Cake Run 10: Love Desserts: Unlimited Desserts Part 3

Welcome to the last of the 3 part series of Love Desserts. It would not be fair if I just featured cakes when the shop has so much more to offer than just that. So here goes nothing.

Dessert Number 1: Black Forest Roll

Visual: Let me catch my breath. This one is quite the sensory overload. It reminds me of a dark tunnel on a snowy day. At the same time, it also reminds me of a mountain wherein the trees have its stems untrimmed and the roots scattered everywhere like a dangerous place for skiers. It is only the red cherry on top that snapped me back to reality that this is dessert treat and not some unknown wilderness that will suck you in with all that swirling darkness.

Taste: Yummy indeed but could have been better. The bread is ordinary tasting but at least it is not dry. Given its black complexion, I expected to taste even just a flavorful of chocolate. The snowy cream and the chocolate flakes kind of made up for the entire taste of the cake. Eaten separately, the chocolate flakes do not taste much but coupled with the cream, they somehow complemented and amplified the taste of each other. The taste reminded me of milk chocolate and how that is my type.

Dessert Number 2: Shot Glass Desserts

We actually have to search for the name of this dessert as we are getting frustrated describing and explaining which dessert treat we are referring to.

                                     “Please get me one of those in the small cup.”

                                                “What cup? The cupcake?”

                                                     You get the point.

Visual: Reminds me of little princesses. Absolutely adorable! Should I go for the red, the yellow or the golden one? Whatever you decide your highness, as long as you maintain your dress white and pristine as a pure soul. Sorry, cannot help but gush.

Taste: As a princess, you are not satisfied with just one but you just have to try them all or if you are into Pokemon, why not catch them all?

The red one is berry but it is artificial so I did not favor it much. If it were not for the cream, I would not have finished it because as much as I am into sweets, I do not fancy eating pure artificial sweets.

The yellow one is mango which I surprisingly liked because I am usually biased when it comes to mangoes. Living in a tropical country where mangoes can already pass as mango ice cream, my standards for this fruit are already at the critical level. I do not really fancy wherein mangoes are literally sugarcoated in mousses or cakes but this one kind of surprised me. I think it has something to do with the mango bits floating on the pudding instead of being submerged into the entire mousse. The mango bits used are of the natural type and the one I usually eat here in my country.

The gold one is quite disappointing to say the least. The graham on top is already soggy and if you do not know what graham tastes like, you will not be able to know it by eating this one. Cream is so-so. Even with the swirl of chocolate encircling the cream, I did not taste anything more than just cream.

Dessert Number 3: Rainbow Cake

Visual: Flamboyant! It can be the official cake of the Pride. It was the first one I have noticed when I visited the buffet table. However, appearance is not everything. I have a certain bias for super colorful desserts that these are usually made of artificial coloring or colored sugar or worst, both. Plus, how can cream be blue? It however is visually appealing so when I did not take a slice, chances are some of my friends would get and true enough, there it is on the plate beside mine and even across mine. 

Taste: And Yes. I ended up taking a bite. Different from what I expected. By the way this is actually the first time I ate a Rainbow Cake given my bias against multi-colored sweets. I expected it to be super sweet with each layer of flavoring fighting for dominance which would just end up chaotically on my taste buds.

So it was not sweet but it is surprisingly bland. I mean it tastes just like your regular cake bread. The sky blue cream also tastes like regular cream. In essence it is just regular cake bread covered with regular cream and somebody was given crayons to color them.

I’m not really in the authority to judge whether this cake is good or not since this is my first time but it definitely awakened my desire to try on a rainbow cake the next time I see one. Who knows I might find the one wherein the taste is a perfect representation of its appealing appearance.

I meant for this post to be humorous to give you guys a boost this lovely Sunday evening in preparation for Monday.

Since the unlimited dessert is quite an experience, I divided the posts into three (3) parts. You may click on the links below for Parts 1 and 2:

Cake Run 8: Love Desserts: Your Unlimited Source of Cakes and other Desserts Part 1
Cake Run 9: Love Desserts: Unlimited Cakes Part 2

Thoughts? Feel free to post a comment below.

Cake Run 9: Love Desserts: Unlimited Cakes Part 2

Welcome to the second part of Love Desserts, your unlimited source of cakes and other desserts. For this entry, I will be doing my usual review of my other romance which are cakes. So let us proceed with our 3 contestants.

Cake Number 1: Cheesecake

Visual: A true sight for sore eyes. Look at how white and creamy this cake is as it is being topped and bottomed by two browns, adding further to its allure. The top brown which are your walnuts are held together by caramel sauce to the point that my tongue is already enjoying the anticipation of biting into this treat.

Taste: Finally, the long wait has come to an end. If you would consider the less than a minute walk from the buffet table to our seating area, a long wait.

First bite and it tastes the way it looks like. Creamy and Alluring that once I finished, I have to get another slice even when I vowed not to get a second serving of the same viand so that I can try everything on the buffet table.

I did not bother separating the layers as I usually do since this cake barely has any save for the dark brown cheese crust below and the white cheesecake itself. All I can say is that the taste did justice to its looks.

Cake Number 2: Mango Cream

Visual: Appealing yes but not that different from how other mango cream cakes look like. It is topped with mango slices and cherry bits covered by gelatin, giving it an illusion of looking through a glass which reminds me of a frozen lake. Surrounded by whip cream at the top and at the bottom layer, made me gave it a chance to try it out since I kind of have a soft spot for creams if you noticed on my posts. Cream plays a heavy role when I judge cakes:)

Taste: Nothing special but yes, it is creamy and reminds me of the mango cream pie that my mom usually buys from Red Ribbon when I was a child. Although it is worth mentioning that the cake itself has a soft texture with a zest of mango flavor. It is something unique about this dessert whereas the usual mango cream I have tasted are either you taste mango or you taste cream but not a combination of both.

Cake Number 3: Bread Pudding

Visual: Initially, I did not really plan on taking a slice but outer coating reminds me of Nutella and that basically sealed the deal for me.

Compared to other cakes served on the buffet table, its appearance pales in comparison and is easily negligible. However, despite its less colorful physique, I still took out my camera and gave it the same celebrity shot I usually give my other cakes.

Taste: Surprisingly good and satisfying. It is yummy yes but does not wow you immediately. You would only get to appreciate its beautiful taste when you savor it slowly. I recommend eating this one slowly and preferably, layer by layer. Reason is because it is made of several layers of thin crepe which have chocolate spread on them so as to make the layers stick together. The chocolate spread apparently is not only limited to the external coating but also evenly distribute across the pudding’s multi layered design.

If you just eat it all at the same time, your palate will just get confused or worst, label it as a bland tasting treat. This was actually my first impression when I had my first bite but since I am into separating cakes, pastries, sandwiches etc into layers when eating them, I discovered a new perspective and a better way of eating this pudding. A pity though that not everyone had the same discovery as mine, judging from the slow refill rate it has in comparison with the other cakes, for the pudding has so much hidden potential; but I guess that is how it is in life. You cannot expect people to take time and unravel your hidden talent, you have to be the aggressive one and make sure that you stand out among the cheesecakes and the mango creams out there. Okay, Lyndsay enough with the drama;)

Since the unlimited dessert is quite an experience, I divided the posts into three (3) parts. You may click on the links below for Parts 1 and 3:

Cake Run 8: Love Desserts: Your Unlimited Source of Cakes and other Desserts Part 1
Cake Run 10: Love Desserts: Unlimited Desserts Part 3

Thoughts? Feel free to share them this Lovely Tuesday Evening. If you feel like philosophizing just like I did in the last sentence, go ahead and share or e-mail me at ultimatelyndsay@gmail.com

Cake Run 8: Love Desserts: Your Unlimited Source of Cakes and other Desserts Part 1

Welcome to another episode of Cake Run. Before we start, let me ask you guys first. What can you buy using your Php200 or USD4? Well, turns out you can treat yourself for a 2 hour eat-all-you-can dessert.

I have so much to share with you guys about this shop that I cannot spill it on one entry so I will do three series part wherein I will first introduce the shop then I will do my usual pure cake review and capped off by a review of their other desserts.

Located in a not so prominent area with a not so modern signage (it still makes use of a panaflex type instead of the modern cut-out LED kind), Love Desserts is one of those hole in the wall establishments that just calls to your adventurous spirit. It definitely leveled up the playing field by offering a unique experience to food lovers out there. 

Concept-Wise: I definitely would give it an all-star rating for its uniqueness. Sure, there are lots of restaurants that offer eat-all-you-can but it is not every day wherein you encounter an eat-all-you-can dessert. 

Value for Money: It has a wide selection of your favorite desserts ranging from the local ones to the worldly renowned types. From your ube (purple yams), kakanin (rice cakes) to your classic cinnamon rolls, cupcakes and colorful cakes, this place is really a must-go for sweet lovers like you and me. For just 4 bucks, need I say more?

More than anything else, I would like to commend the courage and boldness of the owners for venturing into this kind of business idea. Being immersed with a business mindset every now and then, given my family and corporate background, I cannot help but ask the following questions when the reservation lady mentioned that the bill is only Php199 per head: 1) How can you offer so many selections (breads, cakes and ice creams) for such an affordable price? 2) How much should be the volume of people per day or per month for the business to earn profit? 3) Cheaper ingredients perhaps? which can spell the difference in terms of taste

As a customer and avid fan of all things sweet, I can only watch and observe to get a tip of the iceberg information on their business strategy. With my years of tasting different treats, my eyes and tongue can be quite discerning when it comes to determining a good pastry from a bad one. 

While waiting for our turn to be seated, I went around and visually absorbed the dessert buffet just like any first timers would do. I have noticed that most of the pastries like the mini cinnamon rolls, cream puffs and brownies are quite dry looking while the cookies look lanky and lacking. I am not sure if it is because of the ingredients or maybe it has been out in the open for a long time. 

 

However, the cakes and shot glass desserts do not look bad but I would not be too quick to judge until I actually get to taste it. I will do a separate review on the next episode of Cake Run for the cakes that I find delightfully pleasing given that I only have to pay 4 bucks wherein normally, I have to spend 2 to 3 bucks per slice. 

Experience: Not so bad given that you only have to pay peanuts. I am not expecting a 5-star service but the least they can do is to satisfy the basics.  For one, the tables and chairs are too close to each other that it is difficult to move around especially when queuing for the desserts. Second, the utensils are quite old which brought some unfavorable images to mind but I chose to ignore it and focused on enjoying the buffet. Third, there are NO labels on each dessert. I mean, really? For a dessert fan like me, I would definitely not let it pass me to taste something and not know what it is. While my companions did not bother asking, I was a different story. I have to develop a thick skin and ask one of the service ladies who turned out to have a bubbly attitude despite having to attend to many things, much to my relief.

So far, only these three things bothered me slightly but I was actually more focused in experiencing the desserts on my plate and on the buffet table. 

I like the fact that the owners did not scrimp off and provided a full selection of what comprises a complete dessert. Aside from the main course like your pastries and cakes, they also serve unlimited ice cream paired with unlimited toppings of your choice plus bottomless drinks.

Nachos, dynamites (chili cheese sticks) and empanadas (stuffed bread) were served to comfort our palates when the sweetness is just too overwhelming to be quelled by water and tea. I find this very thoughtful of them since normally, buffet operators prefer if customers get fed up faster but in this case, they actually serve light snacks that are mostly salty and spicy to cancel out the sweetness and restarts your appetite to eat more desserts.

Since the unlimited dessert is quite an experience, I divided the posts into three (3) parts. You may click on the links below for Parts 2 and 3:

Cake Run 9: Love Desserts: Unlimited Cakes Part 2
Cake Run 10: Love Desserts: Unlimited Desserts Part 3

Thoughts? What do you think of unlimited desserts?

Have a Lovely Sunday Evening!