FoodMetroManila

I have made an effort to cook our own food during this time of Covid 19. It’s partly because I have more time to cook, something I like doing, now that I’m exclusively staying at home, but it was mostly because I wanted to make sure I know how our food was cooked. The only times I did have food delivered during the early part of the Philippine’s Enhanced Community Quarantine was to order cakes, because I can’t make cakes at home.

These were ordered months ago, but they’re still selling these awesome baked creations online so I believe it will be great idea to share with the readers. The first two were cakes I bought to surprise my wife, to help lift up her spirits amidst what was happening in the country, and the last was a Basque Burnt Cheesecake we ordered before it was almost everything I saw in my timeline.

S’mores Cheesecake – Bake Away Cakes and Treats

I found about Bake Away from a post by WheninManila on Instagram (I’m always on Instagram). They had posted about a pre-order for the S’mores Cheesecake and I jumped on that immediately because, as you maybe can see in the picture above, it’s absolutely beautiful. It was an easy transaction, all done through an Instagram DM and completed with a bank transfer. You can even tell them what time it should be delivered, and this one was delivered right on time.

Aside from looking good, the S’mores Cheescake by Bake Away was actually delicious. The Marshmallow was gooey with just some crunch on the golden crust. There is this generous layer of chocolate in between the mallows and the cream cheese; generous but not too thick, which is standard s’mores fare. Speaking of the cream cheese, it was dense and not dry. The graham crust is lovely as always (c’mon, it is a graham crust) but if I will nitpick, it was a little too crumbly.

We’ve ordered other items from Bake Away since and we have also asked them to deliver goods as presents for some friends that live in Marikina, each time an easy and fast transaction.

Instagram: @bakeawaycakesandtreats

Midori Matcha – D’Doux/Sunkissed Café

My wife likes anything Matcha and I don’t, so take my views about this Midori Matcha with a grain of salt.

This is quite a picturesque cake that it’s kind of hard to cut into it. Despite the overall greenness of the cake (including the name), there was no overpowering taste of matcha. You can definitely tell it’s there, but it’s balanced with enough sweetness that someone who doesn’t particularly like Matcha actually wanted to eat more than one slice. There are two layers of moist chiffon (both green) inside, sandwiching a generous layer of icing (it’s white, I think it was nice touch). The fondant “leaves” ringing the edge of the cake are completely edible. They keep their structure but are not too hard/thick when biting into.

Like with Bake Away, it was easy transacting with them. I had initially messaged Dkada Mnl in Ayala Malls Marikina, however they directed me to their sister café in Cainta (well it’s in the Sta. Lucia Mall compound), Sunkissed Café. We haven’t ordered anything aside from this one Midori Matcha, but we do want to try the Sunkissed Café itself when it’s once again safe to go out.

Instagram: @sunkissedcafe_mnl

Basque Burnt Cheesecake – Home Cocina

Ah, yes, the Basque Burnt Cheesecake – it’s everywhere on Instagram. It’s burnt on purpose, it’s imploded in the Middle on Purpose, and it’s really just a straight-up baked cheesecake without anything else with it (on purpose). The draw is really the aggressive browning on top and the unique shape the cheesecake has, so anybody selling these have to nail the taste of the cheesecake and can’t rely on anything else.

The Basque Burnt Cheesecake we bought from Home Cocina (well, technically the only Basque Burnt Cheesecake we have ever ordered) was nice. They got the look down and the cheesecake itself is delicious. It’s pretty dense but it’s also jiggly, it’s fun to eat.

Home Cocina sells a lot of good, savory food. We also ordered their Surf and Turf Soft Taco Party Platter and it was solid (and a mouthful to pronounce)! My wife handled the transaction for this one, and I believe she also had a seamless transaction.

Instagram: @home.cocina

Facebook: facebook.com/cocinahomegourmetfood

Ruminations…

If you thought these cakes were pricey, well they are – but they are worth it. Bake away also sells loaves that are more economical but equally good. I’ve recently had the choco butternut loaf and it is AMAZING!

Personally, I like that you can order food now through social media messaging. It’s easier, faster, and makes great food available to almost everybody. The increased acceptance by people of e-wallets like Gcash, PayMaya, and to some extent PayPal (I’ve tried it twice, both for coffee beans purchases) is also a nice indicator. In a country so used to food deliveries even before Covid 19, it’s not wild to think that there will be more online orders moving forward even after it’s safe to go out again.

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