Bliss, thy name is "mint pavlova"

We at Shoot From The Gut are probably not alone when it comes to seeking out little-known places for trying out new eats. Sometimes it's surprising how close these places are to our offices or neighborhoods; they're just waiting for their chance to be shown the spotlight for a moment.

One such place exists at the building where I work. It's a little bistro-cafe called Selah.

Located in Robinsons Cybergate Tower 2 in Mandaluyong, Selah serves brewed coffee, lunch and dinner, but the real draw of the place is its desserts. When we were still working together, my old boss and friend PJ and I used to go here as an occasional treat for a job well done or for picking dampened spirits up. So yes Selah has been around for quite a while.

Now doesn't that look inviting?

People may fiercely debate about what shop or bakery makes the best chocolate cake in the land. For Mabie and I, however, one of our personal favorites has to be Selah's PhP155 Mint Pavlova.

For comparison: BFast's fruit pavlova.

It's a unique choice for "favorite chocolate cake," because technically, it isn't one. For the uninitiated, a pavlova is a meringue-based dessert, named after famed ballerina Anna Pavlova. If you've eaten at Chef Laudico's BFast in Ayala Triangle Gardens, you'll find their pavlova is crumbly and brittle; essentially it's a saccharine-sweet meringue topped with fruit. Selah's concoction however is mild, pliant and soft, the stacked thin layers of meringue wrapped from crown to bottom with rich, semi-sweet chocolate.  

Much like a cake, then.

The belly of the beast

The "mint" in the name permeates through the thick chocolate icing. If you've eaten a York Peppermint Pattie or Andes dark chocolate mint thin before, the Mint Pavlova has a similar kind of smooth choco-minty taste, but with the volume of the dessert itself cranked up to 11.

It's a slightly expensive treat, but one worth rewarding yourself with when you've had success at work. The really neat thing about it is - availability allowing - it's just downstairs waiting for you! :D

Going classic

My team at the office organized free lunch last January at C2 Classic Cuisine, in Shangri-La Plaza Mall's The Ledge at the sixth floor. The place offers pretty good Filipino food. Below are some of the entrees we had...unfortunately I can't remember what some of these dishes are called.

The first main course is a fried tilapia-based dish with crispy vegetables and a side order of atchara, or the Pinoy version of pickled vegetable relish. Fish lovers will love how finely the fillet was cooked, and the atchara is a great companion.

This next dish I never was able to try. This seems like an all-vegetable dish, topped with sprouts.

At last, something I remember: ribs kaldereta. Very yummy indeed, and very similar to what my grandmother cooks.

Next up is crispy kare-kare. Call me ignorant but before this trip to C2 I had never had crispy kare-kare ever. As it turns out it's a good combination, although I still prefer the non-crispy kind with bagoong omitted.

C2 serves some pretty good, thick tsokolate-eh. 

Funny name? It's named that way due to the Spanish colonial period. The "eh" comes from not any Batangueño influence, but from the word esposo meaning "thick" or "viscous." In contrast, tsokolate-ah is named from the word aguado which literally means "watered-down."

I should visit again...if only to get the names of these dishes right. Another sip of that delicious tsokolate-eh won't hurt either ;)

Right round at Marumaru

The other day, Mabie and I felt like having a little afternoon snack. Our eyes spotted a Marumaru stall at  the top floor of Robinsons Pioneer, and being the takoyaki fan Mabie is, we decided to try it out.

"Maru" is Japanese for "round" - so this means "round round"

Marumaru's "takoyaki" banner

For the uninitiated, takoyaki are Japanese octopus balls. Unlike fishballs or squidballs, which are mostly made of processed meat, takoyaki meat is enveloped in dough, drizzled with Japanese mayo and a brown savory/umami-tasting sauce, and drizzled with shaved bonito flakes (also used on another dish called okonomiyaki) and what looks like finely chopped parsley. Cooking takoyaki is also different; they are steamed instead of fried, and their doughy exterior retains the cooked-in heat much longer than your usual fishball.

Marumaru's takoyaki is a pretty good afternoon snack if you're hungry. The dough is finely textured and their sauces are very flavorful, although like most takoyaki places I've tried it's not a particularly meaty treat. The octopus meat flavor instead permeates the dough, so the taste is subtler and not in-your-face.

You make tusok-tusok the takoyaki to eat it

Be careful with handling your uneaten takoyaki :)

One of the unfortunate things about this particular stall is that even the lady preparing our order was not able to sufficiently explain what takoyaki was to a prospective customer lined up behind us. He was asking her if these were squidballs, but all she could answer was "this is takoyaki" - and subsequently lost his interest. It was a minor shame, considering that Marumaru makes pretty good takoyaki. 

They serve gyoza, too

I heard from Mabie that Marumaru has its stalls within a number of malls by now - she's seen them in Glorietta.