Quick Reviews: Pig Out Halo-Halo Heaven

If only I can blog as often as I want so that I churn out more prompt reviews. But that is not the case for me. Because of work and other things that take up most of my time, and that I like to put out lengthy and extensive reviews, my posts are often delayed by months, lucky if it's just one month. So I came up with Quick Reviews - short, bulleted details of products, foods, places or anything that I'd like to talk about that I feel need to posted right away, or don't have plenty enough details to deserve a full review.

Like this Pig Out Halo-Halo Heaven for example:

• Price is P365
• Good for 5-6 persons or more (there were 8 of us who shared this).
• Watch out for the popping sago (tapioca). The wait staff said it's imported from Thailand.
• Nothing special about the toppings (sweetened banana, beans, langka, kaong, macapuno, garbanzos, gulaman, cereals) but the milk/cream had something else. I can't quite say what it is, probably the ice cream, but it gave a nice 'distinct' sweet taste to the dessert.
• Just the right sweetness that doesn't linger on and hurt the throat.
• I was missing the taste of ube (purple yam) and leche flan.
• There were a few large pieces of ice, would've been better if it was crushed finely.

But this Pig Out Halo-Halo Heaven was super fun to eat with friends and family. A perfect treat for summer. Sulit na din for P365.

Food: Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Chicago Cheesecake

This, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Chicago Cheesecake, will probably be the last cheesecake that I will eat in a long while. I will be trying on a new diet for my thyroiditis and eating dairy products is a no-no. Good thing this was a good one.

The first and last time I tried this was November of last year (gives you an idea of how delayed my reviews are), so my comments on this post are fragments of how I remember the cheesecake was.

I like that the top was lighty toasted and the body was firm and dense. Texture was not airy, which is how I like it, and had that rich, smooth and velvety feel as it spreads in your tastebuds. It has a nice blend of sweetness and tanginess and cheesiness as any good cheesecake should. There was also a hint of lemon but not as much like in the The Cheesecake Factory I've reviewed here. I thought it tasted great.

I can't remember how the crust tasted though (or if it's choco or something else). But I remember liking this cheesecake. Really liking it. And someday, if I allow myself another cheesecake again, I'd surely try Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Chicago Cheesecake again to give you a more detailed review.

Just looking at this photo makes my mouth water.

Food: Melona Strawberry Iced Bar

I've been reading about Melona Iced Bar but couldn't find it in any malls near my place. Good thing, we went a little further one grocery-shopping day, and I saw Melona products in SM Supermarket in Southmall, Las Pinas City. So I took 1 box to finally taste what a lot of people have been raving about.

I don't think that Strawberry is it's most popular flavor, but I love Strawberry, so nevermind the bestseller.

The flavor is light and didn't taste too sweet or too artificial, as most strawberry flavors do. What I like most about it is it's more on the creamy side and not icy, like your regular iced popsicle. A premium ice cream on a stick? Is it even an ice cream?

Yes, it's good but maybe not something I'll develop a craving for. But I'll buy again, for sure, if only to try the other flavors. I read Banana and Honeydew are good.

DQ = Diarrhea Queen?

Hubby used to to buy DQ (Dairy Queen) often. Every trip to the mall meant a tall serving of DQ Blizzard in Double Dutch for him. Sometimes, we would share. Sometimes, I would get my own small cup in anything Strawberry.

But this was before I realized that after I ate DQ, I would get LBM. Often, too soon that after an hour or two of consuming a small cup, I'd be raring to go home because my stomach would start acting up and I don't know how long it can hold off. It happened quite a few times for it to be a coincidence. And with different branches, too.

So I made a quick search on Google and it turns out that other people have experienced the same. Try entering "diarrhea after dairy queen" and you'll see what I'm talking about. Looks  like DQ has some ingredients that irritate the stomach or are not suited for those with lactose intolerance. I'm not lactose intolerant, by the way, but I do have a sensitive stomach.

Hubby still buys it but I've stayed away from it since. Sure, I'd eat one again if we're at home or on our way home.  But nothing my husband can do can make me eat it again when we're out and away from the comfort and privacy of our CR.

How about you, do you have the same experience with any of the Dairy Queen products?

Food: Bag of Beans Cheesecake

It's during one of those impromptu trips to Tagaytay when I tried Bag of Beans cheesecake. Now, because I've been in blogging hiatus (again, for the 2nd time, or was it 3rd?) and it was months ago, I already forgot which cheesecake is this:

Blueberry or Strawberry? Blueberry should be, well, blue and this is not (or should I just blame my camera phone for not getting the right color?) So I thought Strawberry. But knowing me, if there's Blueberry Cheesecake on the menu, that would be the first thing that I'll order. So maybe they didn't have Blueberry Cheesecake that day?

And forgetting what cheesecake I had is only half of the problem because I also forgot how it tasted. Well, I do remember that the topping - that luxurious chunky thick syrup dripping on the cake - was very good. But that's it, no recollection of what the cake itself taste like. I wish these photos could make my tastebuds remember.

So another trip to Bag of Beans is needed. Until then, this review is on hold.

 

UPDATED (03/10/2013)

 

Finally the mystery was solved.

 

Food: The Cheesecake Factory Original Cheesecake

Being a cheesecake lover, I would sometimes browse online forums to know where fellow afficionados get their favorite cheesecakes. I found a few who mentioned that the best cheesecake they've ever tasted was the New York-style cheesecake, specifically the one from The Cheesecake Factory in the US. I was prepared to content myself with local varieties (because I'm not sure when will I, if ever I will, step on the US soil) until I found out the The Old Spaghetti House imports their cheesecake from that store.

A slice of plain cheesecake costs P220, definitely expensive by my standards but I was thinking, "it's imported, what do you expect?" and perhaps the price is only indicative of the quality. Sooo. Okay, even if it's more expensive than the actual meal that I'm having, I just had to taste what could arguably be the best cheesecake in the world .

It's just a shame that my photo isn't clear. My cellphone camera couldn't focus properly under the yellowish lighting on our table, which reminds me that I should get myself a decent point-and-shoot camera, at least, if I want to accompany my reviews with nice images.

Anyway, the slice was thick, at least 2-inch thick of what looked like a creamy and dense baked cheesecake batter bedded on a thin Graham crust. It was served cold and drizzled with strawberry sauce. I was thrilled to see the sides were smooth, a good sign of the density and firmness of the cake, which is what I like (I don't like spongy cheesecakes).

Food: The Palms Deli Blueberry Cheesecake

It was Valentines Day. We were strolling at Festival Mall in Alabang when I saw a stall selling the felicitous food for the season: cakes and chocolates. The name of the stall was The Palms Deli. I scanned past the chocolates and other baked goodies, and zeroed in on their blueberry cheesecake, the lone cheesecake inside the glass stand. A slice costs P100 and the whole cake, I think, is P720. I bought a slice only and put it inside the paper bag that my husband was carrying for me, along with the bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates that he gave me that day.

When we got home, I immediately took out the plastic box that encased my favorite dessert. The slice looked small, the whole cake itself is only about 8" in diameter and not more than 2" in height. I placed it on a small saucer plate, the one we use to serve liquid condiments (soy sauce, patis, etc). It's that small.

But the size was indirectly proportional to how good it tasted.

Food: Cheesecake Melliza Caramel Walnut and Oreo Cheesecake

I love Cheesecake. It is the only dessert that I have a craving for; the only dessert that I won't probably get tired of eating. So expect that this will be the start of the many reviews that I will make on my favorite dessert. The idea is to create a series of posts, reviewing different cheesecake brands, and maybe picking out the bests (I'm sure there won't be only one) among them. And first on the list is Cheesecake Melliza's Caramel Walnut and Oreo Cheesecake.

Cheesecake Melliza is not my first cheesecake, but it is the first that I took photos of, hence being the first to be reviewed.

During those monthly prenatal check-ups, we (husband and I) would always wind up at the nearest mall, Robinsons Place Ermita. That's where I saw a stall selling various Cheesecake Melliza baked goodies. They have different cheesecake toppings, and I remember standing in front of the booth for a long time, having a hard time choosing which to get. They all looked delish.