Beyond Manila: Bacolod's Napoleones

Sweet things... yumm...

Today, we'll take a breather from the many foods we get to eat here in Manila and we'll be checking out this special treat we received as pasalubong from  the city of smiles, Bacolod City, the napoleones. It is a type of puffed pastry with custard filling and glazed with sweet sugar on top. Truly a treat from our country's sugar capital!

She says...

I Liked how this little square shaped treat tastes. I'm an avid fan of sweets but this one truly gives you different levels of sweetness that just makes my mouth water each time I recall how this one tasted.he custard filling was really soft and creamy. The pastry itself was a bit rubbery from the perhaps supposedly crunchy  texture, perhaps because this treat had rode an airplane just to get into our palates. Anyhow, the different textures and tastes was truly in harmony with each other. I can't wait to dig in on the second batch lying around in the fridge.Yikes! Another diet day ruined....

She rates: 5/5

I'm not on a diet. not.

He says...

Almost everyone loves sweets. They can induce bliss in all of us (some more than others).

I also love sweets. I pretty much eat at least one sweet food every week. The sweeter the food, the better. The moment the food touches your tongue, you immediately know how sweet it gonna be.

Not so with this particular brand of Napoleones. Although it is covered in white frosty icing, you won't be able to tell how sweet it us when you bite it. Yes, it tastes sweet but not that sweet. It tastes more like just bread. You chew on and you realize that the food is getting sweeter in your mouth and then BOOM! You get to experience its full sweetness. It's a weird sensation since most sweets are only as good as the first bite.

You can actually hear the explosion in your head

He rates: 5/5

Stuffed Pastry Treat

quiet food stall near MRT Ayala exit

Walking long distances, riding in a congested train and alighting in almost the farthest station would truly make one hungry. Perhaps that is the reason why MRT stations are lined with several different food stalls to choose from. One of which had caught our eye, Empanada Especiale. It's just a small food stall selling empanadas or stuffed baked pastry.  They offered 4 variants, chicken, ham and cheese, tuna, and pork.

We tried out their ham and cheese and chicken variants.

Location: Empanada Especiale, Ayala MRT Station

Food Ordered: Ham and Cheese and Chicken Empanada

Cost: P20 each

She says...

The stuffed pastry was really tasty. The chicken variant reminded me of the empanadas baked and sold in bakeries in the province, really tasty, meaty and so flavorful. The ham and cheese variant on the other hand was the one I liked most. The pastry really had that huge chunk of semi-molten cheese inside that was wrapped around a slice of sweet ham. It was just perfect.

She rates: 5/5

He says...

Empandas on my hand!

Who would have thought you'd find delicious empanada on an MRT station? Edible, sure. Decent, perhaps. But delicious, that's something else.

The empanada from this stall reminded me of  one of my favorite snack houses in the province. There was a right balance between the wrapping and the filling. The bread does not overwhelm the meat and vice versa. I liked both but the ham and cheese variant reminded me more of that snack house and so I liked it more.

This is one of those stalls that I'm sure I'll always be visiting when I pass by MRT Ayala.

He rates: 5/5

Belgian Mallow Bites @Mr. Donut

Belgian Mallow Bites

We were driving along EDSA when we saw that billboard of Mr. Donut's Belgian Mallow Bites. We used to love their classic belgian bites thus we said that if we get to drop by any Mr. Donut stall, we'd check that out to see whether one would really get crazy ("mallowloka sa sarap") over that chocolate covered doughnut, as their billboard says it.

Thus, we were in Trinoma to meet up a friend at Burger King. A Mr. Donut diner was just right beside it so we dropped by for a box of Belgian Mallow Bites before heading to Burger King.

Location: Mr. Donut, Trinoma

Food Ordered: Belgian Mallow Bites

Cost: P72/ box of 6

Just what people do at Trinoma...
(some eat food... others eat each other ;) LOL)

She says...

Belgian mallow bites are very sweet and chocolatey. The texture was nice, very soft and moist. I think the sweetness was just to much for me though as I prefer chocolates on the semi-sweet to slightly bitter. It was ok, I guess, but not really something that I would go totally crazy. I prefer to eat it with something salty on the side.

She rates: 3/5

He says...

The Belgian Mallow Bites is exactly what it was advertised. It is a big marshmallow covered in belgian chocolate.

The belgian chocolate was as delicious as ever but the mallows inside were a bit too bland for my taste. Despite that, this is the most delicious and most convenient and easily available version of the marshmallow coated from a chocolate fountain.

Just for kicks, I tried it with something salty (fries from BK) and it is a perfect match!

He rates: 4/5