Gobbledygook's Corner: My Starbucks Christmas

dessert and pastry

Christmas is in the air. Even people with the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge can't deny this fact. I especially love the Christmas season among all the other Holidays and special occasion that we celebrate all year round: The glitzy Christmas lights and decor, the different kinds of Christmas trees, midnight Christmas sale at the malls and of course the food. Its all about the food. There are a number of food establishments in the metro who do tweak and tinker their menu a bit exclusively for this Holiday season. And Starbucks Coffee is one of them.

photo courtesy of Starbucks Philippines

However, majority of the hoi polloi equate Christmas in Starbucks with the much coveted planners that this eponymous kaffe-klatch churn out every year. I do have several friends who were such fanatics of the Starbucks planners. I do like the 2012 planners Starbucks have in store for us this year. Aside from its size is smaller, (for me, it has that more personal feel to it), it also has this earth tone or hues on its covers. The color variants available are poplar, spruce, cherry, oak and bamboo.

photo courtesy of Starbucks Philippines

As much as I got excited when I first heard the news about the new Starbucks planner they have this year (I've read every planner redeemed will be donated to Spark Hope, Starbucks' program for childhood care and development in cooperation with UNICEF---a plus point, if you ask me), my excitement is only fleeting. My radars are more tuned in to their Holiday treats.

cranberry white chocolate mocha

On one occasion, I'm in Starbucks Coffee Eastwood Mall with friends. My emotion at that time was like a squall, ready to pounce on whatever came it its way. The new Cranberry White Chocolate Mocha helped me to ease out and clear my troubled mind. Most people may find this white mocha frappe painfully sweet, but I like the intensity of sweetness in this frappe. It kinda reminded me of the other Christmas frappe that I loved, the Praline White Mocha which Starbucks decided to go away with this year. I'm not missing it though, thanks to this cranberry mocha Christmas blend drink.

warm chocolate chip cookie

I'm most especially fond of the Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake. A two-tone cookie cake with a marvelously chewy dark chocolate mousse studded with mini chocolate chips. As if that wasn't enough, the barista put a huge dollop of whipped cream on top and then drizzled it with caramel sauce. This blissful indulgence of chocolate and caramel was over the top.

starbucks' christmas offering

One time, right after a tedious day at work, I decided to go to Starbucks Coffee in The Veranda to bolster myself and be surrounded with all things that would bring me comfort. This would be their Holiday food in full force which also comprised my lunch that day, lucky me! The barista who helped me with all my orders was so appalled she even jokingly asked me if she could join in.

s'mores

The S'mores promises delight with its buttery graham crust filled with marshmallow cream and topped with a very gooey chocolate ganache. I was a bit underwhelmed by this graham cracker cookie, though. I easily got tired of the graham crust that I felt needs more dimension to it. Its only saving grace was the very gooey chocolate ganache in the middle.

butterscotch pecan twirl

The Butterscotch Pecan Twirl was magnificent in its flakiness, more similar to the flakiness of a croissant. This flaky spiral roll has that pastry vanilla filling which was sinfully good, topped with pecans for that added crunch and drizzled generously of white chocolate and butterscotch sauce. Finishing this awesome, delicious pastry was a breeze.

texas chicken bbq wrap

cross-section

However, it was the Texas Chicken BBQ Wrap that made my heart go flutter. Its has strips of chicken fillet fried perfectly with barbecue sauce and Texas style salsa with grated cheese and drizzled with sour cream. This heavenly filling was wrapped inside a very chewy flour tortilla. Sweet, spicy and the smoky flavor from the barbecue sauce made this tortilla wrap dish a sure fire winner.

peppermint frappe and pastry

Of course, this sweet and savory indulgent at Starbucks wouldn't be complete if I didn't have a signature Christmas blend. This time, I had the Peppermint Mocha. Always love that cool, minty flavor of the peppermint.

gingerbread cookie

I only bought this gingerbread snowman cookie as an afterthought, right after I already ordered the aforementioned food items. How could I miss this cute snowman cookies made of cinnamon, all spice and ginger. A fragrantly delicious cookie indeed it was.

I left this coffee place feeling revived and revitalized. The power of good food and sugar rush could do to one's mind and body.

another set of Starbucks Christmas food items

Just recently, right after a sumptuous meal from Yabu: The House Of Katsu (a new restaurant in SM Megamall), I craved for something sweet to nibble and play with since the Japanese resto do not have desserts to offer (I have high hopes desserts will be available the next time I dined there). I decided to try out the other Christmas desserts offering of Starbucks so off to Metrowalk I went. Yes, I know, there's Starbucks (two stores, actually) in Megamall. However, I wanted to try a different ambiance away from the mall.

toffee nut latte

On this night, I tried the Toffee Nut Latte Frappe. Most people I know liked this signature Christmas drink among the three because of the peanut butter hint of the frappe. I thought my impression on this drink would change because over the years I pegged this drink as my least favorite among the usual three Christmas blend Starbucks offers. And my verdict of this drink remained the same. Among the three Christmas drink, to my palate this drink came off to me as rather too soft and it lacks that bold, richness flavors that the two other drinks has. Again, this is only my own personal preference. Too each his (or her) own, as they say.

triple decker cheesecake

To partner with my drink, I tried the Triple Decker Cheesecake with Snickers. A towering three layer cheesecake which includes chocolate cookie crust, cheesecake embedded with chunks of Snickers, and a peanut butter cheesecake laced with chocolate icing. Topped with roasted peanuts, this cheesecake exemplified how chocolate and peanut co-mingled well in a dessert.

peppermint brownie

The Peppermint Brownie was a beauty to behold. Its a fudgy and chewy brownie with a peppermint cream cheese filling topped with chocolate ganache. Then drizzled with chocolate with the colors of red, green and white. And as an added touch, edible golden beads studded this already too pretty to eat dessert.

inside Starbucks Metrowalk

Any Starbucks store always teems with people that sometimes its hard to feel relax especially when the noise level inside the cafe was already tantamount to that of a bar. That is why, oftentimes I find myself drifting towards other cafes. However, Starbucks would always have a special place in my heart. It may not be my ultimate favorite hang out place for coffee, but definitely its that one coffee place I'm most comfortable with and would always come back to when all others fails.