Cravings... Chocolate Cravings that is...

Yes! Wandergirl's back from her "soul searching" or should I say hiatus/lazy mode hehe.

Just to give you guys a little background on myself.. Whenever I have my monthly visitor (haha I know you get me), I have errrrr cravings... Chocolate cravings that is! That is why I have set foot to try 2 of the famous chocolate places here in Makati. Well one is located in Salcedo Village while the other's in Bel Air.

I was thinking of combining my chocolate posts but I think I'll do my review for the cafes separately. So without any further delay, here's my review for Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe.

Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe's located in #28 Jupiter St. Corner Astra St. Brgy. Bel Air Makati City (It's beside Whistlestop - famous for its Hainanese Chicken , RJ Bistro, Starbucks and Fiamma of course). It's owned by Eva Wong, who has been in the chocolate business for 25 years already (so talk about chocolate experts, we know we could trust them). They opened the boutique cafe last December 6, 2009. And they have been doing imports of the following brands of chocolate: Toblerone, Ferrero Rocher, Lindt Master Swiss Chocolate, Ritter Sport and Frey).

Aside from chocolate, this store serves pasta, sandwiches and coffee.. But their expertise would be chocolate as expected so I might suggest that you eat somewhere else if you don't want to eat chocolate :P

For starters they gave me a bowl of Mini Frey Chocolate Bars (yay more chocolate for me)

Then I ordered for the famous Ferrero Hazelnut Crunch Cake - Php 280

If you love Ferrero, then this cake's definitely for you. Crush the Ferrero Chocolate Balls mixed with delicious chocolate and whip it on top of a soft chocolate sponge cake... Mmmmmmm need I say more?

For my drink, I ordered for the Classic Hot Chocolate - Php 150

(Although I was having a hard time in choosing among the Spicy Hot Chocolate, the Nutella Hot Chocolate and the Classic. The Classic Hot Choco won because I am in search for the perfect Hot Choco. Hahaha but I will definitely be back for the other Hot Choco contenders though)

It has a thick consistency which was a good sign that I was in for some chocolate bliss. I like the dark feel or taste it has because it wasn't too sweet which was perfect since I had the Ferrero cake. So definitely a thumbs up for me.. Haha I'll probably let you guys know which Chocolate Cafe wins for my "Search for the Perfect Hot Coco Contest" after I finish doing my chocolate shop hunting. LOL.

Well I had a boring morning today but this afternoon turned out pretty awesome for me! It was sinfully fattening but definitely worth the additional rounds I will be doing next week. Hahaha oh well I guess I have to double or even triple my rounds at Highstreet for my chocolate cravings these past few days ;D

Ohhhh before I forget.. I love the ambiance of Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe, it's not that big so you better make reservations if you're gonna go there for Valentines' or other holidays... But they do accept walk-ins. Plus when I was there eating my Ferrero cake, haha they were playing my favorite French Song, "Samba de Mon Coeur qui Bat" by Coralie Clement. (MmmmmmMMM Hahaha I just wish they played it a little louder :)) Bingi kasi ako :P hahaha)

Telephone: +632 8978559, 8962529

Email: mchocolatier.manila@gmail.com

wait for it...

I am excited because probably next week I will be doing a review on a newly opened cafe in Ortigas (El Pueblo to be exact)... I know some of you already know the name of the cafe... but wait for it... I'm excited... teeeheee!!

What's Up??

hmmmmmmm I vandalized in Noriter Cafe XD hahaha I wrote my name there... I have to go back and take a pic! =))

I found something funny in the net... Again, I did not make this ha? Just so you know :)

Gelatone

If you're always in Greenbelt 3 haha I'm sure you won't miss this ice cream store just below the escalator. Yes my dear friends, I'm talking about Gelatone. Yes gelato is Italy's version of their ice cream, but only with lesser butterfat compared to the regular ice cream we have (sooo definitely a better choice compared to ice cream). Hmmm I know what you're thinking... don't worry gelato is still yummy just like the ice cream (gelato just melts faster compared to ice cream) :)


I have always been a fan of this gelato store due to their "Ferrero Rocher" flavor... which unfortunately is not in their stock anymore. Hmmmm I'm not sure if they have removed this in their menu or they just don't have any stock. But no worries my fellow Ferrero Rocher fanatics since they have lots of choices...

I decided to try out their Carbonara (which has White Wine in their sauce - yummy yummy). I was wondering why it costs P420 hahaha well their pasta could serve 4 people. Haha I also tried their Iced Tea (and yesss it's fresh tea not just the "instant iced tea").

haha my doggie bag since the serving was soooo big XD hehehe

The store even gave me a free scoop of gelato of my choice (hehe yesss, I was actually surprised) A scoop would cost around P100 (definitely cheaper compared to Haagen-Dazs). Haha I think it was because it was Valentine's Day and I was dateless. Kidding aside I asked my server if the Ferrero Rocher was available (but as expected she said they don't have it). So I asked for an alternative and she said Nutella would be my best bet! And true enough Nutella tasted the same as Ferrero minus the crunchy bits of chocolate in the gelato :)

Location: 2nd floor Greenbelt 3 (below the escalator) near First Aid
Recommendation: GEDefinitely for people who love to eat sweet food!

Time to cool down with Qoola

Yes! I went to the soft opening of Qoola Frozen Yogurt in Greenbelt 2 (hehe actually it's in between Greenbelt 1 and Greenbelt 2). Qoola is a Canadian yogurt store... But what makes this yogurt store different from other stores is that you get to make your own yogurt... So you must be wondering how will this store charge you... well they actually weigh your yogurt cup and have their own computation. :)

For their yogurt base, you can choose from the ff: Original, Green Tea, White Chocolate Macadamia and Raspberry (I decided to choose the White Chocolate Macadami hahaa - it tasted like ice cream and I didn't taste any bitterness). But if you want the bitterness, go with the Original Flavor. Then I went to the toppings bar (I got ripe mangoes, almond, chocolate strips, crushed graham, granola and ooh more ripe mangoes). The price is Php 75 per 100 grams, my cup's kinda full so when they weighed it it cost me 200 bucks (but I think it was worth it since my cup's full and I shared it with a friend).

So here's a recap of the food trip I had..

Advantages: You get to personalize your yogurt! (plus the price varies on the weight of your cup)

They serve smoothies as well :)

Their building's uber chic! There's a fish pond under the staircase =)

They have free wifi!

Disadvantage: If you're clumsy like me (hehe seriously) the toppings bar could be a challenge for you... haha (it could get messy, I mean it)

Location: It's a building in between Greenbelt 1 (National Bookstore) and across Greenbelt 2 (Flapjacks)

Cafe Noriter - another hidden gem in Taft Manila

Haha yes, I am a Lasalista who's a certified coffee addict (trust me hehe kahit bawal I still drink coffee). And during our days (Disclaimer: I'm not that old ah. baka isipin nyo matanda na ako) which was around 5 years ago in Taft the only coffee shop I have been going to was Starbucks (the one in Torre Lorenzo - you can ask the Baristas there hahaha Suki na ako nakakahiya mang aminin, haha btw there's another branch na near DLSU-CSB which opened last 2008 I think). Anyhoooo going back to my post, I wanted to try this new cafe which I have been reading and hearing which was newly opened in Taft (sa taas lang ng Tapa King to be exact). Soooo, I happened to be in the Taft area today and was supposed to go home already but since I was already in Taft, I had to try Cafe Noriter.

Cafe Noriter (I just learned that Noriter stands for playground - very true the place makes you feel like you're in one) is this quirky cafe which would make you fall in love with coffee more... It was a very fun experience for me! I couldn't even keep myself from smiling from the time I went inside the cafe up until the time I left. Haha plus there's free WIFI! Beat that Starbucks :P hehe well I'm not bashing Starbucks naman... I just realized na Starbucks has become soooooo commercialized na and sometimes up to the point of being overrated na (sad to say though) =(

I ordered for Iced Chocolate (hehe see hindi na ako gaano nagcocoffee now :) but of course I will try their coffee next time).

Here are some pics which I took... Goshhhh I am soooo in love with you Cafe Noriter! Marry me please???

Cafe Noriter is open Mondays to Fridays 9 AM- 11 PM

and Saturdays 10 AM - 10 PM

(Address: haha just above Tapa King, use the stairs beside Tapa King in Estrada Street)

1st post ever!

Hey guys,

This is me Wander Girl. Yes I deliberately used the spelling of WANDER because I will be using this blog for my posts regarding the things I will be doing. And if this will be Wander Girl's blog then there will definitely be posts about quirky places (which includes restaurants and their food). hehehe ;)

Wait for my next post. Okie?

Who's Babbling,

Wander Girl