Skydreamer dines in Cebu: Leona's Cakes and Pastries

If you regularly read my blog, you would know by now that I love all kinds of unhealthy food and great desserts. One of the most under represented dessert house in Cebu is Leona's. It has a great following, but because of competition, some people would go to other cake houses.

For me, most of Leona's cakes are not just good, they're great. Our family's favorite for about five years now is their Choco Fudge cheesecake. It's creamy, smooth and chocolately. It's a staple birthday cake in our home.

They also have Banoffee Cream Pie that's so rich and fresh at the same time, that I could eat it any time of the day.



Choco Fudge Cheesecake





Top (L-R): Choco Mocha Mousse and Japanese Cheesecake
Middle (L-R): (I forgot the name) and  Choco Fudge Chessecake
Bottom (L-R): Cookies and Cream Cheesecake and Banoffee Cream Pie (YUM!!!)

 I totally forgot the name of one of the cakes we ordered (I'm sorry). If you know what it is based on the picture alone, do let me know!

Also, do try any of their cheesecakes and the banoffee cream pie - they're out of this world! Next time I go there, I'll try their tiramisu. I heard it's one of their bestsellers.

Leona's Information:
They have three branches:

• Juan Luna Ave., Mabolo
• GQS Bldg., Banilad
• GF Northwing SM Cebu

His Royal Cuteness

...and now for a dose of cuteness...

Baby, you are growing up so fast, I can't keep up! I love you so much and I'll always be here for you.

Love,
Mama

Baby Seth

Skydreamer dines in Cebu: Italian Coffee Affogato Ice Cream

Nestle has new ice cream flavors out in their Temptations line: Italian Coffee Affogato, French Salted Caramel and Belgian Chocolate Praline. If you know me, I tend to gravitate towards coffee based sweets.

Their Coffee Affogato flavored ice cream is really creamy, and it tastes like FIC's (Fruits in Ice Cream) cappuccino.

One 800ML tub costs P240 at Rustan's.

Try it and let me know what you think! :)



Italian Coffee Affogato



Skydreamer dines in Cebu: Sweet Little Things

Sweet Little Things is my favorite cupcake house in Cebu. The first time I tried it was last year when we had dinner at Simply J's in Escario. We were on our way to Sprockets for after-dinner milk tea, but gravitated towards a new cupcake place - SLT (Sweet Little Things).

Now, they have expanded to SM Northwing and that's where my li'l sister bought the three cupcakes in the picture below. One cupcake costs P68, but if you want to eat more and save more (who wouldn't?) then you might want to get a box of three cupcakes for only P158.

We bought Dark Chocolate Mudpie, our all-time favorite.
We also had monkey business which tasted great. After all, who doesn't like banana combined with chocolate?
Their latest cupcake is called Peanut Butter Crunch and it was a big hit with everyone in the family.

Try their cupcakes and let me know what you think! :)



L-R: Dark Chocolate Mudpie; Monkey Business; Peanut Butter Crunch



SLT Sweet Little Things Information:

Their main branch is in Apitong Street.

They have a small kiosk in SM Northwing near Cyberzone's iStore.

A Better Philippines!

Picture taken from aboutph.com

Our (Filipinos) ability to laugh in the face of adversity is both good and bad. Good - because it shows that we have a positive outlook in life. Bad - because it also shows we don't really know what's going on. 

Read up and watch what our History books aren't teaching us. Be informed and don't be ignorant. Once done, don't focus on the past - instead, do something for our country's future.

That said, before voting - be informed the right way.

xoxo,
Newly Educated Filipino

Skydreamer Dines in Cebu: 10 Dove Street

I recently went to 10 Dove Street with my family to celebrate my husband's birthday. It's a quaint restaurant in 10 Dove Street, Sto. Nino Village, Banilad, Cebu.

They offer a four-course meal for only P220. 

First, you choose your soup. I had corn and potato chowder (not pictured) which is one of the best chowders I've ever tasted. It was amaaaazing! You get to choose from a selection of 10 soups like clam chowder, french onion, tomato, and mushroom monterey.

Next, you choose your salad. I had their chicken mango salad (not pictured) which has macaroni pasta, chicken and mango slices in mayo.

Once you're done selecting your salad, you choose your sandwich (or, if you choose a sandwich with a side dish, they will cancel your salad order). I chose roast beef dylan (not pictured) in wheat bread.  This sandwich is very powerful. Roast beef sauteed with caramelized onions topped with two types of cheese. It's the best sandwich ever!

Lastly, (and at this point honestly, you're all very full and would like to take a little break outside) you choose your cake. They usually have four cake selections out, and all you have to do is choose which one you would like to try. I chose cappuccino (the one in the picture!) and it was great! I have always been a fan of coffee based desserts so maybe I'm a little bit biased. :D



Top Left: Crab and corn soup
Top Right: Chicken Primavera
Bottom Left: Tuna Sandwich
Bottom Right: Cappuccino cake - YUM!



10 Dove Street Information:
Contact Number: 346 0618
Facebook Page: HERE
Additional Information: They also have a private buffet for a minimum of 20 people, for only P350 per person!

Skydreamer Dines in Cebu: Manggahan

Probably, one of our best finds this year is Manggahan in Wilson Street, Apas. If you don't know where that is, it's just a block away from Pino restaurant.

Manggahan is fairly new; it opened just a few months ago, and already they have quite a following. Just think about it: their dishes taste really great and are all affordable.

We ordered 'monggos puno sa subak' for only P28. Their monggos taste really great and can be paired with any of their meat selections.

We also ordered a couple of eggplant dishes: talong ni tatang for P48 and talong guisado for P58. Unfortunately, we didn't eat any of these dishes because of one reason, which is....

HITO! Yes, they serve hito or catfish (a black slippery fish with mustache). I don't think I've ever seen any other restaurant here that serve hito. These are widely popular in Cotabato City, but not here in Cebu. You can order it with tausi; coconut milk; adobo or deep fried. We ordered three deep fried hito fishes -- exactly how we love them. They are the absolute best, I'm not kidding you. But the funny thing was, I think we were the only table who ordered catfish. Everyone else ordered grilled pork, sisig and such. Which is a shame because hito is probably the best tasting fish out there (based on what I've eaten so far). Oh, and one big hito costs only P158.

I'd definitely be back there over and over again for the hito, and their monggos. We will bring relatives to this restaurant, and Cotabato friends too.

Manggahan is just, amazing. Try it, and let me know what you think! :)



their monggos for only P28 - serves two people





guisadong talong (too bad, we didn't get to taste this)





talong ni tatang (really pretty eggplant salad that we didn't get to eat)





the star of the day: Deep Fried Hito - Uber YUM!!





Our third hito - we just could not get enough!

 Manggahan Information:

Hours of Operation: 9AM - 4AM the next day

Contact Number: 260 3300

Facebook Page: HERE

Grocery Shopping cart at Shopwise: Kid Friendly!

We recently went to Shopwise to do our grocery shopping, and their kid friendly grocery cart was a very pleasant surprise. It definitely minimized my toddler's restlessness while I shopped for our food for the entire week! :)

Great for busy moms and families with curious toddlers!

Ready for a ride?

Shopwise Information:

Address: N. Bacalso Avenue, Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City

Hours of Operation: 8AM - 10PM

Facebook Page: Shopwise

Skydreamer dines in Dumaguete: Cafe Mamia

One of the best things about Dumaguete is that there are li'l cafes all over the city that offer surprisingly great sweet treats. One of them is Cafe Mamia which is located in San Jose Street - if you know where the original Sans Rival branch is located, you can easily spot this little cafe.

We ordered their iced caramel macchiato (really good), nutella cheesecake (it was ok, but was too creamy), Belgian cookie (very chewy, just the way i like it), frozen blueberry cheesecake (it was ok), choco-banana cream pie (it was the absolute best!!) and chocolate marble streusel (i didn't get to taste this).

I will definitely be back for the banana cream pie!





cafe mamia's sweet treats

  

Skydreamer Dines in Dumaguete: Sans Rival

Whenever you hear someone's going to Dumaguete, what usually comes to mind? Silliman University, perhaps? The City of Gentle People, yes? To some though, it means Silvanas from Sans Rival. Their Silvanas have become a favorite pasalubong for Dumaguete tourists.

For me, it's their hot choco that makes me want to go back again and again. It's made of tablea with milk and the consistency is very thick. It's probably the best hot chocolate ever and the best thing about it? - It only costs P28 - that's less than a dollar!

If there's probably one thing I don't like about the place, it's the fact that they don't have high chairs or kiddie chairs which is definitely a challenge for those who are bringing toddlers. Hope they can invest in at least a couple of them for each location.



Sans Rival's hot choco, silvanas and spaghetti



Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries information:
Their main branch is in 1 San Jose St., Dumaguete City
There is also a Sans Rival Bistro beside it
Another Branch in: Robinson's Place, Dumaguete City
Website: Sans Rival

Bus seat numbers now available!

To my readers who frequently travel by land between Cebu and Dumaguete, here's a little bit of good news!

In Sibulan's terminal where you pay for your short ferry trip to Cebu, you may now get your priority numbers or seat numbers for the air conditioned buses.

This is really neat - no more running to get a seat in the bus when you get to the island! :)