Red Velvet Cupcakes by Sophie's Mom

Red Velvet Cupcakes by Sophie's Mom

written by Nicole | photos by Therese

I'll keep this post short since words will leave your mouth and your mind once you get to eat these. These are the cupcakes that changed Thea's life (she said so herself) :D

Red velvet cupcakes by Sophie's Mom
Php 50.00 each

When Thea (that's what we call Therese) came last week for a short vacation here in the pearl of the Orient seas, Philippines, I bought her these because I know there are no red velvet cupcakes as delicious as these in Taiwan. She agreed and so I'm sure she's missing these right now, aren't you Thea? Only if I could email you these ha ha!

Next to cheesecakes, cupcakes are one of the very few desserts I can never, ever resist (unless of course they're too sweet for my throat and taste buds). I love these red velvets by Sophie's Mom myself because the cream cheese on top is the BOMB! It's really, really, really, really, really, G-O-O-D! The cream cheese is the very reason why I always crave for these cupcakes!

There's a small chunk of chocolate inside which Thea really liked.

I can't really describe in words how yummy these cupcakes are so why don't you just try them yourself? Who knows it might also change your life, just the way it did to Thea ha ha! As for me, these cupcakes sure make me happy. :)

Sophie's Mom in SM Megamall
This is their second shop. Their first shop is located at 

• 8760 Santol St., San Antonio Village
• Makati, Philippines 1203

Sophie's Mom
SM Megamall Bldg. A, Ground Floor (Near National Bookstore)
Telephone: 856-4849 / 404-8165 / 0920 912 9952

Buko Shake

Buko Shake
by: Nicole




All right folks, a new craze has come to town! Say hello to the buko shake!

Coco Fresco´s Buko Shake with Caramel
12 oz. (Php 35.00)

Before we go on talking about the buko shake, let's talk a little bit about buko juice a.k.a. coconut water. Buko (coconut) juice is the newest hit drink around the world (but our country filled with coconuts is not the pioneer rawr!). I'm sure you've seen news about it online (Rihanna is the new face of VitaCoco, one of the leading coconut water brands in the U.S.). Why is it a hit? Mainly because of these reasons - it's electrolyte-rich, has zero fat and zero cholesterol. I read somewhere before that during World War II, coconut water was used for blood transfusion because it has the same properties as the human blood plasma. Read more about it here. Now you might want to ditch the synthetic Gatorade. 

It was my sister who actually introduced me to this yummy shake. Buko shake is  the KING OF ALL SHAKES, at least in my opinion. It's creamy, a total thirst quencher, and the taste is really good - not too sweet or anything weird and extreme. It's the most refreshing frothy drink I've ever tried!

Next time you go to the mall, make you sure you buy the buko shake (I saw two stalls in SM Megamall selling. One was in front of Powerbooks and the other was near the Cinemas 7,8,9. . ., if my memory serves me right). Buko shake is a total must try! It comes in different flavours too - strawberry, ube, pandan, caramel, and chocolate. If you're on healthy mode or in other words avoiding the poisonous sugar (if too much), just drink the plain one. 

Go loco over coco!

Coco Fresco

SM Megamall (in front of Powerbooks)

Therese in the Philippines: Mesa Filipino Moderne

Intro: You probably don't know this, but I went home to the Philippines last January. In the span of the 9 days that I was there, I tried 5 new restaurants around the metro, and I even went out of town! Therefore, let me take a short break from my Taiwan posts and in my next few entries, I am going to write about the new places I've been to in and around the metro!

My bloc mates and I were supposed to have a dinner reunion at Yabu in SM Megamall but unfortunately, when we got there, we were put on the waiting list. We didn't want to wait for a long time, so we decided to eat at Mesa Filipino Moderne, which is located almost beside Yabu, instead.

We were seated at this table that had 2 long benches surrounding it. What we didn't like about it was that there wasn't enough space (it was very cramped) so it was hard for us to sit down and move around.

Moving on to the food...

Baby squid in olive oil | 270php

I loved this because the squid was tender and cooked just right (in my opinion). Also, they're very cute!

Pasta kaldereta | 165php

If you're a fan of kaldereta and of tomato sauce, then you're going to love this. The flavors were just right. This could very well be a comfort food.

Salpicao ostrich | 320php

I also liked this because the ostrich meat was tender. I think ostrich meat tastes a bit like chicken/beef but it's not totally the same, and you could actually taste that from eating this. I also like how they were cut into bite-sized portions, because the last time I ate ostrich meat, it was hard and the cuts were huge (maybe that's why it was hard?)

Sisig rice | 170php

We wanted to order the Laing rice but it wasn't available. We settled for this instead, but there was nothing special with this dish. It didn't taste much like sisig.

Tofu sisig | 130php

We also liked this one because of the juiciness (?) of the tofu along with the sisig.

In conclusion, I/we liked their food because it was delicious, and it's not all that expensive. Though it may look like the servings are small, they're actually very filling. We were a group of 7 and we all got full after. Also, each person paid less than 200php for dinner!

Location: SM Megamall
Level 2, Mega Atrium
EDSA corner Julia Vargas Ave., Mandaluyong City

Tiffy: Racks at SM Megamall A

Whenever I go out with friends, where to eat is always a problem. It was quite a relief when one of my friends suggested a place at once: Racks. 

Now I've eaten at Racks once or twice before. With this kind of place, however, I would tend to focus more on the company and the ambiance of the place rather than the food. The food is good enough, and the serving is huge. It's that kind of place. 

We ordered a the Surf 'n' Turf family platter (Php 1,999 | USD 45.47) that included three side dishes and two pitchers of any coke product (additional charge if you want iced tea).

Garlic bread. So greasy it's sinful.

Our side dishes. I loved their mac and cheese! 

(We also had a plate of fries but it was too far from where I was seated)

Fish 'n chips. The fish is really soft and good. I'd order this any time.

You have two choices: red sauce or white sauce on your spaghetti.

Racks Pork Ribs 

Address: 3/F Bridgeway, SM Megamall A

EDSA cor. Julia Vargas Avenue

Ortigas Center Mandaluyong City

Metro Manila Philippines 

Number: (02) 706-5427