Munch corner: J.Co Donuts

I've been hearing rave comments about J.Co donuts here in Manila. I wanna try it so bad but I have no time to go to MegaMall to purchase a box. Luckily, my Tita went out with her friends last night and she took home a box of J.Co donuts.

Their tissues are nice! "Nothing is sweeter than the togetherness we share"

MY VERDICT:

It exceeded my expectations. The donuts are soft and moist even after pulling it out from the fridge. The best thing is... IT'S NOT TOO SWEET. The Al Capone donut (the one topped with white chocolate and almonds) blew me away. I'm definitely heading to their store one of these days to try the other flavors and their blended drinks and frozen yogurt. 

Cooking corner: Egg in a hole

As I was browsing through breakfast recipes on the internet, I came across "Egg in a hole". This recipe has a lot of names but I'm not sure of its origin. Ingredients are on hand and it's quite easy so I gave it a try. 

Finished product

Coffee and Egg in a hole for brunch!

It's quite a failure because the egg was overcooked. Haha! But still, it tasted good and I was so hungry to even care. 

Rocca at Torre Venezia Suites

We dined at Rocca last March 27,2012 for my Graduation dinner. My mom got vouchers from Ensogo so we decided to try this place. 


Rocca is situated at the 8th floor of Torre Venezia Suites. When we arrived there, I was surprised because I wasn't expecting to find a classy and laid back place. Two thumbs up for ambiance! 

The seats look comfortable and pretty.

Ambiance: ✔
Interiors and lighting: ✔


Now, off to FOOD :)


Rocca serves Spanish, French, Italian, Greek and Mediterranean cuisine. Everything on the menu sounds appetizing. I seriously had a hard time picking which one to eat. The bad thing is.. I forgot the names of the items that we ordered (I was too excited to eat!)

 Appetizer: Chicken tandoori with Pita Bread

The pita bread is crispy, I think it's fried. The chicken tandoori is tasteless if you won't put chutney in it. I wish I know what the chutney is made of, but it's so good! It tastes strong by itself but when you pair it with the tandoori and the pita, it's perfect. The flavors and texture bursts in your mouth. It's so damn good. 

Chicken stuffed with three mushrooms in orange gravy sauce

This is what I had: Chicken stuffed with three mushrooms in orange gravy sauce. One word: FANTASTIC. The vegetables are still crisp and fresh. It's perfectly cooked. My chicken is a bit overcooked for my liking, nonetheless, it's still good. The mushrooms (I don't know which mushrooms they are) are so good. What stood out for me is the orange gravy sauce. It's the star of this dish and it gives the dish a kick. It's tangy and velvety. 

My mom, aunt and lolo ordered other items but I can't remember the names. (My bad, sorry!) Here they are:

The tuna dish that my lolo ordered

Pork dish that my aunt ordered

The beef and cheese in white sauce that my mom and brother ordered (The beef is reeeeeeeeaally tender and good!)

Being the dessert lover that I am, I always make it a point to leave a room for desserts. Not only one, but two ;)

Crepe Samurai

Fried vanilla gelato with chocolate ganache

I wanted to order their Mango Pavlova but it's unavailable at the time of our visit so I ordered the fried vanilla gelato instead. It's like an ecstasy, very addicting. Haha! The chocolate ganache and the other syrup (I don't what it is again) brought the fried gelato to new heights. It's a perfect way to end the meal. 

The crepe samurai is unexpectedly great. I thought it would be just like any other crepe I have tasted but it proved me wrong. The crepe itself is HEAVENLY. It's so soft! The mangoes are sweet and the vanilla gelato balances the flavors. All in all: PERFECT. 

Service is also great. Staff are friendly and they attended to all our needs. So if you're looking for a place to unwind and you wanna enjoy great food and drinks, I really recommend this place. I'll be back for the mango pavlova!

What I love about my mom is her groupon obsession and she likes to research about the newest dining places in the metro. That's why we end up discovering hidden jewels like Rocca. Thanks mom! 

ROCCA RISTORANTE

8th Flr, Torre Venezia Suites

#170 Timog Avenue corner Scout Santiago Street, Quezon City, Philippines

Mon - Sat: 11:00 am-2:00 pm

                6:00 pm-11:00 pm 

I am now officially UNEMPLOYED ;)

GRADUATION DAY! HOHO.

Finallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! After 15 years of studying, I am now entering the real world. Am I ready for the competition? Maybe.. But I think, I'm not yet loaded with the ample bullets that I need for war. I'm taking up extra lessons this summer. As to what are those, that will be my secret ;)

It feels great to finally graduate. If there is someone who is happier than me, that would definitely be my mom. Goodbye tuition fees. HAHAHA.

Blockmates, THIS IS IT :)

Buffet Monsters: Love Desserts ;)

Grad practice: Boohoo. Dessert buffet: YAHOOOOOOOO!


Spent the whole morning for grad practice. Seriously, 5 hours? UGH. Nothing interesting today until a brilliant idea came to my mind: LOVE DESSERTS.


We've been planning to attack this place last February 2012 pa. Due to busy scheds (OJT etc etc), the plan always gets pushed back. When it's impromptu, more likely it will push through :)


That's what happened to us. After grad practice, Tricia, Mika and I headed to Love Desserts, a dessert heaven located at Banawe. I have never heard of a buffet place before so when Mika mentioned this to me, my ears perked up.


We arrived around 4:45 pm and the place isn't packed.. YET. But there are a few diners already (mostly students). After we sat down for just a few seconds, we stood up and immediately attacked the buffet stations. 

I don't know what it's called BUT IT'S SO GOOD. It's like Maja Blanca with coconut strips.

The cakes, brownies and other unknown pastries.

Pianono rolls, empanaditas, turon, brownies and the EPIC FAIL eclairs.

THE CREPE STATION! 

Another epic fail: Jello on shot glasses and fruit tarts.

Choco Fountain station

Their ice cream from Big Scoop! 

Halo-halo station.

Iced tea and milk tea (UNLIMITED) :)

I didn't eat anything the whole day so I was expecting a huge space on my stomach. But the crepes prevented me from doing so. Hahaha! So here's what was on my plate:

clockwise: The maja blanca with coconut strips (REALLY YUMMY), Jello shot (tastes like jasmine tea. Really weird), cream puff and chocolate eclair (FAIL!) and sylvanna (Good too)

I'd like to emphasize that I was really disappointed with the cream puffs and eclairs. Those are two of my favorite pastries! When you bite into it, you won't feel the cream oozing in your mouth. Instead, you'll feel air. It's almost empty! 

My first serving of crepe (Apple-cinnamon with choco hazelnut spread) with coffee ice cream.

Second serving: Bananas with choco hazelnut spread. Without ice cream this time and it's still good :)

Green tea ice cream decorated with marshmallows and ice cream cone :) The green ice cream got six thumbs up from the three of us. 

My DIY halo-halo with bubblegum ice cream. WEIRD? I KNOW. But I can't resist the bubblegum ice cream! 

Singkamas with bagoong to cleanse the sweetness from our palate.

The P199 that we paid was worth it. They have a lot of other choices that I didn't get to try. Their food is great but they have to improve on other items. Nonetheless, I enjoyed eating here. It's definitely a heaven for people with sweet tooth like me :)