Chocolate reviews: Theo & Philo and Scharffen Berger

The Clairvoyant brought home some chocolate bars she purchased from the Echo Store in Serendra at Bonifacio Global City. The bars though were not for our consumption and enjoyment but for her to bring back to Singapore to gift to our friends there.

I have heard a lot about Theo & Philo chocolates but have not had the opportunity to sample a bar (or two). They are a local company who specializes in artisan chocolates made from locally produce cacao. The bars are quite special, the taste exquisite, and the presentation quite good as the photo below shows - perfect for souvenirs in a country not known for packaging products well enough to attract people to buy them. Unfortunately, I have yet to taste their chocolates as we decided to pass on the experience for later. The chocolate bars are a bit expensive considering their size but I'm sure from my sources that they're well worth every peso.

Theo & Philo Chocolates from the Echo Store at Serendra - 70% Dark Chocolate (top left),  Dark Chocolate with Green Mango & Salt (top right), and Milk Chocolate with Pili & Pinipig (bottom)

A few weeks ago, we feasted on a few chocolate squares from Chile care of a visitor of the Clairvoyant from one of their offices in South America. The packaging was similar to the Scharffen Berger chocolates we enjoyed in San Francisco. The chocolates were a delightful treat especially considering the variants from white chocolate to different % of the dark chocolates (50%, 61%, 70% and 75%). Needless to say, we ended up finishing the squares in one day.

Chocolates from Chile

More on chocolates in another future post.
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Weekend Lunch at Tagaytay

We spent the Fathers' Day weekend in Tagaytay, taking advantage of the Clairvoyant being home from Singapore and hitting the proverbial two birds with one stone as her mother was also celebrating her birthday last weekend. After the long drive from Quezon City to Tagaytay, which we took in just about 2 hours thanks to the light traffic on Saturday morning, we decided to find a place where we could have an early lunch. We were mindful that restaurants in Tagaytay could get quite crowded during breakfast, lunch and dinner times and we only had a light breakfast before leaving Antipolo and Quezon City. We ended up at Dencio's, which we knew had a good view of Taal Lake and Volcano - a major attraction with the best views coming from the ridge where Tagaytay is located.

We enjoyed our food, the great view and the cool winds that blew into the restaurant. We had seafood, bulalo (a must-try dish whenever in the Batangas and Cavite areas), chop suey (enjoy fresh veggies in Tagaytay) and adobo fried rice, and had buko juice (coconut water) on the side. The buko meat was tender and just sweet enough, and so made for a good dessert after our meal.

Binawang na hipon (Garlic shrimps)

Bulalo

From top (clockwise): Adobo fried rice, grilled squid and chop suey

We probably had the best table with a clear view of Taal Lake and volcano.

The Clairvoyant actually took a lot more photos at Dencio's. The restaurant had an area across from the building that could be used for receptions for events like weddings, birthdays and baptisms. They have a nice garden at the restaurant level where people can take photos with the lake and volcano in the background.

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Thai food at the clubhouse

We love to eat at the clubhouse of Chuan Park where our home in Singapore is located. The clubhouse specializes in Thai and Italian food, quite an oddity for many but perhaps not surprising in the city-state, which is known for the diverse cuisine owing to its being a meeting point for a lot of nationalities. In fact, the staff is comprised of a few Filipinos whom we mistook for either Indonesian or Malaysian the first time we ate there. They have a very good menu with lots of selections including pastas and pizzas, and seafood, beef, chicken and pork dishes. The food is very good and based on our experience, they are consistent with their cooking. Proof of their tasty offerings are the many people who keep coming back to eat/dine at the restaurant. For convenience, they also deliver food to residents in Chuan Park. They just charge a delivery fee but one is guaranteed satisfaction with the very delicious food.

Coconut water

Thai lemon chicken on a bed of lettuce

Cream dory fillet with mushrooms, basil and chili

Not in the photo but among our favorites is the pineapple rice. Their pizzas are also quite good and we usually order their mushroom pizza and a pasta (aglio olio or pesto) that the Clairvoyant and I share. We could usually finish our pasta but take out half of our pizza for a later meal at home.

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