All proceeds from this event will go to the PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center (PARC). For inquiries,please call 4751688 / 0922-7135828 / 0922-8815600 or email us at philpaws@yahoo.com

Friday, April 20, 2007

The Spaghetti Factory

Ze Best Damn Pumpkin Soup Ever!

A few weeks ago, I was having such a craving for ramen or noodles, or something like it, and I was determined enough to go an hour north or south just to have my noodle fix!

People were suggesting left and right anywhere from Chowking to Pot and Noodles. And my dear old Google suggested this: The Spaghetti Factory!

It looked fun enough for me, and had a menu wide enough for a vegetarian (moi) and a pile of carnivores (them LOL). And, though it wasn’t there that I ate that day, I made sure that I’ll be visiting the place really soon. And soon was yesterday at SM Megamall!

Best Damn pumpkin Soup Ever!!

While I was at Tally’s, I showed her the website for The Spaghetti Factory and not much convincing had to be done. They had a VERY wide variety of dishes, but all she had to hear was “walnuts” and off we go!

She was craving for Cibo’s Pumpkin Soup, and since The Spaghetti Factory offered the same, we decided to try it- split it. Oh. MY. GOD! Heaven in a Bread bowl! Who’d have thunk it! Their’s is the best Pumpkin Soup I’d ever tasted! Better than Jack’s Loft’s!

Best Damn Pumpkin Soup Ever

It’s so creamy and thick, one can probably eat it from a strainer! The soup itself was so full of flavor, you just have to let each spoonfull set in your mouth a bit. INDULGE! That’s the only way to eat this soup. INDULGE!

And to those who are turned off by the idea of “pumpkins” being the base for a soup- get over it and try this! It’s like soft curry (less the spice), made just mild enough to be eaten on its own. The only thing not right for me in this dish? Chili. The soup lacked that kick that I adore so much. But hey, that’s just me since I’m a chili addict! For everyone else, it’s damn perfect!

Their pasta dishes can be fun to order, since it’s a mix and match game. Choose which type of pasta (noodle) you want, and what sauce to use it with. Deciding what type of pasta to use was easy. Linguine for me. Fettucine for Tally. But the sauce… well… I had to take a moment to get to that part.

Forest Mushrooms... bleh

After a very intense decision making on what pasta sauce to choose, the coin I drew chose tails- ergo, Forest Mushrooms. Very close call! :D One turn tot he other direction and I’d have gotten the Mediterranean Sun sauce. According to their menu, Forest Mushrooms is…

A rich combo of shitake & button mushroom in a cream & herbs sauce

Hmmm… I love shitake.. I love cream… I love herbs… GO!

Tally, of course, skimmed the menu for “walnuts” and headed to order the Salsa De Noche,

Delicious fusion of tasty walnuts in a smooth ricotta cheese-cream sauce

You know, our pastas were served at the same time and MAN DO THEY LOOK ALIKE! Like really! But since we both got cream-based sauces, I guess it shouldn’t have been that surprising.. huh?

Salsa De Noche

I was quite disapponted with my dish. There wasn’t a tad of Shitake mushroom in that pasta. Not even in spirit! LOL! I mean everybody knows that Shitake mushrooms are quite strong and infuse that particular unmistakeable tang of their own. But it wasn’t there! At least not in my pasta. What happened? Did you guys ran out of Shitakes? I can see the Button mushrooms. I can taste the Button mushrooms. But I wasn’t in it for the Button mushrooms, man! I didn’t even get to finish half of it. Note to self: get something else next time.

All their pastas are served with a side of Foccacia slice and grated Parmesan cheese. Nothing special there.

Tally finished her dish off. I forgot to taste it LOL!! I’m guessing it was pretty okay, since I didn’t hear no complains from her end.

We took the Foccacia slices and the (almost) whole bread bowl home for Tally’s dogs. And I had what’s left of my pasta wrapped for Sonny, Malyn and Liza later that night.

The Spaghetti Factory'

All in all- their Cream of Pumpkin Soup??? An instant fave!! If you’re going to SM Mega, Ayala Center, SM Manila, or SM Fairview, you can’t leave without trying their Cream of Pumpkin Soup first!!!! Trust me on this one- damn good!

Everything else, from the pasta to the service, well, nothing special. It’s not a fine-dining resto, so not for intimate dates. But for family day outs, barkada foodtrips, or casual meetings, it’s do-able. Again, aside from the Pumpkin Soup, there’s nothing that would piss you off, but nothing to drive you gaga in love either.



hmmm… reading this.. the pasta wasn’t bad. Actually, my friends liked it. I was just really disappointed because i LOVE Shitake mushrooms. they could have exploited it waaaay more than they did, coz honestly, there was no shitake tang in that pasta. btu i bet their other dishes are good too!