Something new and delicious at Bluejay Coffee and Deli

Yesterday, I dropped by Bluejay Coffee and Deli and came at the right time when they were debuting something new in their dessert line up. And in time for Valentine’s too as their Red Velvet cake caught my eye first. It was more of the name actually that got my attention for their Red Velvet mini cake was covered in white icing that turned out to be cream cheese and topped with mini white chocolate kisses.

I am more familiar with Red Velvet cakes and cupcakes with their reddish hue screaming for attention but this one, you won’t know it unless you give it a close look or it is offered to you. Googling, I found out red velvet cakes are smothered with Buttercream icing but it’s the cream cheese that is most popular. The red hue of cakes now is mostly food coloring but it before it was the addition of red beets that made the color more pronounced.

Bluejay’s Red Velvet mini cake is made with a dense red cake layered with cream cheese. It’s not fluffy or airy like those in cakes or cupcakes for bordering almost in the soft and fudge brownie consistency. The cream cheese, which is the more authentic partner, gave it a flavourful complement; with each bite lingering in with it’s delicious after taste. A perfect choice based on curiosity that was made even better with a cup of Bluejay’s cappuccino.

And there was another one in their line up as an order of Lemon Meringue Pie made its way on my table. It’s not the same as the Frozen Lemon Meringue Pie I usually crave and rave from Maridel’s. This one is basically a lemon “custard” pie in a pie shell and topped with meringue.

The lemon filling really stands out, of course, with it sweet and tangy flavour fighting o n your taste buds. Then the meringue offers a different flavour and texture that perfectly complements the filling. Even the crust has its own flavour too that go in harmony with the filling and topping. It’s a tame dessert as a whole and stands out among Bluejay’s line up because it veers away from the mostly chocolatey and rich genre, not to mention on the lighter side of it all.

I hope these items will become regular on the dessert menu and not only for the Valentine; for if not, I’ll have to go back to Bluejay again and again for my fill of these new discoveries to satisfy my craving and raving as well.

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Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare. ...

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