Birthday Food Binging

Recently celebrated my birthday and as expected, I embarked in stuffing myself with so much food without a twinge of regret, of course. 

Southbank Cafe & Lounge

This cafe has been on my radar ever since I passed by it when I was in Alabang and was so happy to learn they've decided to open another closer to me in Estancia Mall.

The food we ordered has some hits and misses. The Buffalo Chicken & Waffle is a runaway winner for me. Boneless chicken fillet coated with buffalo sauce, crispy waffles and blue cheese butter and maple syrup. The interspersing flavors of savory and sweet is very addicting.

I very much like the Southbank Burger. Extremely juicy beef patty with all its delicious accoutrements ensnared in sturdy brioche buns. 

The Hainanese Chicken Rice has very benign flavors but it improved exceptionally with the provided chili sambal sauce.

I got a piece of the 36-Hour Pork Belly and it's painfully tender. Although its honey sriracha sauce has more sweetness to it than spice. 

The Short Rib Lasagna is a disappointment. The ricotta added to the bechamel, mozzarella and marinara sauce doesn't sit well with my tastebuds. The Vanilla Milkshake my niece ordeed looked more like a milk slush than a milkshake. 

The coffees were pretty decent. Although my brother, who loves drinking instant coffee, would still prefer his 3-in-1 mix.

Morse Coffee/ Breakfast at Antonio's

I went to Robinson's Magnolia way too early as I was worried that the queue to Breakfast at Antonio's would be insane. Fortunately, the line was manageable and I still have the luxury to sip a cup of coffee while idly waiting for my friends to arrive at the mall.

Decided to drop by at Public Eatery and Morse Coffee caught my fancy. The Ube Latte I ordred was a revelation. Ice, espresso, milk and ube mousse. Sweet with a little salty tang. Earthy notes from the ube. Creaminess from the milk and the kapow from the espresso. 

My friends and I have to wait a little over a hour.before our number was called at Breakfast at Antonio's. 

The Lasagna Bolognese not only looked forlorn but tasted unremarkable too.The Twice-Cooked Adobo was eaten and scraped off with much gusto. I adored the Bocata Sandwich. Also known as Bocadillo, this sandwich which has its origin from Spain was normally served on a baguette. But I have no complaints that Brreakfast at Antonio's choose to use a ciabatta sleeked with butter and loaded with Spanish chorizo, provolone, pimiento, arugula and pesto mayo. 

The Cheese & Mixed Mushrooms Pizza is a hearty, dough affair that a single slice would never be enough. 

Maker & Made/ The Auro Chocolate Cafe

I've been choosing between two Italian restaurants in BGC. However. I ended up bringing my friend to Maker & Made, an Austalian brunch place currently on soft opening run. 

We enjoyed our orders of the Farmer's Breakfast, Mushroom  Croquettes, Bone & Marrow Burger as well as our coffees (a cortado and a mocha). Although we were very vocal how we disliked the Ricotta Pancake (we find the dollop of ricotta gave the pancake a funky taste that couldn't be masked no matter how much mango syrup we drizzled into the dessert. Our comments were accepted by the staff graciously and was very open to our suggestions. 

I was glad to finally visited The Auro Chocolate Cafe. Twice I've tried to visit but the cafe is always packed and placing my buns on the alfresco area is out of the question especially in this sweltering heat. 

I was in a death by chocolate bliss with my order of the Paquibato cafe au lait and Le Chocolat, a chocolate mouse cake studded with cacao nibs. Although my friend initially complained with the initial toughness of her almond croissant order, she thoroughly enjoyed her peanut white cafe au lait drink.