A High End Deli Cafe and One Wickedly Impressive Dessert Place

desserts at Wicked

Edsa-Shangrila's East Wing has never been this exciting, especially for those on the look out for exceptional choices of food places to try. I went here one weekend, purposefully to try out Kettle but decided to look around a bit to check which other restaurants that recently opened. And also to find out where Maple is, yet another restaurant I've been eyeing to try (which I've already been to recently and will tell you about it on another post *wink*).

The Deli

I did find where Maple is on the lower ground floor of the East Wing. It's right beside Wee Nam Kee, said to be the home of the best Hainanese chicken rice and cereal prawns. But another restaurant caught my eye. Though I mistaken it first as just a spacious delicatessen, like Santis. I'm ready to dismiss it, but the appearance of tables and chairs draws me back and decided to give it a shot.

inside Epicurious

Epicurious is first and foremost, a gourmet shop where one can buy gourmet products on the go, and a deli cafe with the 'Shop-Cook-&-Eat' concept in mind. I'm quite stupefied with the idea but the newness of the concept excites me, nevertheless. The chefs we're quite engaging and easily lured me to try the Rib-Eye Steak cooked the classic way, with a side of gravy and mashed potatoes. Plus the duo chefs that I was able to interact with were quite hot is just an added bonus. Hihihi!

soup and salad

rib eye steak

While waiting for my steak to be cooked, I had the Cream Of Mushroom, a very hearty one and wonderfully creamy. I only just wished the receptacle it came with is twice as big. The simple salad that I requested in a transparent bottle jar has the simplest vinaigrette dressing that's both tangy and sweet. Loved it!

Then my name was called for me to pick up my Rib Eye order. A magnificent piece of meat glistening from fat and oil. I asked for it to be cook medium well but next time I'll ask for it to be cook medium instead. It wasn't as pliant as I would want it to be but still it's flavorful, more so if you drizzle some of the provided gravy on it. I also like the starchiness quality of the side mashed potatoes.

desserts at Epicurious

I also decided to order some desserts, but they're just fine things to look at and didn't elicit any lasting impressions, flavor-wise. The coffee also lacks the vigor that I'm yearning for. So, I decided to look elsewhere.

EDSA Shang-rila Plaza Mall
EDSA cor Shaw Boulevard
Mandaluyong City

www.epicuriousmanila.com

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The Dessert Cafe

wickedly looking desserts at Wicked

I was actually looking for Happy Cream Puff but I happen to saw Wicked first. No, it's not a facade of the famous play based on Gregory Maguire fictionalized fairy tale. It's a dessert cafe owned by the Cravings Group (incidentally, Epicurious is also under the Cravings Group umbrella). Not sure if the people who set up Wicked are big fans of the said play but boy, the display case offers desserts of wicked imaginings.

display case of sweets and goodies

chic dessert cafe with red as the main color

The dessert cafe is quite a charm that I decided to grab a seat and order away. Since sweets are my fuel, I ordered as much as I can. I do subscribe to the saying 'the more, the merrier', after all. And I couldn't be more happier when all of my wickedly wicked desserts was served before me.

yema cupcake and cafe latte

flourless chocolate tart

brookies

But like what I've experienced in Epicurious, the desserts here seem to be more concern to aesthetically impress. The Yema Cupcake buttercream frosting has that off putting coiling after taste similar to cold margarine that it's almost offensive. The Flourless Chocolate Tart has a very strong bitter chocolate flavor that I wished it was served with a larger scoop of vanilla ice cream to tame it somewhat. The Salted Caramel Macaron is too crumbly and lacks the pristineness that this French confection is known for. 

But what saved this visit from becoming a horrid disaster is a dessert with a curious moniker, Brookie. A brownie sandwich cookie covered in dark chocolate with a wooden stick sexily stuck on its center. I don't even know how to start eating it. Do I pour some of the milk over it? Or dunk it into the milk like an Oreo cookie? But the opening for the shot glass where the milk was placed is too small to dunk the brookie. Oh, well. I picked up the brookie using the stick, bit a large piece and drank some of the milk. This brookie is not only wickedly good, it's wickedly sexy as well.

Not to mention I also adore the heart shaped art on my Cafe Latte which tasted pretty good.

5th Level, East Wing
Edsa Shang-rila Mall
Mandaluyong City