hot chocolate – Page 2 – Jellybeans in the City

Work and Hot Chocolate at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Venice Piazza, Taguig

While passing the time before a foodie meetup at Datang in the Venice Piazza, I decided to do some work and catch up on my emails.

Fortunately, there’s a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf branch near the parking area that seemed like a nice and quiet place to while away some hours while immersed in some work.

My treat to myself while poring over my workload? (Because every source of motivation counts and chocolate is always good for motivation.)

A nice cup of frothy Hot Double Chocolate with Marshmallows. Made with CBTL’s proprietary Special Dutch chocolate powder, combined with carefully steamed non-fat milk and topped with a thick layer of foam, it is a perfectly rich and decadent pick-me-up concoction.

I wish I could stay longer and leisurely enjoy my drink.

But, alas, duty called.

Until, next time then, my chocolate treat!

This CBTL branch is located at the Ground Floor, Venice Piazza, McKinley Hill, Taguig.

Other branches in Taguig may be found at:

B8 Bonifacio High Street, BGC
32nd Street corner 11th Avenue, Park Triangle, BGC
Third Floor, BHS Central Square, BGC
Third Floor, Uptown Place Mall, BGC
Every Nation Building, 32nd Avenue corner University Parkway, BGC
Ground Floor, BGC Stopover Pavilion, BGC
Burgos Circle, BGC
Fifth Floor, SM Aura Premier, BGC
Shell Logcom, CP Garcia Avenue, Greater Taguig
Ground Floor, Vista Mall, Greater Taguig

Check out my other CBTL blog posts:

Barkada Brunch at Sunnies Cafe, SM Megamall

Being an introvert, I am happy to keep a small group of trusted friends who I can hang out with and dish on our pet peeves while enjoying good food. Our weekend meetup was several weeks in the making so we grabbed at the chance to come together when our schedules allowed it.

We decided to meet up for brunch at Sunnies Cafe at SM Megamall since it’s the location that’s easily accessible to most of us.

The cafe has a very posh vibe to it, with floor-to ceiling glass windows that lets diners look out into the bridgeway (and passersby to take in the IG-worthy decor of the resto).

My daughter, #ExhibitA, even tagged along to hang out with us #TitasOfManila (well, one of us is a Tito, hehehe!) as she claimed Sunnies Cafe as one of her favorite hangouts. She ordered a plate of Chicken and Pancakes (Php280) from the All-Day Breakfast Menu, which consist of country style fried chicken served with bacon and thyme pancakes, a sunny side up egg and some maple syrup, and a plate of Truffle Taters (Php190), which consist of large crisp potato cubes tossed with some parmesan and truffle oil.

I, on the other hand, opted to try something new: a Sunnies Risotto (Php370). A risotto dish made with grana padano cheese, bacon, an egg cooked sous vide, caramelized onions and homemade gravy, it turned out to be a bit too hearty for a breakfast meal. The caramelized onions also seemed too overpowering after a few bites. Fortunately, I got myself a cup of Hot Chocolate (Php140) to sip on; its rich chocolatey flavor is the dash of sweetness I needed as a break for the savory flavors of my meal.

My friends ordered Chicken and Pancakes similar to my daughter. One of them ordered Steak and Eggs (Php390) which we had to help her finish.

Sunnies Cafe is an excellent venue to meet up with friends for a leisurely meal. I would suggest ordering some of the lighter offerings like the Salmon Poke Quinoa (Php280) as the food may be too rich for most tastes.

That said, our group took full advantage of the laid-back atmosphere to chat up a storm and the cute interiors for our group photo opps.

This Sunnies Cafe branch is located at Second Floor, Bridgeway, SM Megamall, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City. For reservations, call +63 2 7181862 or +63 917 7025829.

Other branches are located at:

B3, Bonifacio High Street, 9th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City (Tel: +63 2 9492251 or +63 917 7021158)
Corte de Las Palmas, Alabang Town Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City (Tel: +63 2 7776319)
Ground Floor, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City

This post contains affiliate links.

Want to learn how to give your family’s breakfast a new twist? Check out these books from Amazon.com!

Want to try some recipes today? There’s no need to leave home to shop for ingredients. With Honestbee, just order your groceries online and you’ll get them delivered right at your doorstep at your preferred time. Use this referral link and get Php500 off for a minimum spend of Php2,500. You can download the Honestbee app on iTunes or Google Play.

If you’re in the US and an Amazon Prime member, sign up for a free trial of Amazon Fresh to get your groceries delivered to you.

Recovery Food at Pi Breakfast & Pies, Ugong

I admit, there are times when I’m in no mood to worry about breakfast, especially when my (gasp!) three-in-one coffee is already waiting for me at the dining table (courtesy of my ever-loyal yaya, of course).

I keep hearing that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day… yada, yada, yada…” but we shouldn’t eat breakfast for its own sake. Breakfast should be a gastronomic pleasure too. (That way, more people will take eating breakfast to heart!)

After my first attempt to return to running for fitness (or to be more honest, walking around the track just to burn off some calories), I, together with Hubby who is more serious about running than I am, decided to stop over at Pi Breakfast & Pies at the Rockwell Grove in Ugong. For our breakfast – slash – recovery food, we ordered:

Caramelized Spam (Php265). The classic spamsilog is given a more premium twist. The hefty cubes of spam, tossed in the pan until they achieved a nice caramelization, were accented by garlic fried rice, kimchi, pesto, a five-minute egg, scallions and sesame seeds.
Queso de Bola Ensaymada (Php55). And I used to think those big red balls of cheese are only good for the Christmas season! The sharp saltiness of the cheese has a nice interplay with the sweetness of the bread. I would prefer it to be a bit puffier and have a smoother texture, though.
Hot Chocolate (Php85). I’m not sure what I expected but I would have thought that the resto could have added a new twist to this drink to make it special, maybe a drop of peppermint or some chocolate shavings?

View this post on Instagram

Broke our fast at @breakfastnpies after our first attempt towards fitness: Carmelized Spam (Php265), #QuesoDeBolaEnsaymada (Php55) and a #HotChocolate (Php85). #recoveryfood #foodie #foodporn #foodstagram #foodiegram #igers #igersmanila #brekkie #breakfast #almusal

A post shared by Jellybeans in the City (@beingjellybeans) on Jun 30, 2018 at 5:42pm PDT

All these said, I wouldn’t mind returning to Pi Breakfast & Pies to sample their other All-Day Breakfast Options such as the Eggs Benny (Php275) and the Beef Brisket Corned Beef (Php275).

This branch of Pi Breakfast & Pies is located at The Grove By Rockwell, E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue, Ugong, Pasig City, open from 7am to 10pm everyday (Tel: +63 915 2583314). Its other branch is located at 39 Malingap Street, Teachers Village, Quezon City, open from 6am to 10pm everyday (Tel: +63 2 9312337 or +63 2 4411773).

Want to learn how to give your family’s breakfast a new twist? Check out these books from Amazon.com!

(By the way, Pi Breakfast & Pies also delivers via Honestbee). 🙂

If you’re in the US and an Amazon Prime member, sign up for a free trial of Amazon Fresh to get your groceries delivered to you.

DIY Gift: Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Every holiday season brings the same struggle: what to give to all of the family’s relatives, friends and co-workers for Christmas that will be unique, can be useful to or enjoyed by the recipient, and won’t go over the family’s gift budget?

Last year, we gave out over 100 bags of Chocolate Chip Cookies which my daughter and I baked and packed as our gifts. Thankfully, I know a baking supplies store nearby so I was able to save considerably on ingredients.

This year, while surfing through Pinterest, I discovered a new gift idea: Hot Chocolate on a Stick!

The recipe below is further simplified from the one I found on Pinterest, but still quite yummy! Best of all, ingredients and tools are easy and cheap to come by, thanks the nearby baking supplies store.

Ingredients:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 tsp peppermint oit
15 large marshmallows
additional milk chocolate chips and candy sprinkles as garnish

You will also need:

Coffee stirrers or plastic straws to serve as sticks
Individual plastic wrappers
Gift ribbons
Gift labels

Procedure:

Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave. (Medium high power for 30 secs and High power for 15 secs; resulting melted chocolate should be thick and have a nice sheen)
Mix in the the peppermint oil.
Pour the mixture into 2 tbsp chocolate molds (I used a small ice cream scoop to measure out and pour the mixture into small puto molds)
Spear each marshmallow with a plastic straw then placed it in the middle of each mold
Place in the refrigerator for 5 hours or until set.

I wrapped these with individual food-grade plastic wrappers decorated with red satin ribbons. I included a tbsp of milk chocolate chips and 1/8tbsp of candy sprinkles per package as garnishes. The label should indicate that the hot chocolate on a stick should be stirred into a cup of hot milk until the chocolate is melted.

This recipe yields 15 sticks.

Get-together at Homey Cafe Mary Grace

Cafe Mary Grace is best known for its baked goods, particularly the Ensaymada and Cheese Rolls. Stemming from its owner (guess the name!) Mary Grace’s passion for baking, Cafe Mary Grace aims to provide the homey delights of fun Sunday family lunches to its diners.

When a friend came home from Singapore, we decided on a whim to meet up at Cafe Mary Grace in Greenbelt, Makati for dinner.

True its homey roots, the place has a warm and inviting atmosphere, with trinkets and framed sayings and food shots dotting the walls. There were lots of diners there who -similar to us – are friends getting together to catch up or families out for a good meal.

We ordered a Smoked Salmon and Cream Pasta (Php330), a Pasta Amatriciana with Italian Meatballs (Php320) and capped our meal with cups of rich Mary Grace’s Hot Chocolate (Php157) and decadent slices of Chocolate Cake (Php120) and Mango Bene (Php198).

It was an enjoyable meal among friends enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of home.

This branch of Cafe Mary Grace is located at Ground Floor, Greenbelt 2, Esperanza, Ayala Center, Makati City.