Therese in Taiwan: Poffertjes 荷蘭小鬆餅

Two months ago, the Taipei World Design Expo 2011 happened, and my friends and I looked at the exhibitions. After walking around the halls, we decided to grab a bite. We weren't familiar with the area so we approached this group of locals and asked them whether they could point us in the right direction. They ended up accompanying us to this cafe (where the food costs more than we would have wanted to spend, so we decided not to eat there anymore) and we found out that they owned this food stall that's located at Gongguan night market (公館夜市 gong1 guan3 ye4 shi4).

The name of their stall is 荷蘭小鬆餅 (he2 lan2 xiao3 song1 bing3 - which translated is Holland's small pancakes). Below their sign is the word Poffertjes.

Since I wasn't familiar with Poffertjes, I had to rely on Wikipedia (yeah, oops) to know what they were. Apparently, they're a "traditional Dutch batter treat" that "resembles small, fluffy pancakes".

You could choose from either sweet or salty poffertjes. My friend and I (obviously) went for the sweet kind. They currently have 4 flavors - original (經典荷蘭 － 原味口味), banana (蹺蹺扳 － 香蕉口味), pumpkin (南瓜馬車 － 南瓜口味), and ice cream (總動員 － 冰淇淋口味). I went for the original and my friend tried the banana. The first 2 flavors cost 50 NTD (~ PhP 75), and the last 2 cost 55 NTD (~ PhP 83).

Banana (蹺蹺扳 － 香蕉口味) | 50 NTD (~ PhP 75)

Original (經典荷蘭 － 原味口味) | 50 NTD (~ PhP 75)

From the salty kind, you could choose from chicken (60 NTD ~ PhP 90, tomato (65 NTD ~ PhP 98), or beef (65 NTD ~ PhP 98). I got this picture from their Facebook page.

Chicken roll (雞肉卷卷)

In case you don't know how to read Chinese characters, I've written down their Chinese names so that you could just do character recognition! LOL. If you wanna know how to say/pronounce them, I could write down the PinYin for you guys! :)

Don't forget to join our ongoing giveaways:
1. Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range + Giveaway
2. The Bellevue Pastry Corner + Buffet Giveaway

The Bellevue Pastry Corner + Buffet Giveaway [CLOSED]

The Bellevue Pastry Corner
Written by Nicole | Photos by Danne


On Manila Foodistas' recent stint in Alabang, Tiffy, Nicole, and Danne went to the Bellevue hotel. They thought they were only going to have lunch at the buffet but actually, there was more in store for them.

After having a scrumptious and absolutely filling feast at Bellevue's buffet,  they were toured around the whole hotel. Their last stop was the Pastry Corner.

A sculpture made of sugar will welcome every one who visits Bellevue's Pastry Corner. Bellevue's pastry chef, if I am not mistaken, is the one who crafts this. This was interesting! I wonder if it's edible?

Cakes, cakes, cakes, caaakkeess! And they have the irresistible cheesecake (my favourite)! Their cakes were cheaper than what we have here in the very buzzy Metro Manila! If you could zoom in this photo, you would see that each cake was less than a thousand pesos!

I was blown away by how cheap their cookies were! Only 20 pesos each! Danne commented that their cookies were even cheaper than what one could buy in UP Diliman.

Assorted Danish (Php 45.00)
Cheese Muffin (Php 50.00)

Bellevue's Pastry Corner has always something new to offer every month and as for this holiday season, Christmas-themed cakes, breads, chocolates, and other pastries are available. Also, you can order here for take-out some of the dishes from their buffet like the Roasted US Ribeye, Roasted Whole Turkey, Baked Salmon Fillet Coulibiac, California Maki Platter, Cheese and Cold Cuts Platter.

After our whole trip in this really pleasant hotel, each of us were given a box of different ensaymadas. The moment I got home, my sisters and I ate them and boy, in just a few minutes all the ensaymadas were gone! They were gone even before any of the manila foodistas had the chance to take photos of it. Awww... Tiffy loved the chocolate ensaymada and as for me, I liked everything because they were good!  ♡  

Again, thank you so much to the Bellevue Hotel and to Ms. Jehn for having us! Twas indeed a memorable and fun experience for us!

But wait, there's more! The Bellevue Hotel Manila has been nice enough to sponsor a blog giveaway for our readers. They will be giving away 2 gift certificates for the buffet at Cafe D'Acie to one lucky winner. That's Php 2,600+ worth!

Here's what you have to do:

1. Like Manila Foodistas on Facebook (it's also in the sidebar).
2. Follow us on Google Friend Connect (in the sidebar, just click JOIN THIS SITE--you can use either your twitter/google account/yahoo to follow).
3. On the Disqus form below, click the "like" button and share on either Facebook or Twitter. Please make sure that the Facebook post is set to public.
4. Leave a comment (on this post) with your Facebook/twitter name (or link) and the Google Friend Connect account name that you used.

You can join until December 18, 2011 (12 MN) and we'll announce the winner later that day (and email you too)! :)

The Manila Foodistas does not condone any form of cheating. All entries will be checked. Random.org will be used to choose the winner.

Btw, there's also an ongoing giveaway for Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range. You're basically doing the same things except the additional Gandiva Cafe FB page like.

Pastry Corner 
The Bellevue Hotel Manila
Address: North Bridgeway, Filinvest Corporate City Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Philippines 1781 
Telephone number: 771 8181 local 8016

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Gavino's Donuts at Mercato Centrale

Gavino's Donuts at Mercato Centrale
This weekend. 7 AM to 2 PM. Booth 26.
By Tiffy

I got an email earlier this week about Gavino's Donuts about a supposedly new concept in the Philippine donut industry.

So here's what got me hooked: the words mochi-like and this picture.

Does it remind you of something?

Yes! The Japanese Mister Donut (Misdo) ポンデリング (pon de ring)

Apparently, this type of donut is also popular in Taiwan and China. And looking at the flavors that Gavino's Donuts have, it looks like it might just work! Ensaymada donut, anyone? 

Unfortunately, they don't have a store open yet. But fortunately, they are going to be in Mercato Centrale this weekend from 7 AM to 2 PM. I might just see you in Mercato Centrale if I can't curb this craving for these donuts. 

And just to show you how much I love these type of donuts:

June, 2009. Yes I eat a lot. Don't judge me! No pon de rings here though--yikes!

Mister Donuts, Japan. November, 2011. Pon de rings at the back.

I asked Gavino's Donuts to please please tell us when they'll open a store. Don't worry, I'll blog about it too just so you guys aren't left out! And if you want, you can leave me a comment and I'll email you when they email us.

Mercato Centrale can be found at the corner of 8th Avenue and 34th Street at Bonifacio Global City:

Has anyone tried it yet, btw? I heard that feedback has been good but you never know! We'll get back to you on that.

EDIT (22:17) 

Gavino's Donuts will be extending their stay in Mercato until January and are looking to open in other weekend markets until they open their coffee shop sometime in January. They were sold out today. 

Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range + Giveaway

Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range + Giveaway
December 9, 2011
By Tiffy and Nicole

Gandiva Cafe (pronounced gandeeva) is the first archery pro shop in the Philippines that's geared towards health and fitness. They offer not only a chance to learn (and do) archery, they also serve vegetarian/vegan food (they have both!) in their cafe. They're really into organic ingredients and they buy it locally.

Their 18-meter range. Tonight, however, the targets are much closer to cater to noobz like us!

They also sell some merchandise. Btw, FREE wifi access for only one drink order!

For vegans, they serve pastries that contain no milk/eggs. I believe that they also have pastries containing milk/eggs for the lacto-ovo vegetarians.

The National Yoga Club of the Philippines also gave a demonstration. Apparently, Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range will also be offering yoga classes. 

We were served their Gandiva VG Burger (Php 198), Four Cheese pizza (Php 225 12-inch, P355 18-inch), Bacon cheese burger (Php 275 12-inch, Php 420 18-inch), and Tuna Pesto (Php 198).

Nicole and I both thought that the Gandiva VG Burger is a little too dry for our taste. Their thin crust pizza is crunchy--the Four Cheese pizza has a slightly sweet taste and their Bacon Cheese Burger doesn't really taste like bacon cheese burger. We ♥ the chili sauce that comes with the pizza. Their Tuna Pesto is good--the taste is not too strong, perfect for those who aren't too keen with herbs. Funnily, the fake meat that came with the pesto, although made from soy, tasted a bit like spam (or there might be something wrong with my tastebuds). 

Their bestsellers are the Tomato Basil Pizza (Php 220 12-inch, Php 350 18-inch) and the Veggie Supreme Pizza (Php 275 12-inch, Php 420 18-inch)

The menu is promising although I think that they have a lot to improve on if they want people to start going veggie!

We were able to chat with Chef Lali Balagtas and let us tell you--she is one of the bubbliest person we both met! When we learned her name, Nicole suddenly went, "Are you related to that Balagtas?" Chef Lali was puzzled, "Which Balagtas?" Nicole continued, "You know! The one who wrote Florante at Laura!" Chef Lali burst out laughing--actually, we both did! No, she's not.

Chef Lali actually hasn't eaten any sort of meat or fish her whole life. This is because her whole family's vegetarian and she was raised as one. Her mom eventually let them decide whether or not they want to start eating meat or keep being a vegetarian. (One small boo-boo: one time, she accidentally ate pasta that contained anchovy even after specifically requesting for it to be removed.) She's lacto vegetarian so she still eats cheese--something that she can't give up. 

Marti Bismark (left), holding a compound bow, explains how it differs from a recurve bow (held by Romnick Balmeo), which is the only bow permitted in the Olympics. The compound bows are more often used for hunting.

Earlier this evening, I was very fortunate to be seated at the table beside that of Tim Bismark, a consultant for the archery range, who passionately talked about his love of archery. Archery, according to him, is an ancient art form that helps man understand focus. An archer for 5 years, he has previously suffered two strokes before. Archery was, according to him, one of the reasons for his faster recovery. 

Nicole has a natural flare for archery! She hit the bulls-eye twice.

Archery Range and Equipment Rental:
Range Fees: Php 150 per hour
Equipment Rental: Php 200 per hour
Instructor's Fees: Php 250 per hour
*They also have a lesson package for Php 6,000 that includes 10 2-hour sessions.

They are open from 9 AM to 9 PM. Friday nights, as well as Saturdays and Sundays are usually busy times for the archery range.

We all got Gandiva shirts.

Now the exciting part: I will be giving away my haul for the night. My haul includes a Gandiva shirt, a Gandiva tumbler, a small bottle of Lavender & Vanilla organic room and linen fragrance, a small bottle of sportspray all-around antibacterial sports gear deodorizer and disinfectant, and a 150-gram pack of 100% pure cocosugar. (I wonder if Gandiva can sponsor a free hour for the winner? PLZ OH PLZ)



This giveaway is open only to Philippine residents--or nonresidents if you're sure I can maybe give it to you some day when I end up in your country? :)

Here's what you have to do:

1. Like Manila Foodistas on Facebook (it's also in the sidebar)
2. Follow us on Google Friend Connect (in the sidebar, just click JOIN THIS SITE--you can use either your twitter/google account/yahoo to follow).
3. Like Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range on Facebook
4. Leave a comment with your Facebook/twitter name and the Google Friend Connect account name that you used.

(BONUS! +3 raffle entries) On the Disqus form below, click the "like" button and share on either Facebook or Twitter. Please make sure that the Facebook post is set to public. !In your comment, please say that you did the bonus.

You can join until December 16, 2011 (12 MN) and we'll announce the winner later that day (and email you too)! :)

Visit Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range and get your free 6-arrow trial.
Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range
Address: 7th floor One Corporate Centre Bldg.,
Julia Vargas St. cor Meralco Ave., Ortigas,
Pasig City, Philippines
Landline number: (02) 638-8711 Fax #: (02) 571-9999
Mobile # (63) 9175854451 (63) 9175854459
Website: www.gandiva.com.ph
Email: info [a] gandiva.com.ph

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