The Chocolate Kiss Cafe

The Chocolate Kiss Cafe
Location : Ang Bahay ng Alumni, R. Magsaysay Street, UP Diliman, Quezon City
Website: http://www.thechocolatekiss.com
Tel # : +63 (2) 433-3782; +63 (2) 434-7430
Cuisine : Italian, Filipino
Menu Price Range : Php 150.00 - Php 300.00
Service Charge: none
Rating : A-

Anyone who’s ever been to the University of the Philippines has probably dined or at least heard of this place, and with good reason: The Chocolate Kiss Cafe is a great romantic sojourn into fine dining that remains affordable and elegant at the same time: a rare combination.

Despite its humble facade, the interiors beckon to a much more sophisticated clientèle. Upon entry, you are greeted by a classy, glass cake display, exhibiting the tasty pastries that were probably the inspiration for the establishment’s title. A grand piano and various paintings are strewn about the area, adding color to the elegant blacks and brown furnishings and subdued, beige walls.

Chicken Kiev
Price: Php 220.00 (with mashed potatoes) Php 200.00 (without)
Rating: A

A delicious classic that’s been popular for years, the chicken was succulent, the stuffing tasty, and the breading flavorful. The vegetables were surprisingly sparse, but my big complaint was the lack of the traditional mashed potatoes and gravy. Not being a big fan for rice myself, I settled for a helping of garlic bread instead, which was surprisingly good.

Taco Salad
Price: Php 190.00
Rating: B

Although a bit spicy, this concoction was quite hearty, not skimping on any of the ingredients. There were healthy portions of flavorful ground beef, tasty beans, and crisp vegetables. The tortilla chips weren’t soggy (a common problem with this dish) and the concoction as a whole was very scrumptious. It’s a bit pricey, but this meal is still a great value as two people can easily share it, considering the copious servings.

Chix in a Basket
Price: Php 175.00
Rating: A-

A tasty and addicting concoction of breaded, boneless chicken strips with a side of fries presented in a small wicker basket, this dish is a far cry from the fast food fare that often touts a similar title. The breading is crunchy and flavorful while the chicken strips are succulent and juicy. The fries are light, crisp, and light on oil. The tart barbecue sauce was the perfect accompaniment: bold and musky, it featured a mix of complimentary spices that made it a delight.

Devil’s Food Cake
Price: Php 58.00 (slice) Php 580.00 (whole)
Rating: A

Perhaps one of the most sinful deserts on the planet, it starts off with moist chocolate layer cake smothered in generous portions of frothy frosting. This is the most popular desert in The Chocolate Kiss Cafe and with good reason - its sweet frosting and moist cake melts in your mouth and leaves you craving for more.

Kahlua Butter Cake
Price: Php 72.00 (slice) Php 720.00 (whole)
Rating: B

For those craving for a desert that’s more coffee than chocolate and more moist that sweet, The Chocolate Kiss Cafe also offers a Kahlua Cake. Although you can taste the coffeesque flavor of Kahlua fudge filling, it isn’t overpowering and mixes well fluffy butter cake desert. Although it may not as tasty as the Devil’s Food Cake, it’s still a tempting taste sensation.

House Ice Tea
Price: Php 58.00 (Bottomless)
Rating: A

Although most establishments are content in serving generic ice tea drinks drawn from either Nestea or Lipton budget packs, The Chocolate Kiss Cafe actually has their own concoction that sure to satisfy. A small jar of honey and some calamansi (Filipino miniature lemons) are also provided separately, allowing you to mix your ice tea to your taste. Best of all, it’s bottomless!

CONCLUSION

Food: Delicious, hearty food that doesn’t skimp on quality or ingredients, The Chocolate Kiss Cafe offers a variety of flavorful dishes from various cultures.

Ambiance: This is definitely a great place to take a date. The furnishings are elegant with subdued lighting and a great romantic atmosphere. Live music is also available, adding a dash of class and style.

Value: A touch expensive, the menu prices definitely border on the lower end of fine dining. Despite this, it’s still a great value, everything considered. Probably not a place someone on a budget would frequent, but, for that rare special occasion, it’s a fantastic place to dine.

Service: The staff was friendly and accommodating, although the ambiance was disrupted occasionally with the clash of dropped plates. At times, it was hard to get attract the attention of a server, but when they did spot you, they were very helpful and courteous. The people at the cake counter were especially warm and cheery, making for a relaxing stay.

Overall: The Chocolate Kiss Cafe has all the accouterments of a fine dining establishment without the exorbitant prices usually associated with them. The ambiance is warm and relaxing and the staff, helpful and accommodating. It’s a perfect place to have a nice, relaxing night out with your significant other (or prospective significant other). Here’s a place that will impress, without making a permanent impression on your wallet.

© 2008 Pablo Bairan
01-19-2008

Milkyway: It's all about the Halo-halo.

MilkyWay Location :Upper Ground Floor, Poweplant Mall, Makati Tel # : Cuisine : Filipino Menu Price Range : Php 85-200 Service Charge: none Rating : ★★★★

This is my first live post on eatsmychoice, I have now new companions in my food frolics. I have been procrastinating into buying a pen and a steno pad specifically for eatsmychoice entries. So I can report live from the actual site.

Lined along the food avenue of Powerplant's upper ground floor is MilkyWay. It's the usual Sunday family tradition to eat at here after a long (or not-quite-so) afternoon of window/actual shopping. They offer a wide array of Filipino delicacies ranging from snack items to main course. But for today, I'll only be featuring their bestseller on the menu. The halo-halo.

Below is a description of the dessert as a benefit to our international readers (if we have some).

The halo halo is a filipino delicacy. If the Americans have their hot fudge sundae, The chinese have the shaved ice and fruits with mix beans, here we have the halo-halo. From the Filipino word halo which means mix. So halo-halo means mix-mix. Which is what you do to it anyway.

The usual halo-halo can have “fillings” namely but not limited to nor does it contain all of the following: Kaong(sweet sugar palm), preserved coconut strips drenched in syrup, langka(jackfruit), leche flan (similar to egg custard), sweet banana, unflavored or sweetened gulaman, random beans, and ube hilaya.

After all the sweet stuff is patted at the bottom of the tall glass, a nice snowfall of shaved ice is filled to the brim, poured over condensed milk or regular milk and sugar syrup, and if you’re lucky, a scoop or two of ice cream (preferably ube) tops the whole thing with a flourish. (if not, regular ube hilaya or leche flan is on top).

So what makes this halo-halo different from any other halo-halo? Let's just say, I was never a halo-halo fan. n fact, it took me a good number of visits to actually try it, due to my mom and dad's insistent ravings on how good it was. And they never, ever, rave.

Halo-halo
Price : Php 85
Rating : ★★★★★

Their halo-halo had the following foodstuffs: a slice of sweetened banana, coconut strips, beans, leche flan, unsweetened gelatin, and ube hilaya. I liked how they didn't have too much stuff on their halo-halo, how the ice cream was always ube, and how the milk is creamy, but not condensed to be too sweet . Lots of pluses towards my sweet tooth being next to non-existent and my delicate teeth.

I took the long spoon to mix it and surprisingly the ice cream sticked to the shaved ice, which has the consistency and texture of snow. No splatters occurred from the usual pounding of ice cream and glass shards ice, and everything was incorporated in a matter of seconds. I sampled the purple concoction, and the sweetness from the ice cream, hilaya or leche flan was just right and each bite was a surprise of either of the following toppings mention above, or sometimes two if your lucky. The soft powdery ice brings a nice texture to all the flavors.

This one absolutely wins my choice for the best halo-halo in the Metro.

© 2007 wastefulspace

Willer's : Not your everyday sit-down dinner

Willer's Special Lechon Location :Gorordo Avenue, Lahug, Cebu City Tel # : Cuisine : Filipino Menu Price Range : Php 100-150 Service Charge: none Rating : ★★★★

If you're in Cebu and you're one of the braver souls, go venture into the world of street food. Cebu has plenty of those to offer with an ambiance charming as a bus station. If you dare, come dine in the streets where the Jeepneys rush pass and blow smoke in all their glory. Seat in the likes of wooden tables and mismatched stools, next to people in office uniforms eating dinner after a long day's work, or people who are just around the streets in their ratty shirts, shorts and slippers, eating with either their plastic-wrapped or cleanly soaped or not-so-clean hands.

This is the cheerful and yes, very real atmosphere of Willer's Special Lechon. Situated in the corner of Gorordo, Lahug. It may be in uptown but it caters to everybody. Introduced by my officemates who have ventured to Cebu before, I was brought here a year ago with skepticism of my eating-out habits.

Anyway, I was open to any food served to me as long as it is not exotic in my vocabulary, and this wasn't even exotic. This was real food. Real, glorious food.

No menu available since the items are WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), you'd see barbequed pork on sticks, chicken roasting on the winding grill and liempo (spareribs) crackling and spitting in the fire. Even the sign was crude and very, very simple. I was just there for the food, so let's not dwell on the other aspects shall we? :P

Willer's Roast Chicken
Price : Php 120
Rating : ★★★★★

Served hot, chopped, and on a cheerful plate, the chicken had a smell that could liven the senses, as deep inside the center is the core of the flavor, stuffed generously with lemongrass, onions, and all the secret spices and herbs that makes it a Willer's original. The meat was tender, and oh-so-juicy, even the breast part (which I detest for being dry) was soft and easy to chew. The herbs stay intact with the chicken, so you can also get them on your plate to savor the flavors even better. Match this with puso (see next item) with a dip of their pinakurat (see next item) and you'd be in heaven (from the taste and cholesterol) in no time.

Willer's Liempo
Price : Php 100
Rating : ★★★★★

Before you drink your apple-cider vinegar and high-blood pills, better save some more for Willer's Special Liempo. Seasoned spareribs cooked into a crackling crisp of flavors and fat. Please don't mind the dripping oil on the plate, because once you taste the the crispy skin together with the soft meat drenched in yet again, pinakurat or maybe not, you'll be reaching for your next chunk of liempo without realizing it. (and maybe ordering another puso).

Puso
Price : Php 5-10 (will have to verify)
Rating : ★★★

You will only see this in Cebu. So I would suggest you to try it. It's everywhere on the streets, and is the only type of rice served in Willer's. Woven leaves cover the sticky rice and is usually tied up in a bunch. It's not steaming hot, so it'd be best if the food together with it is. People who are new to eating puso would normally peel the wrapper which would give you some curious and amused looks, so search for the thin opening and break it open and eat it like bread. This is a nifty and ingenious way to stuff chicken with one hand and to stuff rice with the other. How can you go wrong with optimized eating? :D

Pinakurat
Price : Free
Rating : ★★★★

Only found in the Visayan province is the Pinakurat. The general dipping sauce for all foodstuffs in Willer's. A vinegar based concoction + all the secret ingredients + chillies. This is the key for stabilizing all the cholesterol induced foods and adding a little bit of extra to the flavor. Best mixed with soy sauce.



It's not everyday you get to experience dining like this, so it's a must-try. Nothing beats eating out in the open albeit dusty air. But if this type of place doesn't suit your fancy, but you're curious about the food, there's always the safer option : GO TAKEOUT :P.

© 2007 wastefulspace

Heaven 'n Eggs

Specialty: eggs in Filipino, American cooking and a few Japanese dishes.
Location: Market Market, The Fort; Glorietta Makati.
Service Charge: 8SC
Price Range: php 110 - 308
Rating: ★★★

Heaven 'n Eggs is a specialty restaurant that focuses on all things eggs, pancakes and steaks. There really isn't a focus on any particular cuisine as long as it has any of those three. There is a huge section dedicated to breakfast food and other dedicated to steaks. For those looking for a little bit of the Asian taste, they have an Asian Big Plate section. From the Manila spareribs (best seller) to mixed seafood tempura platter (squid, fish, shrimp in tempura batter), there is a little something for everyone. For those looking for the low calorie diet, you may have to settle for their sandwiches, French toast and wraps section.

Pancakes
Price: Free
Rating: ★★
Right off the bat, they provided us with complimentary pancakes even before we ordered. Good way to impress me. Add more food without adding price. OK, the pancakes weren't anything special. But it's definitely added value and you will be spoiled for choice among their syrups.

The Chips and The Fish
Price: php 252
Rating: ★★★★
Soft boneless fish that melts in your mouth, served with tartar, cocktail and lemon butter sauces. Well, at least it was supposed to come with several sauces. Ours just came with tartar sauce. We forgot to ask what happened with the other sauces. It's served with a large helping of fried potatoes and some leafy vegetables. The set was served in a cute picnic basket that makes it all the more adorable. How about the taste then? Exquisite and definitely filling (the fries are partly to blame).

Grilled Pepper Pork Chop
Price: php 218
Rating: ★★★★
Peppered pork chops steak with brandied gravy and garlic rice. Most of the steaks are served with your choice of potato siding (fried potato wedges, house rosemary and garlic potatoes sauteé or rustic mashed potatoes), choice of eggs (sunny side up - over easy, sunny side up - over hard, scrambled, poached, crunchy egg), bowl of rice, sourdough bread slice or pancake sidings. They recommended the mashed potatoes and crunchy eggs (2 of them). Everything about this dish is huge. The steak, the bowl of rice, the mashed potatoes and the 2 eggs. I could barely finish the thing. Actually, I didn't get to finish the potatoes. It comes served with a steak knife stabbed through the pork chop.

Conclusion
This is quite a place. If I had more space in my stomach, I'd probably order some appetizers before the meal or some dessert pancakes after. But as said above, the servings are huge and it's takes quite a bit of patience to finish a single meal. I recommend this place for anytime of the day. The menu is not big on dinners but then again, steaks could very well be served for dinners. They also happen to feature 8 all day breakfast dishes.

Savory Chicken

Specialty: filipino, chinese
Location: Mall Of Asia
Service Charge: None
Price Range: php 135 - 210
Rating: ★★★




In 1950, two Chinese brothers had the brilliant idea to start a panciteria in Quiapo. They eventually developed a "special" recipe for fried chicken and gravy that became popular with the local Chinese community. Savory Chicken then opened its first branch in Escolta serving Filipino and Chinese dishes. After more than 50 years, the third generation of the Ting family has re-launched the Classic Savory Chicken and that is our feature for today.

Yang Chow Fried Rice
Price: php 120
Rating: ★★★
Traditional Chinese fried rice with shrimp, minced pork, eggs and green peas. Yellow rice mixed with bits of meat, carrots and peas. I reckon it goes well with anything. Not spectacular, but not bad either.

Savory Chicken
Rating: ★★★★
We got a half piece of the supposedly famed Savory Chicken. It is served with gravy and a tiny slice of banana. I really don't know how you are going to share that banana piece but in any case, it's the chicken that is the focus here. The chicken is indeed meaty and juicy. Personally, I don't really see anything special about it. The chicken is flavorful by itself, anyway, but the gravy really does add a lot of flavor to it. The taste of the chicken gets tiring and monotonous after a while. Then again, that happens to most fried chicken anywhere else.

Lo Han Chai
Price: php 120
Rating: ★★
A medley of seasonal vegetables. Perfect for vegetarians. As far as I can tell, it has cabbages, baby corn, mushrooms, peas and carrots. There were other veggies that I wasn't able to identify. Looks a lot like chopsuey but much less appetizing.

Conclusion
Their menu list is a bit sparse for something that serves two cuisines. The technique employed here is specialization. Less dishes but supposedly better than others. Casual dining is the style here. Not really for romantic dates nor for large gatherings but more suited towards casual family dinners. On a side note, a rather unfortunate incident happened when we dined here. The receipt was taking forever to make. Customers got rather upset and frustrated at waiting. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt that it will never happen again. It's a rather unpleasant wait between giving your money and getting your receipt.

Cafe Adriatico

Specialty: Spanish, Filipino
Price Range: php 145 - 395
Service Charge: 10%
Location: Mall Of Asia
Rating: ★★★


This place is all about style. The lighting, furnitures and food are all style. Same goes for the price, unfortunately. Specializing in Filipino dishes that are borne out of our 300 years of Spanish heritage, this place is sure to delight those that have an appetite for rice.

Cafe Adriatico Favorites

• Spanish Callo (php 250)
• Lengua Estofada (php 275)
• Lola P's Embutido (php 235)
• Salpicao Rice (php 295)
• Haianese Chicken Rice (php 285)
• Steak Cafe Adriatico (php 395)
• Teriyaki Steak (php 395)

Gising Gising
Price: php 145
Rating: ★★★★
Minced stalk of kangkong, spiced with small chillies and simmered in coconut cream. Yummy. Perfect companion for dishes that are dominated by meat. You could opt to make this dish less spicy. Just say so when you order.

Tapang Baka
Price: php 215
Rating:★★
Marinated sirloin served with rice and a side dish of sliced tomatoes and a sunny-side up egg. This one gets poor marks. The meat is simply too tough. My flimsy geek arms get tired after trying to cut it up into bite sized pieces. It does taste good but I doubt if the taste is enough to redeem this tough meat.



Salpicao Rice
Price: php 295
Rating:★★★★
A winner in my book. Sauteed tenderloin chunks grilled in olive oil and bedded on garlic rice. It's not too oily and it's definitely much better than the Tapang Baka.

Coupe Adriatico
Price: php 105
Rating: ★★★
We rarely feature desserts here but since we decided to have one, I might as well comment on it. Basically, this one is a bunch of sliced bananas and mangoes with some kind of syrup on top of a scoop of caramel ice cream.

Banana Minacolada
Price: php 95
Rating: ★★★
Banana and mint flavored drink. An odd tasting drink. Its like drinking a blended banana flavored mint candy. It's a nice drink after you have already finished eating. Otherwise, it kills the flavor of your chosen dish.

Blue Hawaiian Shake
Price: php 95
Rating: ★★★★
Mildly sweet shake. If the Banana Mintacolada tasted odd, this one looked odd. It's blue. If you have no qualms about eating blue food (or drinking blue drinks), give it a try. It's good.

Conclusion
A bit on the pricey side and their drinks are served by a sister food chain called the Mojito Bay. If you are looking for Spanish-Filipino taste with an ambiance worthy of a romantic date, this is the place. Family gatherings for wealthy people are also good here. They have something for the whole family. Tourists wanting to try good old Filipino food but are scared of street food should be invited here. That is, of course, if they aren't scared of the price. In all likelihood, tourists should be able to afford this.

Davao: Food Trip

Location: Davao

This is part one of a series of specials on Davao restaurants and cafes (ok, one cafe). The first two places are not documented too much since there aren't much pictures because my companions have managed to devour the food before I had a chance to whip out my camera (fiesty, I tell you.). They are, however, recommended to us by people who live in/have been to Davao.

Kuya Ed's

Specialty: None
Price Range: php 99
Location: DCI Bldg, A. Pichon street Davao City
Rating: ★★★

This was our first stop. With the very low price of php 99, you can afford to eat anything you want on their buffet table. No kidding. Well, there is a hidden charge on the drinks which costs around php 35 (php 36 for bottomless iced tea) but even then, it's still reasonably priced. There isn't much to say about the buffet line since the food is pretty much unpredictable. Every time a dish empties out, an entirely different dish replaces it. If you have a limited choice of food for a particular diet, you'll eventually find food that you will be able to eat.

The service, however, is horrendous. There isn't much service to begin with since it's a buffet. You basically have to stand up to get the food yourselves. You do have to grab the waiters' attention in order to get some drinks unless you managed to bring your own and this is where the trouble begins. There aren't enough waiters for every table. I reckon that this is the reason why the food is so cheap. I recommend getting there earlier or later than lunch time to get the most out of your stay. Bring your own tissues/napkins/toothpicks unless you are willing to wait forever.

Taklobo

Specialty: Filipino
Price Range: php 195 - 220
Location: Jack's Ridge, Shrine hills, Matina, Davao City
Rating: ★★★★
Location is key. Jack's Ridge is located on a high piece of land that formed part of the headquarters of the retreating Japanese during World War II. Several caves line the place and it overlooks the city of Davao. As for the food, It's not that spectacular although it's not bad either. They do have the usual Filipino favorites like kare-kare, lechon kawali, spicy pork ribs, sweet and sour lapu-lapu and camaron rebosado. They also have something like "Jack's Fried Chicken" which is deep fried chicken seasoned with spices. Didn't try that though. I have developed a certain dislike for Davao's famed native chicken. It's just too small and too lanky. It's like eating coat hangers.

Pinakbet Special
Price: php 188
Rating: ★★★
A medley of native vegetables stewed in tomatoes and shrimp paste. This one is good. Although it's tiny bowl hardly serves 3-4 persons as indicated in the menu.

Sizzling Squid
Rating: ★★★★
Filipinos have always confused squid with cuttlefish and this one is no different. This may also have something to do with the fact that the local translation pusit does not differentiate from the two. I'm no biologist but I can safely say that this is probably cuttlefish. Despite what I think is a misnomer, this dish has nothing to hide in terms of flavor. Flavor bursts in your mouth after every bite. The fish is not tough but soft and squishy. This is one of those instances where my companions managed to devour the food before a picture was taken. I apologize for the lack of photographic evidence.

Kilawing Tanigue
Rating: ★★★★
Cubes of raw fish pickled with vinegar alongside garlic, onions, ginger and cucumber slices. Nice combo right there. For something served raw, it certainly whets this author's appetite. The lighting was bad but I somehow managed to take a picture while my companions weren't paying too much attention to it.

Sinigang na Isda
Rating: ★★★
Ordinary to say the least. Although I did manage to take a dark blurry picture.

Sisig
Rating: ★★★
Oily and spicy pork spare parts served on a sizzling plate. Flavorful but not at all that special.

Conclusion
It's a great place to visit if you are new in Davao. The view is awesome. You feel like royalty having lunch (or dinner) wherein your table is overlooking your kingdom while being serenaded by guitar playing amigos. The food is not that spectacular though but the location does make up for the mediocre food. They also serve wines (php 700 a pop) for those special occasions. Combine not-so-spectacular food with excellent location and you get yourself and nice solid 4 stars (+1 for the location).

Conti's Pastry Shop and Restaurant

Specialty: Pastries, International, Filipino, Pasta
Location: unit 1c-17 Serendra Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Phone Number: 8562352 to 53
Price Range (Meals): php 135 - 265
Rating: ★★★★

Conti's is one of the relatively affordable places to eat at Serendra. Hence, it will probably be full and would be best if you reserved a seat or arrive early. Their specialty are mainly pastries and cakes but they are also a restaurant and they do serve other things than cake and pastries.

Menu
A little too varied here. Entrees, pastries, pasta, sandwiches... they probably have a little bit of the more popular menu entries.

Frothy Iced Tea
Price: 45 Rating: ★★
Take some regular iced tea, add some shaved ice, put both in a blender and blend away. Not much difference from your regular iced tea. Just get the bottomless iced tea (php 60).











Chicken Roulade + Saffron Mushroom Risotto
Price: php 145 + 25 Rating: ★★★
I was craving for a bit of chicken and I had my eyes set on the first item on the Entree section but alas, it was not available. So I settled on another one of their most popular dishes (or so the waiter says). And with that, the chicken roulade was chosen. Roulade of chicken with spinach, cheese and caramelized onion served with either garlic rice or with saffron mushroom risotto (additional php 25). Do NOT get the saffron mushroom risotto. You are better off with their garlic rice. The saffron mushroom risotto was as boring as rice with star margarine. That was truly a sorry excuse for a risotto. But given the price of the rice, it was (I hope I'm right), forgivable. The veggies on the side wasn't too smashing either. But, as if to redeem itself, the chicken was definitely scrumptious. The spinach was embedded into slices of chicken meat and it was topped with a mouth-watering sauce. I'm a bit confused on how to rate this one. The meat was good while the risotto, abysmal. It wasn't that filling either. 3 stars. Get the garlic rice when you order this one.

Parmesan Fish Fillet with Parsley Sauce
Price: 195 Rating: ★★★★
Fish fillet served with buttered vegetables and garlic rice. The fish was the melt-in-your-mouth kind. Very delicious and soft. The parsley sauce was great on fish. The side dish, however, was about the same as on the chicken roulade. Not bad; Not good either. Plain buttered vegetables. Having tasted the risotto, I was half expecting this to be better than the risotto. I wasn't disappointed. At least this garlic rice tasted like garlic, although a bit on the oily side. The rice cup was shinier than a Florsheim after emptying the cup. Muchos grasa senor.




Linguine in Pesto
Price: 135 Rating: ★★★★
After having eaten the chicken roulade, I was stilling feeling a bit empty. So I opted for some pasta. It looked interesting enough and sure enough, I had my fill after having that dish. Famous rich green basil sauce served with linguine. You also have an option of having it served with seafood (additional 180).








Mango Bravo
Price: 85 Rating: ★★★★★
The place is called Conti's Pastry Shop and Restaurant. Pastry did come first there, so it seems imperative that we eat some form of pastry. Mango Bravo is the cake pictured in front of the menu so we opted for that one. It was HUGE! 4 layers of cake. 2 of which are embedded with mango bits and 1 layer with dark chocolate tasting stuff. I couldn't figure out what that last layer was. It was devoured before I got to it. Delicious!

Conclusion:
The place is indeed a pastry shop first then a restaurant, second. There are LAN ports underneath the tables but I didn't ask if they were functional. Good for the geek heads out there. It could seat around 35 people comfortably but if you want to take a group there, better call before hand. The place is usually crowded since it's one of the few affordable places at Serendra. The others are just plain overpriced. The ones where you think the food should taste great because it's so damn expensive. Going back to the topic, the food is good but it seems that at Conti's, rice was an afterthought. Putting a lot of attention to the viand and almost none to the rice. An option of plain rice would have been nice if they don't pay much attention to it anyway.