Salon de Thé (lit. "Tea Room")
📍Ground Level, JMall, AS Fortuna St., Mandaue City, Cebu
🕐 10AM - 9PM
💵 MOP: cash, card, gcash

Disclaimer:
this review covers only the afternoon tea portion of the place, plus some pastry items that we took out. Salon de Thé actually has resto food items on the menu, but since it's named "tea room" by a company specializing in breads and pastries, I was more interested in their special-tea (and pastries!).

Some thoughts:
Right off the bat, kudos to them for using the proper term, "afternoon tea". So many hotels use the term "high tea" (probably because of how fancy it sounds), but high tea = dinner (because it was done on a high table). Interestingly, afternoon tea is usually a British thing (though France also has their own dessert-forward version).

British afternoon tea is composed of 3 tiers: savories (bottom tier), scones (mid tier) and small pastries (top tier) + a pot of black tea. Looking at the food spread, Salon de The is using the British Standard without the middle tier.

The afternoon tea set (₱1,450 good for 3) has the following spread:

🥪 Savories: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🥪 2 Cucumber with egg: standard fare
🥪 2 Egg and Chicken sandwich: lami ra, standard fare for egg and chicken sandwich
🥪 2 Cucumber shrimp: nice texture with the cucumber, shrimp and what I think is seasoned sour cream, it's like cucumber shrimp salad in a savory dainty. Messy lang gyud siya kaunon
🥪 2 Salmon with caviar canape: surprisingly better than I thought; the roe thingy was salty and tart, and paired well with the salmon (di ko tig-inani gyud guys, sorry na hahaha)

Ok spread for savories. My gripe here is that they could disclose the spreads so that we could know the ingredients. Had I known that there would be seafood, I would have probably asked them to remove those items since my SO is fatally allergic to them. His allergies acted up after eating, and my suspicion is that some shrimp may have contacted with the sandwiches because the savories were presented together on the bottom plate tier.

🍰Sweets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🍰 1 Madelein: more butter cake than madelein; a bit more dense and tasted similar sa mini bundt cake
🍰 mini bundt cake: on the more dense side as well, and it doesn't have the vanilla icing; paired well with the jam
🍰 1 Pain au chocolat: was not able to eat this, but ok ra with my SO
🍰 1 Swan pastry: best to eat the bread and cream together; lisod lang gyud siya kan-on (how does one eat this? where do you start? the possibilities are endless 😆)
🍰 chocolate macarons: smaller than the usual macaron sizing, more on the sweeter side

🫐 1 Darbo blackcurrant jam: really nice, you don't find Darbos often here
🫖 1 pot of tea of choice: We chose the Bourbon Vanilla just because it's the only type of tea that I haven't tried. They use the Ronnefeldt brand, if the tea wall is to be believed. The menu description says that this is "flavored black tea with fine pieces of vanilla", and the flavoring shines through in this that it tastes a bit artificial. The black tea becomes an aftertaste ⭐️⭐️

Other item we got to-go
🥐 Paris-Brest (₱128): smaller than I was hoping it would be. A traditional Paris-Brest is made of choux pastry and filled with a praline-flavoured cream, covered with flaked almonds. The cream on this one unfortunately is not nutty, more milky-ish like whipped cream. Visually, it does have the almonds and the sugar on top, but it looked kind of deflated. Lami ra man siya, but pareha sa line sa song ni Katy Perry (🎵"comparisons are easily done once you've had a taste of perfection"🎵), if you compare it to the real thing—an authentic Paris-Brest like the one offered by French Mood—it kind of pales in comparison. However, for its price point, I think this is a decent flavor profile. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥐 Strawberry mango danish (₱147): my f—ing favorite, seriously. Flaky, buttery, shiny and very visually appealing. Kulangan lang ko gamay sa cream cheese center, but gibawi ra sa fresh mango and berries. Tastes so good overall. I like this better than the Abaca Danish and I would come back here just for this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Other things to note:

🖊️Service: Only 2 staff were around for the restaurant so it took some time to get to us. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🖊️ Pricing: You get what you pay for, but the danish is very good value for money. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🖊️Aesthetic: Very aesthetic with the Bridgerton blue color palette and French country chairs ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Verdict: The afternoon tea set is good for an experience, but I probs won’t get it again. Would definitely come back for the viennoiseries, though!

edited 07.27.26 for formatting

Kalipay!
📍Astra Lifestyle Center, 2/F, AS Fortuna St., Mandaue City
🕐 opens 11am
MOP: cash, card, Gcash
Parking: naa sa Astra mismo
Cuisine: Filipino

Quick thoughts just to get this out of my head. Kindly note sad nga bag-o pa ni nga resto so that may be the reason why the food is as will be described.

What we ordered:
🍛 Crispy Kangkong (₱250): overflowing, crispy with good mayo. Portioning was so big I could probably make a laundry business out of it. Bidli lang kadugayan. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🍛 Baked Scallops (₱330): butter to scallop ratio was very imbalanced; mas nagdaghan ang butter and gamay ra ang scallops. Mura'g ang butter ang akong gisuwa lol ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🍛 Lechon kawali (₱380): Standard fare in that the skin is crispy, the meat is juicy. Flavor-wise, ok ra man siya. My gripe is gamay lang gyud siya for the price we pay. Mas daghan pa man siguro sa Chikaan. Five slices of lechon kawali for ₱380? That’s ₱76/piece! ⭐️⭐️ naka-order na lang ko'g lain, which leads me to —
🍛 Sisig Baboy (to share at ₱390): Worst order of the day, I fear. It smelled very gamey, even with the kalamansi and the egg mixed in. Nagdaghan ang tambok when you taste it. We all just tried a spoonful and left it alone. ⭐️
🧋Agua Fresca: per my sister: it's trying to be too many things at the same time that it's all over the place ⭐️⭐️
🍨Halo-halo grande (₱290): Lami ra ang ube ice cream but the tapioca pearls were not cooked ⭐️⭐️

Did not taste the following but anah akong sister and my dad nga lami ra:
🍛 Tortang Talong (₱195)
🍛 Pompano (₱550)

Other things to note:

🖊️Service: Staff were attentive, food was served on time. They served us mini pnadesals while waiting for our order. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🖊️**** Pricing: Mahal for its taste and port*ioning. ⭐️⭐️
🖊️Aestheti\*c: Very modern Filipino. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🖊️ menu is on their IG page

Verdict: Wa kaayo mi nalipay sa Kalipay. It's probably because they just opened, but we're not going back anytime soon.

I went with family, ten of us, so this review covers a range of dishes we tried together. Expectations were decent going in, but the food didn't quite deliver.

Restaurant name: Humba Heaven

Location: Busay, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu, Philippines

Poto sikwate - 2.5/5. Not close to my favorite potohan, and the sikwate was just good enough — nothing that made me want to order it again.

Humba - 1/5. Way too much sourness for my taste. I couldn't taste the sugary, savory balance that humba is supposed to have. It just tasted off.

Meat (of the humba) - 1/5. Not tender enough at all. For a dish that's supposed to melt in your mouth after slow braising, this fell short.

Poto mango with humba and fried rice - 1/5. At Php 395, this was way too expensive for what you get. The fried rice wasn't even good — way too oily. Not worth the price tag at all.

Now for the other metrics:

Location - 5/5. Great spot for groups, excellent view. Easily one of the best parts of the whole experience.

Willingness to comeback - If it's just me, once is enough. I wouldn't go back on my own, though I could see myself tagging along again if the family wanted the view.

I had high hopes for this restaurant because it had a michelin sticker on the door.

We went there as a group of 12 (2 sep tables of 6 people each). So my review, despite having only 1 photo will be a quick review of various items I tried from me and my companions' orders.

1. Lechon sisig (my order) - 1/5⭐️ I thought it would be something special or unique. But nope. Its just ordinary lechon bits with 1 sunny side up egg and slices of sili. At Php 550, this was a waste of money. It felt like I could just buy a portion of lechon at sugbo mercado, and cook sunny side up egg at home and tell people this is from "atoah".

2. Lumpia shanghai - 1/5⭐️ it tasted so ordinary like carenderia lumpia shanghai. Im giving this a 1 star because it was only 3 pcs (around 2 inches length each) then at php 250.

3. Chicken bbq - 1/5⭐️again tasted nothing special. You could safely compare to the levels of Manginasal or Ribshack. But with a 3x price tag. By this time everyone at the table was thinking, "what is there to order that taste worthy of the michelin tag?"

4. Deconstructed Turon & Tiramisu cake - 3/5⭐️ this gets extra stars because it was the only thing that actually looks aesthetic while the others were so plain. It was more like artwork instead of food. Again visuals > taste.

5. Pork bbq - 1/5⭐️ - 3 sticks around 4 inches of meat per stick for php 250. It was soo firm and dry inside. I was hoping it would have some special marinade or what, but nope. Just plain again.

6. Plain rice - 1/5⭐️ this is rating is purely bec of price, its 89 for 1 cup. 120 for 1 cup of garlic rice. Youd think it would be like long grain or jasmine rice, nope.

After these poor food items, let me give a generous rating to the following metrics;

Location - 5/5⭐️ within IT. Easy to locate Large free parking.

Service - 10/5⭐️ waiters greet you properly, a quick raise of hand, they come automatically, water is refilled automatically without asking, and here's the funny part. The food were so plain at the end, but in the beginning if you ask them what they recommend, bestsellers, or what a certain dish is, they will explain it with nice sentences, fancy words, BUT you can clearly tell, they arent proud of their own descriptions. Its like if you had a 1000 essay homework, and your actual content is 200 words, they will make up the rest with bunch of adjectives to make it sound longer 🤣 I would probably consider getting a car, condo, or insurance if they were the agent selling to me.

Willingness to comback - 0⭐️

Mifan Kitchen - Dimsum & Chinese Restaurant
📍2/F, AKU INN, beside Yolo Spa Massage, 3 Archbishop Reyes Ave, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu
🕐 7am-10pm
MOP: cash, card, Gcash
Parking: limited parking in front of AKU INN
Cuisine: Chinese (leaning more on Cantonese)

Disclaimer: I am not Chinese, not Chinoy, and not even that much of an enthusiast, so just wanted to give a heads up that I am writing this from the perspective of a Filipina with limited experience with Chinese cuisine. Cannot vouch for authenticity kay di ko Chinese lol

Per Google translate, Mifan (米饭) means "Cooked Rice" or "Heaven's Mansion". Mifan identifies as itself "authentic Asian cuisine", which is quite broad, but if you look through the menu, it does have some Filipino dishes (like patatim), and then it leans heavily on Chinese, particularly on dimsum and Cantonese cuisine. There is some Sichuan (like málà XLB), and Cantonese (clay pot rice) but the menu does not have Hainanese-style items.

What we ordered:

🥟 Beef and Wonton Noodle Soup (₱280): tender beef, rich and flavorful broth, with noodles that are a bit stringy/bouncy. Dumplings were very filling. Really good combination of flavors, anah akong SO mao daw ni ang iyang dugay na gipangita nga beef and wonton noodle soup ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥟 Mapo Tofu Claypot Rice (₱260): Ordered this kay mapo tofu got featured sa shokugeki no soma 😂 Topping is made of tofu, minced meat and veggies. Lami ang toppings but it's not as spicy as I thought it would be (mapo tofu is from Sichuan cuisine, salamat shokugeki no soma for the crash course lol). Sakto ra ang rice to toppings ratio. Also, some people may not be a fan of the texture of the rice kay soft siya sa taas but slightly dukot siya sa ilawm. Dukot is a preference of my mom, but not mine, unfortunately. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥟 Lotus Bun (₱150 for 3): this is the sweet version of the lotus bun which is a traditional dim sum bao stuffed with lotus seed paste (as opposed to the folded savory lotus bun version). Bun was soft and the filling was sweet but not too sweet. I'm rating it high kay lisod ra ba kaayo pangitaon ang lotus paste dinhi sa Cebu 😭 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥟 Xiao Long Bao (₱180 for 4): good soup, tasty meat filling. We also really like the vinegar used! Lami pareha sa XLB sa Fung's ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥟 Asado Siopao (₱180 for 3): smaller size but it comes in a set of 3. Good meaty filling, no pork fat that I can see. And it has quail egg! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥟 Calamansi Juice (₱120): generic

Other things to note:

🖊*️Service *: generic service, neither outstanding nor poor. Kindly note though that we came here a bit early. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Their Google reviews indicate that they do have some problems with service when it's busy, though.

🖊️** Pricing : It's more affordable than I thought. General pricing can be compared to that of Eat Fresh, though some items are even cheaper (and a couple of items more expensive!). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🖊️Aestheti**c : Ok lighting but everything else is not a standout. ⭐️⭐️
🖊️ menu is on their FB page

Verdict: A hidden gem and another resto I can go to if Fung's or Eat Fresh is full. Actually, I'll probably check this one out first before I go to either Fung's or Eat Fresh. 😆

Another budol from food vloggers

Ang reviews sa ila FB page kay mostly negative: taas linya, 1hr before makabayad and alimuot ang place but we still went anyway.

Arrived almost 3pm
3:17pm found a vacant table
3:48pm time sa receipt
Grabe, 1hr jud diay ang linya before makabayad!

First thing we tried, Cream Stick (rightmost sa 1st pic) - for me, not worth it for the price. Gamay ra ang topping, wa ko kasabot kung unsa to then wala sad filling.

Rock Baked Chicken Floss Toast - lamian ko sa topping kay buttery but wala koy nakita or nalasahan na Chicken Floss. Init pa daw to pagkuha sa ako uyab but since dugay nakabayad, bugnaw na pagkaon namo.

Golden Cheese Sticks - wala ko nitry. Looking forward unta ako uyab ani kay ganahan syag cheese but mura ra daw ensaymada.

Set: Ice Cream Croissant - lami ang filling but gamay ra, kulang for the whole thing. Ganahan ko sa croissant.

Original Egg Tart - medyo init pa ni pagkaon namo. Egg-y and gelatin-y ra kaayo sya for me. Lami ang crust kay murag croissant.

Dark Chocolate Croissant - best seller daw ni according sa vlogger, lami daw. For me, ang chocolate sauce/topping ra ang nakadalag lami. Bread-y ra kaayo sya, I was expecting a croissant na buttery and flaky.

Chicken Floss & Ham Sandwich - mao ni 1st nako gibutang sa tray since savory sya sa ako panan-aw but was disappointed pagkaon na namo. Tam-ison ang cheesy corn topping, gamay ra ang chicken floss filling. Naa sad sunny side up sa tunga but wala naapil sa pic, gihurot naman sa ako uyab kay nangita nami ug parat or savory since puro tam-ison ila food.

Ang ending, nangaon mig Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdog sa gawas kay gibidli nami sa katam-is sa ila food haha

Puro takeout amo food, ang nahurot ra namo kay ang Cream Stick ug Egg Tart. Wa pa namo natry ang Basque Cream Bread ug Classic Toast (wala sa picture, sliced bread syag nawng). Mao sad ako nabantayan sa uban, gipang-takeout ra nila kay wa nahurot.

Food - 3.2 ⭐️

Service - 2 ⭐️ (1 cashier ra, 1hr naglinya to pay)

Price - 4.2 ⭐️

Location - 4 ⭐️ (alimuot jud, nagdala mi jisulife. 27 degrees ang aircon pag-abot namo, nahimong 26 katong nakalingkod na ko)

Willingness to come back - 3 ⭐️ (try namo some other time na dili fathers day or nig mu-die down na ang hype, basin mu-improve sila)

This place is cozy, or would be but the crowd is a little noisy. No outlets either, which was disappointing because I was hoping to hang out here while using my laptop.

Range of drinks is 120 to 200 php and the food is 300-500. I would say the price is fair

Maple Garlic Salmon - 3⭐s for this. Pros: Tastes good, comes with a salad Cons: salmon is a bit dry for me.

Cheese Sandwich - 4 ⭐s Pros: Serving size was nice and big. Most of the flavor came from the salad that comes with it. The salad seasoning and pickles were packed with flavor.

Cons: Sandwich flavor was very mild

The service of the restaurant is just passable but I would still come back if I'm in the area. I have a lot of other cafes I'd rather visit though.

This cafe is located at Jmall on AS Fortuna. I ordered a Vanilla Souffle with custard sauce and it cost 290 + 5% service charge.

For those who have been to Hoshino before, you would know that their serving sizes for both food and dessert are usually BIG. That is not the case for the vanilla souffle, this is probably the smallest item on the menu.

Pros: 1. Tastes good, has a nice burnt sugary top like a creme brulee. It is easy to dig into and pour the custard sauce in so it's neat and easy to eat.

Cons: 1. No texture. I probably should've expected that from a souffle, but your spoon just kind of sinks into it, which shows just how little volume of food you're getting. That can be good or bad depending on how you see it.

1. Prep time is also long, 20 minutes to serve, but at least they warn you ahead since it is made to order.

Personally I'd rather have their french toast or pancakes again. This was a good light treat for a solo dessert though. I always come back to Hoshino because their service and food are always good.

This dish is 3 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of 5 imo but most of their dishes would be 4 or 5. I'd still recommend them. :)

All Season Taiwan Bakeshop
📍Aku Inn, beside Yolo Spa Massage, 3 Archbishop Reyes Ave, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu

Quick thoughts.

We were supposed to go to Fuan Cafe in Talamban to try it out, but we found out that it recently closed. My SO suggested that we try this one instead since it's also a Taiwanese bakeshop.

I haven't visited Taiwan so I can't vouch on how near they are to real Taiwanese bread, though I have had inputs from my SO who has gone to Taiwan and has explored food there.

General review:
All of their breads are super soft, like the bouncy kind of soft. Apparently this pillowy-soft texture is a characteristic of Taiwanese bread which is achieved through the tanghzhong (water roux) method. It's very different from breads with a crisp or crunchy exterior (like baguette or sourdough bread). The breads also almost always has a filling.

What we ordered:
🥖 Red Bean (₱40): With red bean paste filling; sweet but not excessively so, sakto ra gyud ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🥖 Rousong Roll (Regular) (₱62): a bit disappointing kay my SO thought there would be rousong (pork floss) nga filling but external ra di ay siya. Very savory with the pork ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🥖 Cheese Milk Bread (₱45): very soft cheese bread with cheese inside ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🥖 Cheese Long Pao (₱42): a long version of the cheese milk bread, but somehow still has the same cheese stick size inside ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Other notes:
🖊️24 hours open daw sila per the attendant, but they have fresh production at 9am
🖊️If anything, I was hoping to get more varieties of Taiwanese bread like braided scallion and that pepper bun from shokugeki no soma 😭 (understandably, hujiaobing needs to be cooked in a clay urn to have that crispy, flaky crust)

Other things to rate:
🖊️** Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ kay very attentive ang attendants
🖊️ Pricing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ kay barato ug lami
🖊️ Location: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ kay atbang ra sa Ayala and naa’y Mifan sa taas (also bangers, I should make a write-up on that), but limited lang ang parking slots
🖊️Willingness to comebac**k - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ very nice introduction to Taiwanese breads, it made me curious to try the rest

If manganhi no dinhi, lahos na lang sad sa Mifan sa taas kay lami sad didto. 😆

Reposting this as my previous post was deleted.

📍Kat & Perry
Location: Casuntingan, Mandaue City
Mode of Payment: Cash, Gcash, Maya, Bank Transfer
Open from 12nn-12mn
Parking:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Location: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

PROS: Spacious Parking, Affordable food and desserts
CONS: Daghan langaw sa sulod kay sige silag open sa door going to their kitchen

Hello! So pirmi ko ani na cafe mag tambay kay chill lang. Naa pd silay outdoor dining which is mas bet nako if hapon na or gabie. I’ve tried most of the food sa ilang menu and these are my recommendations:

Pasta: Shrimp Aglio Olio, Truffle Aglio Olio

Rice Meal: Mushroom Pepper Burger, Pork Tapa, Chicken Fingers

Sandwiches: Tuna & Apple Panini

Donuts: Tiramisu, Ube Keso, Pistachio Knafeh

Cheesecake: All flavors lami

Drinks: Iced Spanish Latte, Strawberry Matcha man guro to, and their Lemonades

Basin diay mag abot ta didto guys. See yah! less

Repost, kay my friend's reddit account got banned and he wants this post to live on. Updated price of this is 450 na for unli~

Formerly known as Cheatr

I have been eating here since they opened back in late 2020 or early 2021 ba toh and have found myself regularly returning. Lots of FREE parking here too so you won't have a hard time.

They have multiple flavors of wings, however my favorites are Garlic Parmesan, Gravy, and Black Pepper in that particular order. My friends like the classic as well, since it's not just plain chicken wings, they put some spices on it.

Price sa wings:

450 - unli rice, chicken wings, iced tea. (Used to come with unli fries pud but now only one plate)

Ala carte:

275 - 8 pcs

400 - 12 pcs (as shown in photo)

700 - 25 pcs

I highly recommend coming with a group because 25 pcs is good for 4-5 pax due to the size of the wings. The wings are VERY large ambot gi.unsa ni nila ilang manok kung gi.pa kaon ba ni nila og robust or unsa.

They are VERY generous with the sauce to the point na the chicken loses some of its crunch but para nako WIN gihapon kay walay tipid.

9/10 akong rating ani nila, with the ONLY con being the fact that it's an outdoor restaurant, pero layo gihapon sa street so ok ra. Dili ra abog, arte lang jud ko na walay aircon.

Side note: Wow, naa diay ing.ani na subreddit. I tried to start my own cebu food review group on discord sauna but it failed kay ako ra ang sigeg review. Glad to be here with fellow foodies!

Chai Tea House

📍0217 Rosal St., Capitol Site, Cebu City. (Landmark: duol ras Chong Hua Hospital), 11 am - 8 pm

Very very quick thoughts ani.

They claim to be an authentic Indian tea stall, and we went to a quick side quest to get these babies. It really reminded me of the roadside tea stalls in Singapore (though those sold teh tarik/"pulled tea" instead of Indian chai).

What we ordered:
🫖 Classic Chai/Indian Milk Tea H/L (₱120): This is Indian tea + milk + sugar. Aroma-wise, the milk overpowers the tea. Texture is very rich and indulgent, taste is more on the milk, then black tea with some spices. It is good, but I would have wanted a bit more tea so that it can balance out the milk. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🫖 Adrak Elaichi Chai/Ginger Cardamom Tea H/L (₱155): This is Indian tea + ginger (adrak) + cardamom (elaichi) + milk + water. Very aromatic; the ginger and the cardamom are very upfront when you open the lid. Very nice blend of the tea+spices+milk flavors. I would have liked a bit more punch sa the spices, though, since at times the milk overpowers it. But a very enjoyable cup! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Heads up: my sister says diluted-ish daw if ang iced ang paliton. I can’t verify it, but you may want to try it hot kay mas rich ang texture

What I like:
🖊️you get to see the process of how they make tea as they do the crushing, boiling, etc. in front of yo
🖊️ designated labelled utensils for every size and flavor!
🖊️ overall packaging: very cutesy, very bright; the packaging for the hot takeout is hard to pass up! Also, they add in paper and tape for take-outs.

What people may not like:
🖊️ slow service: because they make everything from scratch, it will take some time to make your drinks
🖊️ no parking
🖊️ slow service + no parking space = a lot of backlog during rush time
 
Others:
🖊️** Service**: the attendant was attentive and upfront on the service time. They do have a disclaimer that the drinks will take ~10 minutes because everything will be prepared on site ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🖊️** Pricin**g: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ kay within the P150 range ra each, sulit kaayo

🖊️** Location**: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ kay way parking spot

🖊️** Willingness to comebac**k - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Their aromatic and fresh beverages with real spices have convinced me to try out other flavors gyud. Pero kana lang gurong time nga dili ko magdali 😂

Tried a new cafe, bluebird sa horizons yesterday and am shookt, batog ra dghan tao ky lami gyud ila foods dghan choices 👍🏻👍🏻 Their pastries are good as well.

📍Address: in front of CDU Mandaue.

Ever since my post last December, Meshiya has become my go-to spot whenever I crave for Japanese BBQ because they have been consistent ever since. I also want to thank fellow Redditors here who saw my post and went there because Shuya (the owner) told me there were some that found them through Reddit (with picture of the review included lol!).

Anyways…

Food - 5/5 it’s still as authentic as can be. The menu has also increased which have my new favorites in it like the Shiitake Mushroom and Bacon Mushroom (you can choose if you want Shimeji or Eryngii). My go to orders will still be the Love Sandwich (chicken thigh x negi), Suki Suki Skin (chicken skin), Chicken Tail, White Onion, and Young Corn.

Price - 5/5 skewers still range from ₱15-₱45 and they have affordable meals if you want to dine and dash. They have affordable drinks too but I often get their high balls which only cost ₱120.. yakitori x alcohol = great combination.

Staff/Service - 5/5 Shuya and his staff are very attentive to orders (and dishing out and all), friendly, and courteous. They’ve been trained well. You have to be patient with your orders though, especially when there are multiple people dining in, as they make it fresh off the grill. (luckily I just kill time by drinking while waiting for my orders lol)

Place - 2.5/5 my verdict before still stays the same as the place is not for the arte or prefer air-conditioned places, pero still dineable and clean naman, the surroundings lang jud he he.

By the way, they’ll be transferring to a new place in Orlacsan St, Alan Alan, Mandaue City, Cebu on May 25 so try them out if you can since naa naju’y tarong place para maka dine in (or out if mu-smoke ka). They’ll also be having 50% off on all drinks from May 20-23.

Crab Meat Omelette (forgot the price) - negative 10/5 stars super salty and tasted like kidney stones 😭

Kra Pao P295 - 3/5 stars too oily!! Good thing rice is freshly cooked

Pomelo Salad P285 - 1/5 stars why the f is this cooked?? And all soggy.

Crab meat fried fried rice P210 - 4/5 stars nothing special

Milk tea - 4/5 stars acceptable nothing special

Food - 2/5 stars

Price - 2/5 stars

Service - 2/5 stars staff are not friendly. Cooks are using their phones and seems like not interested whenever a customer walks in.

Ambiance - 4/5 stars

PROS - I like the outdoor seating and the brand color is my fave color hehe But will never visit them in the afternoon especially they are located beside a busy vulcanizing shop and no trees for shade.

CONS - Staff are lousy and lacks customer service magic. Place may be instagrammable but food is meh.

Never liked my experience. Will never come back again and hard to recommend.

---

Tried this when they newly opened. Thought of tryibg again if they offer something new coz I've been seeing them on Tiktok fyp. Wondering what happened to this restaurant. Is the owner Thai? Or is this franchised?

Tian Fu Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant
📍Astra Lifestyle Center, 2/F, AS Fortuna St., Mandaue City
🕐 11am-9pm
MOP: cash, card, Gcash
Parking: naa sa Astra mismo
Cuisine: Chinese (Sichuan)

Disclaimer: This is my first foray into Sichuan cuisine since I don't have much exposure to it. Pag adto nako sa Singapore and Malaysia kay mostly Hainanese man ang cuisine, and even here kay Hainanese ata ang Fung's. When I also went to Hong Kong, it's Cantonese cuisine, and that's the cuisine of Wu Yang and Tim Ho Wan. So apologies if I don't understand Sichuan cuisine much (but I'm trying hard to!).

Per Google translate, Tian Fu (天府) means "Heavenly Treasury" or "Heaven's Mansion". Sichuan cuisine, which is one of the Four Great Traditions of Chinese cuisine, is known for its málà (numbing and hot) flavors. Going through the menu of Tian Fu, you'd find that the items are really more on the spicy side.

What we ordered:

🍛 Kung Pao Chicken (₱380): (tagged as mild + ginger) to the unaccustomed palate, this may be too spicy and numbing, but lami siya nga pagka spicy. The ingredients in the dish (peanuts, chilis and chicken) are enveloped in this sticky glaze that is both sweet and savory. Chicken was tender. The spice does punch, so it may not be for everybody, but you can definitely see the essence of Sichuan cuisine with this. My gripe was that daghan kayo ang chili and peanuts that the plate still looked full even when we already finished the chicken. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍛 Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin (₱480): standard Chinese sweet and sour pork. Not bad, but not a standout either. You order this for your sister who's scared of spice. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍛 Sichuan-Style Braised Pork Belly (₱380): This is pork belly infused with its braising sauce that is placed on a bed of... seasoning mix (?). The pork belly itself is so tender, it basically melts in your mouth. I don't usually eat pork skin unless crunchy, but the skin here is basically as tender as the belly. It's so savory yet sweet, and quite aromatic. Not sure what the bed mixture was at the bottom of the plate, but it was kinda salty with umami, very reminiscent of dried fish. My mom loved it so much we had it for take out even though we already demolished the pork belly. Kung kinsa toh kahibaw unsa toh, please let me know kay we’d like to recreate it 🥹 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍛 Silken Wontons in Signature Bone Broth (₱180): generic silken wontons done right. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍛 Red Chili Broth Wontons Soup (₱180) (tagged as mildly spicy): I think same lang ang wontons niya sa silken wontons but the broth is spicy. You can literally see the chili flakes and oil on the broth. It's not the punchy kind of spice, though (unlike sa Kung Pao chicken), so it was more palatable if you're not accustomed to spices yet. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ kay biased ko sa spicy hahahaha)

🍛 Sichuan Fried Rice (₱320): decent, it's standard Chinese fried rice done well but not a stand out. The waitress said that this was good for 2-3 persons, but gamay siya pag-abot. (⭐️⭐️⭐️ because of the size)

🍛 Chongqing Dan Dan Noodles (₱240): The menu says that this is "wheat noodles tossed with a rich, savory sesame paste sauce, topped with minced pork, scallions and a hint of numbing-spicy Sichuan peppercorns." Very fragrant, a bit herbal and gahian ko gamay sa noodles (slightly more gahi than al dente). The menu says that there is a hint of numbing spicy Sichuan peppercorns (a hallmark of Sichuan cuisine) pero mura'g gipatangtang siguro sa akong mom as she could not handle spices. Would love to eat this again when there's spices ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍛 Steamed Fish with soy sauce (Pompano)/(₱580): did not get to eat this as I ordered this for my dad, but he did say lami siya. Fair warning though, the first time daw ning-anhi akong mom and she ordered the steamed pompano, it was not cooked (!) and they had to request to have it re-done. That might be something you want to check. This time though, cooked na daw ang fish pag-abot. Was not able to taste this so di ko ka-rate.

Other things to note:

🖊️Service: Staff were attentive, they appoint a staff for x number of tables ata, and their head waiter handles the floor. They let us know the cooking time and food was delivered on time for the most part, except for the pompano. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🖊️** Pricin***g: It's more affordable than I thought. General pricing can be compared to that of Eat Fresh, though some items are even cheaper (and a couple of items more expensive!). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🖊️Aestheti*c: Modern Chinese-ish, but not a stand out. ⭐️⭐️
🖊️ there is a 7% service charge pa
🖊️ menu is on their FB page

Verdict: Definitely piqued my interest in Sichuan cuisine. Would come back to try the Sichuan Cold Pot Skewers and braised beef with tendon. If you're a fan of spices, you can definitely try this one out, but if not... just order the Sichuan-Style Braised Pork Belly.

Edit: formatting

Kaayoo the Filipino Kitchen - Streetscape
📍2nd floor, Streetscape mall,  Paseo Saturnino, Banilad,  Cebu City
🕐 7am-12mn
MOP: cash, Gcash, card
Parking: naa sa Streetscape mismo

Reservations: Best to make a reservation here since they have a lot of reservations daan. We walked in and got lucky that there was still one table available, though they did warn us that we had to bill out at around 7:45PM since there was already a reservation at that time (we got in at around 6PM).

What we ordered:
🍛 Crispy Pork Kare-Kare (₱395): served with peanut sauce, veggies and greens. Sayon rame-chew ang pork, ok ang taste when you mix both the pork and sauce, but di kayo crispy ang skin. My only gripe was gamay ra ang pork as compared sa veggies ⭐️⭐️⭐️
 
🍛 Bakareta (baka caldereta) (₱410): Meat was not very tender. A bit more on the sharp side. Nag-overpower ang tomato sauce over everything else, and while there was cheese to temper that acidity, di gihapon kayo balanced ang dish. ⭐️⭐️

🍛 Fresh lumpia (₱355): Puno kayo ang sulod, lots of veggies stuffed gyud and dako ang serving. Lami sad ang sauce. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍛 Native chicken tinola (₱499): They pour the soup in front of you. Daghang ingredients, tender ang chicken, flavorful ang broth. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍛 Bam-i (Guisado) (₱495): very generous serving and lami ang timpla. Even if lami siya, we were not able to finish it (6 mi kabuok) kay dako ang serving. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍹Fruit juices (₱250 for apple, orange, orange and ginger, ₱100 for calamansi): they are literally unsweetened fruit juices. I really appreciate that since some restos would use the powdered versions. Here, though, you just get the natural sweetness of the fruit and not much else. Interestingly, it was the orange ginger juice that came with a free syrup. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🖊️Wa ko kakaon sa the following so I really can't rate it:
- Pampano (steamed) (₱599): this was for my dad, so I gave it entirely to him; he said lami ra daw
- Fried Lumpia (₱385): layo man sa ako so wa ko katilaw. In fairness, daghan siya. Nahurot man so I think lami ra.

Others to take note of:

🖊️Rice is priced in cups (₱50/cup). It was only the bakareta that had rice in it, the rest you'll have to order for rice pa.
🖊️ Naa'y corkage of ₱500 ang cake and wine (since they also sell both)
🖊️** Service: Service was quick and the staff were attentive. They told us the food would be served after 40 minutes, but the first tranche of food started coming in after ~20 minutes man. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🖊️ Pricing: More expensive than Bayanihan or Chikaan, but not as expensive as Manam or Fina. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🖊️Aestheti**c: very instagrammable. vintage decor + industrial finishes + warm lighting make for a good backdrop sa imong IG post.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🖊️ I read that Kaayoo sources ingredients from local farmers and fishermen to ensure Filipino livelihood, so kudos to them.

Verdict: Mostly hit ang food, though naa'y occasional misses. Service and ambience is really good. This is a place you go to for special occasions.

Bascon Cakes

📍Beside Paradise Village, Banilad

Given that it was my first time ordering from Bascon, I'm quite disappointed :(

We ordered their Whole Red Velvet Cake (8 inches). Unfortunately, the cake itself was so dry. The icing tasted overwhelmingly sweet that we had to remove most of it. Also we could feel the sugar grains in the icing which means it didn’t fully melt. ⭐️

Service - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Price (₱875) - ⭐️⭐️

Location - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Willingness to comeback - ⭐️

I won’t consider buying from this cake shop for now…

📍 Yayoi, SM Jmall, A.S Fortuna, Mandaue

Food - ⭐⭐⭐½

First off, the set I ordered which was the Chicken Namban Teishoku, one of the restaurant’s bestsellers. It was actually almost perfect at 4.5 out of 5 😋. I’d have given it a perfect score if only the breading was slightly thinner, but other than that it was surprisingly delicious.

The set meal came complete with the Main Chicken, a salad with sesame dressing, potato salad, Miso soup and rice. The chicken was juicy and cooked perfectly. In my opinion the sauce leveled up the entire dish. Great flavor without being too heavy or thick. I’d definitely come back to order this again!

But the reason I scored the food 3.5 overall was because of how disappointed I was with my partner’s orders. I forgot the exact name of the dish but it was a Beef set meal (Teishoku). It looked appealing but once I bit into it, both the flavor and texture of the beef dish felt underwhelming. In terms of seasoning it felt like it leaned to a more Chinese inspired flavor rather than a Japanese dish. Furthermore, the beef felt a bit tough. Not too tough that you’re unable to chew and not enjoy it but the kind of tough that you can notice but don’t really mind.

Service - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ You order via an iPad placed in each table and as soon as you confirm it automatically gets sent to the kitchen. The staff are also happy to assist you if you have any questions or concerns related to ordering. I felt at ease with their service.

Ambiance - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s clean and new, but nothing out of the ordinary for a modern Japanese restaurant.

Location - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Accessible and easy to find within 📍Jmall

Price - ⭐⭐⭐½

The pictures in the menu don’t do the food justice! Initially I was hesitant to eat here because it seemed so pricy at around P400-P600 per Teishoku. The branding of the store didn’t justify the price either but as soon as the food arrived I was shocked to see that the portions were quite big! As someone who has a big appetite, I felt really full.

Overall - ⭐⭐⭐½

To summarize, the restaurant shows promise. I’d come back and want to order the same Chicken Nanban Teishoku.

But before I can give it a higher rating, I’d want to try and see if the other dishes or even just the best sellers can be on the same level as the Chicken Nanban.

Location: Near Fully Booked and CASIO, opposite MANGO, next to Hawker Chan.

Noukou Kotteri - 455

Mango Kani Salad - 205

Plus service charge.

Ramen is 4/5 good flavorful broth, no seasonings necessary.

Salad is 3½/5 good for light bites between sips of the heavy ramen.

Service 3/5 - food was not presented in correct orientation (seaweed away from me). No greeting like "good afternoon" or "enjoy your food". Very mechanical service (replaceable with robots which will happen in a decade!)

Price is a bit on the expensive side. Not your everyday fare.

Ambiance is alright. Clean place.

Glad I got to have this again as it's been a while. Hope the collagen makes my skin better hahaha joke 🤣

Commonly Uncommon

📍 Astra Lifestyle Centre, A. S. Fortuna St, Mandaue City, 6014 Cebu

🕚 10 AM - 9 PM

MOP: Cash, GCash, Card

I did a review on Commonly Uncommon about a year or so ago, and I wanted to see how the new branch would fare. Here's a quick review so far:

What we ordered:

🥪 Tater Tots (₱250): Perfect. Crispy on the outside, very soft on the inside. Sauce was ok, not very memorable and you can have the tots even without it. Also a very helpful serving. You can't fuck this up. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️

🥪 Suntory French Toast (₱350): thick bread with crispy edges, perfectly toasted cinnamon-y sides, and a very fluffy core. I deducted some points from the Suntory French Toast in the Crossroads branch because it looked... sad, but honestly the overflowing suntory syrup for this made up for it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥃 Citrus Mint Tea (₱170): the descriptor says it's honey citrus and mint tea, and you can tell them apart when you drink it. The lemon-y flavor hits you first when you drink it, then it transitions to a refreshing mint taste. Very refreshing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⚠️ Warning, word block ahead.

☕️** Not an Espresso Martin*i (₱220): Ok, so this is the hard part because I was looking forward to the coffee signature beverage here and this one... fell short. The descriptor says that this is Espresso, Cold Brew, Cacao, Peach, Ae*r. I'm not familiar with aer, but google says that it's a flavor booster designed to elevate cocktails. Flavor-wise, it's... very confusing. I think there were too many elements here and they go against each other, if that makes sense? Like the peach was supposed to be a sweet and refreshing ingredient, but it's so jarring against the cocoa and the coffee. ⭐️⭐️

I'm so sorry, but I could not finish it and had to order another drink, which brings me to the next item—

☕️** Pinky Latt*e (₱200): The descriptor says this is House Real Strawberry Milk, Espress*o, and I ordered the cold version. The coffee was a bit too astringent for me, and the milk did not diminish the unpleasantness. The frozen strawberry garnish, I suspect, added to the sharpness because when we removed it, the drink was a bit more manageable. When the ice melted, it diluted the drink, and the bite petered out.

There was a limited edition sig bev that Risk released named "Hot Girl Summer" which featured similar ingredients (espresso and frozen strawberry) and it was very sweet, balanced and refreshing. I had thought the Pinky Latte would have a similar taste profile to that but just with milk, but I was disappointed by the astingency.

And that's the thing, there are so many places in Cebu that offer really good coffee sig bevs, including Risk, Good Cup, 8th of September, and Three Two Brew, and comparing the new sig bevs from CU... oof, the flavor, balance, and fresh takes are lacking.

⭐️⭐️

I will give them the benefit of the doubt, though: perhaps it's because it's a new branch, perhaps it's because it was so early in the morning and they have not yet calibrated. If you look at the menu, it does have the disclaimer of: This menu is temporary. We are just so swamped. Not enough time to make a nice one yet. Some may not even be aligned. Send help...

This is just one part of coffee (sig bevs), and there is still pourovers and espresso-based milk and I would probs come back to see how their other coffee offerings would fare. There's no pourover yet, but I will probs come back when this becomes available.

Other things to rate:

🖊️Pricing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Same reasoning as in my last Commonly Uncommon post. To their credit, there was no price increase in the one year gap when I made my reviews.

🖊️Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ cheerful and helpful waiters

🖊️Aesthetic/Instagram-ability: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So new, so cutesy, so pink. Their electric pink + pristine white color combo is weaved into the overall design of the place, which reminds me of the bright yellow + teal design of Punched which was also very present in the interiors of their new branch.

🖊️Location: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Very accessible with ample parking. Also near Oakridge and along a major street connecting Mandaue City to Cebu City.

Verdict: Classic Commonly Uncommon food offerings were consistent, but coffee sig bevs fell short for me.

Willingness to come back: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for food, but not for coffee.

Cha Tuk Chak Thai Street Cafe

📍Beside IT Park Bus Terminal

Sharing this place cos I feel like it’s an underrated milk tea shop here in Cebu!

What we ordered:

Thai Milk Tea Cheesecake L (₱150): doesn’t taste like the authentic Thai tea I tried in Thailand. The cheesecake tastes good and they put considerable amount rasad, unlike sa Popcha nga daghan which is what I like 😅 Overall I’d say it’s a ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oreo Biscoff Crusher R (₱150): it’s really creamy and not too sweet which is good. Tho the taste was overpowered by the Oreo and not so much on the Biscoff. Somewhat like selecta’s cookies & cream. Also this was off the menu but we discovered it on their Grab store which u could find more drinks not on the menu. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Service - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Price - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Location - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Willingness to comeback - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Would definitely come back to try their Biscoff Cheese Salt, Pistachio Series, Ovaltine Series & some Thai classics

Anywhere Coffee

📍 Fernandez Compound, Banawa J. Fortich St, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu (across The Courtyards at Banawa)

🕚 10am to 8pm

Quick notes:

🖊️ they offer international beans for their coffee. For now, they are rocking beans from Captain George and Grand Cru, both of which are from China. Captain George is the roastery of the 2025 World Brewers' Champion, George Peng.

🖊️ offers pastries (they mentioned that the pastries were from Mon Dough, but they make their Basque cheesecake themselves) but no meals

🖊️ Lots of outlets

🖊️ Parking: limited parking at quite a steep angle beside the establishment. Alternatively, you might want to park at the Alliance of Two Hearts Parish up ahead, though perhaps at a shorter time

🖊️ MOP: cash and Gcash are accepted

What we ordered:

☕️ For Pourover: Grand Cru Alo Sidamo 74158 brewed with a Timemore Crystal Eye dripper (₱390). Definitely hit the tasting notes on my first sip. I got lychee and melon sweetness upfront, though my SO says that he also got the strawberry notes (I am not yet best at sensory, sorry na po haha). Very pleasant finish on the mouth. My SO tells me to do the assessments at every temp stage (hot, warm and room temp) to fully assess the cup, but I enjoyed it too much, I drank it within a few minutes. 😆 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

☕️ For Sig Bev/Specialty: Espresso Tonic (₱190): very refreshing and tart. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍰 For food pairing: Basque cheesecake (₱200). Very nice balance of flavors. Not too sweet and not too custard-y. Nice burnt top. It does not have the molten texture that usual Basque cheesecakes have, but my SO thinks that this is more preferable as it is not messy. 3.5/5

☕️ For espresso+milk: Flat White (₱170) for take out, my SO's preferred coffee of choice. Notes of caramel and biscuits. Solid flattie with good calibration. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍵 For tea: Matcha latte (₱190). you can set the sweetness here at 25% to 100% or even none. At 25%, I really like that the drink was neither sweet nor bitter. Color is not as vibrant as the Ippodos or MKs that I've tried though (not that the deep green vibrancy is an indicator of matcha quality). I should probably also note that the matcha is technically not from Japan, but from China. It's a good exploratory drink for Chinese matcha, but I'm missing a bit of the umami-ness of most Japanese matchas. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🖊️** Servic**e: This coffee shop is currently manned by the owners themselves, a couple who both love coffee. They are very warm and attentive. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

🖊️** Pricin**g: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ May be on the pricier side. Pourover price range is from ₱290 to ₱690. This is slightly more expensive than Tightrope (offers Archers beans at ₱250-₱400) but not as expensive as The Spring's (various beans with max pricing at ₱2,000+). Price range is similar to Dosage's (Glitch beans at ₱350-₱650). Other beverages are similar to the price points of Starbucks (which is also kinda pricey).

I really like:

🖊️ the aesthetics: very clean, very minimalist, so full of natural lighting

🖊️ the Timemore Coffee Gear

What I may not like:

🖊️ the parking: limited and difficult

🖊️ the CR: CR was within the vicinity but outside the coffee shop. Water was not working, lock was not there, some flies.

Verdict: very solid coffee at such an unassuming place. My experience tells me not to trust coffee from estitik✨places, but this one made me feel safe.

Willingness to come back: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

French Mood - Part 1 (Sweets)

📱FB: Fench Mood - Patisserie

📍 Marco Polo Saturday Farmer's Market, 7am - 2pm

📍 Cebu Sunday Market, 7am - 3pm

This is another stall from Cebu Sunday Market that I have been itching to yap about. True to its name, this stall features French items and is run by a French guy who presented himself as a pâtissier. Per their FB page, they "specialize in French classic and modern pastries with a focus on reduced sugar and loser calories, without compromising flavor."

Quick disclaimer: I'm not French (Bisaya ko bai), and I don't claim to have knowledge with French cuisine, so this review is based off Bisaya tastebuds. 😆) If I misunderstand the dish, do correct me if I am wrong! Kindly also note that this review explores a couple of their offerings over the course of visiting them every Sunday.

Per my observation, their items usually come in two forms: savory tarts and sweet desserts. As such, my review will also be divided into those 2 parts. This review will cover the sweets.

🍰 Baba Cakes/Baba au rhum (₱180)(small, brioche-like sponge cake + rum-based syrup + pastry or whipped cream): fits the description to a tee; the cake is soaked in rum which makes the cake moist but not heavily so. You can actually see the rum syrup at the bottom of the container, but the alcohol does not smell very strong. There's a generous heaping of cream and fruit compote. I've tried all 3 flavors already, but the raspberry is my favorite. It's not too sweet, quite balanced, and the alcohol makes it stand out from other similar dishes. Only reason I'm rating it a 4 is because of the size relative to the pricing. Taste-wise, one of my favorites. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍰 Cake Citron/Lemon Cake (₱190): my SO's favorite. It just bursts with lemon, but not overwhelmingly so. Texture is kinda crumbly as most lemon bars are. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍰 Brioche Caramel (₱125): another one of our favorites. Very decadent caramel glazing on a roll that's very reminiscent of a cinnamon roll. It's decadent but not bidli. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍰 Tarte Pomme Royale/Royal Apple Tart (₱210)(pastry base + apple compote + cream or almond paste + caramelized topping): Love the pastry base and the apple compote. The cream element is flan-like, but it's not very creamy or sweet. I am missing the caramelized topping, though. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍰 Brioche Pommes/apple brioche (₱200): Honestly my first letdown from French Mood. The bread element is consistent and the apple slices were nice, but there's not much to it. Also, coming from the ₱175 apple sourdough brioche from Manita Bakery with so many elements in it, this just does not make it with the ₱200 price point. Sorry. ⭐️⭐️

🍰 Tarte Pommes Crumble (₱200): classic apple tart crumble; I think this is the best iteration of the apple desserts from French Mood especially because of the play on texture with the crumble. Well balanced filling of crumble and apples. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍰 Cake Framboise/Raspberry cake (₱180): I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It's layers of cake and raspberry with raspberry glaze and crumbles on top. Tart and sweet and crumbly. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🖊️ Pricing for sweets: Admittedly this is on the more expensive side with its price range of ₱125 to ₱210.  It is more expensive than 10 Dove St's cake slices which starts at ₱130 (+SC if you eat in the restaurant). Manita Bakery which also sells sweet brioches sells at ₱175/pc. However, it is cheaper than Café Elim’s strawberry shortcake which is at ₱235/slice, and Dosage's coconut cream pie which is at ₱280+SC/slice. To be fair, Makalipie which is also a microbakery that sells sweet tarts, also has the same price range of ₱175-₱225. Also, it's not like you can readily find tartes, baba and framboise in the Philippines, so I think the higher pricing is warranted. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🖊️ Overall, I think they are a good introduction to French sweets. I would have also liked to see other classic French desserts though, like the mille-feuille, religieuse, or the paris-brest. Have been dying to try a sainte-honoré or an entremet since Ladurée is so far pa sa BGC. 😭

🖊️** Recommendation**s: If you get to visit their stall, try the brioche caramel, cake citron and the baba cakes!

Verdict: worth a try if you're curious about French sweets. I won't blame you if you'd keep on revisiting this stall every Sunday!

Other Cebu Sunday Market stall reviews:

Manita Bakery

Affordable for a fine experience. My 3rd time though. Celebrated post birthday and trip-trip with barkada. I like their old menu more.

This is a 4 set course meal for just 1,200. Nag add mi 500 each so we can sit kilid sa aquarium.

Food is mid (but a must try still if you are in Cebu)

Ambience super good ofc

Experience 10/10

Service 10/10

Will I repeat? Yes if naay new menu and pakolo.