Cheesecakes galore and more at Heavenly Cafe and Pastries

Can you say no to a slice of cheesecake? Ofcourse not! What more if it's a galore of this yummy dessert that comes in a variety of flavors - now that's heavenly! Really, it's at Heavenly Cafe and Pastries at GT Mall in Molo.

I still can't get over that one afternoon when we had this lot of cheesecake to indulge in. The very amiable owner, Christy, gave this treat of cheesecake galore and more that made that Wednesday afternoon one gastronomic adventure. Why Heavenly? We asked. And she answered "It's how we want our customers to feel when they taste what we offer especially our cheesecakes."

And without wasting time, we had the cafe's non dessert best-sellers for starters like the beef tacos (loved the crunch and the beef-cheese filling) and the Tuna-Pesto Pasta which had me craving and raving on the first bite.

TACO You'll definitely crave for more

TUNA PESTO PASTA I'll definitely have more of this pasta.

Then the dessert attack started with the serving of Belgian waffles. Just by looking at this, I can still vividly remember how good the aroma was and better yet, how delicious each bite came to be. We also had this indulgent chocolate cake as prelude to our sugar overload that day.

A quick "break" had us enjoying the different beverage concoctions like naicha , houseblend coffee, blue lemonade and green tea smoothie. They were boosters so to speak for the next round.

Then it all began ... how about some Oreo Cheesecake for starters?

It was actually the last one to be served for it did not fit in this eye catching and appetizing medley of cheesecake. If I my memory serves me right, from the most obvious going clockwise, we had Strawberry. S'Mores, Mango, New York, Heaven Special?, Pecan-Caramel, Hersheys, and Blueberry cheesecakes that afternoon.

The best sellers according to Christy are the Pecan-Caramel and Mango which maybe because of familiarity. My personal fave was the S'Mores, maybe it was among the few which had a blend of texture and taste - cheesecake and marshmallows. The Hersheys variant had the famous chocolate mixed in the cheesecake itself, see the color of the cheesecake itself? Not just the toppings.

See how we devoured this piece of gastronomic masterpiece.

Wait! There's more... we had these French Macarons as finale. How can I say no to Melon and Ube?

Heavenly Cafe and Pastries not only serves these delicious food and drinks. The ambiance makes it a respite from the hustle and bustle of city life. So what more can you ask for - good food and nice ambiance. I can't wait to be back for more...

Heavenly Cafe and Pastries

Ground Level, GT Plaza Mall

MH Del Pilar Street, Molo, Iloilo City

Contact No. 0917-717-9332

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeavenlyCafeAndPastries

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of batwan and the malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

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.

Batwan

Ilonggos know batwan or batuan by heart as the fruit is almost endemic to the Western Visayas. Its scientific name is Garcinia binucao, derived from the Tagalog name for the fruit, binukaw. It is a large green fruit with large seeds and its a favorite souring ingredient in most Ilonggo dishes especially KBL or kadyos, baboy, langka and the Ilonggo-style paksiw known as "pinamalhan". It is characterized by a tamed sourness compared to tamarind and kamias . The fruit is sold by pieces or kilo in wet markets and even big grocery stores. Batwan is the preferred souring ingredients for the Ilonggo favorite- KBL. The photo shows boiled batwan with skin and without skin (right) A favorite riddle when we were young - "Among the many fruits in the forest, but one (batuan) is the best. What is it?"

A native (foods) welcome in Guimaras

Even after having breakfast less than an hour that time, we couldn't say no to this lot of native delciacies that welcomed us in Guimaras. First and foremost, Guimaras best known produce is their sweet mango famous almost worldwide. And it comes with it's best partner, ibos. This brown baye-baye variety is made from toasted rice thus giving it a more disctinct flavour compared to it's more "caucasian" cousin. I like the one wrapped in banana leaves compared with the one in plastic for it gives it a more native feel. So when you're in Guimaras, be sure to check out the markets for these native delicacies that can make your trip more gastronomically satisfying.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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