Shoot First Eat Later

Rome: Gelateria Lo Scimmiotto

I wasn’t planning to eat gelato at 10:30 in the morning. I just went in to waste time while waiting for Tazza D’Oro to open and this gelato shop was just across it.

Look how near Gelateria Lo Scimmiotto was to the Pantheon.

Of all the gelato we’ve eaten in Italy this was the most commercial and touristy looking one. At least the gelato wasn’t in high mounds filled with air.

This was the first time I’ve seen pinocchio flavor gelato.

The crazy colors frightened me a bit.

I was about to leave when I spotted the flavor cioccolato arancione. With my almost non existent knowledge of Italian I had a feeling it meant chocolate orange and I was right. Chocolate orange is my most favorite flavor combination. I even wrote a post on all the chocolates flavored with orange that I love. Finding this flavor is ice cream or gelato is extremely rare that’s why I just had to try it. I paired it with torrone or nougat flavor gelato.

The gelato was way too soft and melted really quickly. It was a mess to eat. The chocolate wasn’t as dark as I liked it but I still loved the flavor. The orange was very distinct. The nougat flavor was a good balance for the chocolate too.

cioccolato arancione (chocolate orange) & torrone (nougat)

Gelateria Lo Scimmiotto
Piazza Pantheon, Rome, Italy
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Rome: Pantheon

The area surrounding the Pantheon was one of our favorite places in Rome and we wish we had more time to explore it. Two of the best coffee shops in Rome are located within walking distance to the Pantheon.

The Roman Pantheon is the most preserved and influential building of ancient Rome. It is a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods of pagan Rome. As the brick stamps on the side of the building reveal it was built and dedicated between A.D 118 and 125. source

Probably one of the most fascinating features of the Pantheon is the Architecture. The structure of the Pantheon is comprised of a series of intersecting arches. The arches rest on eight piers which support eight round-headed arches which run through the drum from its inner to its outer face. The arches correspond to the eight bays on the floor level that house statues.

The dome itself is supported by a series of arches that run horizontally round. Romans had perfected the use of arches which helped sustain the weight of their magnanimous buildings.

The Romans were aware of the heavy nature of their building materials. So they used lighter materials toward the top of the dome. On the lowest level travertine, the heaviest material was used, then a mixture of travertine and tufa, then tufa and brick, then all brick was used around the drum section of the dome, and finally pumice, the lightest and most porous of materials on the ceiling of the dome.
This use of lighter materials on top alleviated the immense weight of the dome. The Roman Pantheon was probably constructed by using an elaborate setup of wooden scaffolding, which in itself would have been costly. The elegant coffers on the dome were likely struck with a device that was exacted from floor level.

The detail of this building is extraordinary. If the dome of the rotundra were flipped upside down it would fit perfectly inside the rotunda. When approaching the Pantheon from the outside it appears rectangular in shape. But it is only the first small room (cella) that has corners. The rotunda is completely round. The small entry room would have been entered by climbing a staircase that is now entirely under modern ground level. source

Regular masses are still held in the Pantheon.

The Pantheon has been used as a tomb since the Renaissance. Two kings and a queen are among those buried there. The most popular tomb is that of Italian painter Raphael. His fiancee is also buried there.

tomb of Raphael

Ossa et cineres, “Bones and ashes”

tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II

Sunday Buffet Lunch at Spiral, Hotel Sofitel Manila

I’m not fond of buffets. Why? Two words – FOOD COMA. There’s too much food which confuses me to no end. I always promise myself not to overeat but even just a little taste of SOME food leaves me with a belly about to explode. My lunch at Spiral yesterday was the perfect case.

I’ve only eaten at Sprial once several years ago before the pre-flood renovation. I was curious what what $11,000,000 spent on renovations looked like.

There was a jazz trio which provided live music during Sunday lunch. I only heard it whenever I passed near the grand staircase. Maybe it’s because I was too busy stuffing my face.

BREAD
My favorite was the crispy sesame and cheese topped lavash.

THE CHEESE ROOM

So many cheese and cured meats to choose from.

I loved the Ferrari red meat slicer.

There was a huge of wheel Comté Marcel Petite by the exit of the cheese room. Spiral, please give me a call when you cut up this baby.

JAPANESE – TEPPANYAKI

There were several Japanese hot dishes including fried rice.

sukiyaki

I only tried the soft shell crab tempura topped with ponzu sauce. Yum!!!

tempura

FRENCH

pasta made to order

There was unlimited foie gras served with stewed pineapple and balsamic cream. Just tell the chef how many pieces you want and he will cook it for you. I asked for three pieces. Some asked for 6 and more.

seared foie gras

My favorite was the French stove section.

There was a French chef there.

The chef told me that the braised short ribs was cooked for 3 days.

braised short ribs

The baked fish was fantastic. It was cooked perfectly and the flavors were so aromatic.

baked fish

I got half a pork sausage and it was horrible. It tasted like rotten meat and the smelled like putrid and decaying meat. I told the girl behind the counter and I guess she was expecting it. She said it was made with intestines. I don’t think intestines smell that bad.

pork sausage

My dad loved the French food too specially the fish, frog’s legs and prawns.

rack of lamb, frog’s legs, sautéed prawns

Our table had 3 kids and the pizza (located near the French section) was the most popular food. I thought eating pizza at at an expensive buffet was silly but it turned out to be my favorite too specially the one pictured on top. It had finely chopped bacon and onions.

pizza

SUSHI & SASHIMI

nigiri-zushi and spicy tuna sushi

SALAD BAR

FRESH SEAFOOD

oysters

shellfish

ROAST MEAT

NORTH INDIAN

CHINESE
My friend’s young son declared in a loud voice, “the roast pork is inedible.”

made to order noodle soup station

hot dishes and dim sum

fried shrimp, crab

FILIPINO

THAI

KOREAN

private room

Spiral 2 Go goodies

Sunday buffet costs more because of the free flowing champagne and wine which we didn’t avail of.

premium champagne and wine

DESSERT
One of the most popular items from Spirals are their mini chocolate chip cookies. They’re still good but I liked the version before. They used to bake it in front of you. Demand was high and the cookies come out a little under baked and warm. It was so chewy and melted in your mouth before. Now the cookies are aplenty and crunchy.

cookies and 3 flavors of chocolate fountain

The French pastries were in this pull out drawer. Nice!

truffles and chocolates

There were enough varieties of candies that would make kids of all ages go gaga.

Filipino desserts were well represented with sapin sapin, puto bumbong, halo-halo and bibingka. The bibingka was excellent.

Filipino desserts

fresh fruits

These are what I ate. Eating buffet is not worth it for me since I don’t eat steak and I get full really fast. I made an effort to try more food.

Plate 1 – cheese, liver terrine, fig paste, jamon, lavash.

Plate 2 – French station: lamb chop, pizza square, braised beef, baked fish and super stinky yucky sausage. The lamb was tender, loved the super melt-in-your mouth braised beef, fantastic fish and pizza. SKIP THE SAUSAGE.

Plate 3 – seared foie gras, soft shell crab & miso cream tempura. The tempura was good and well fried and not oily. The foie gras wasn’t good as others I’ve eaten. Not bad but not swoon worthy. If it were good I wouldn’t have stopped at 3 pieces.

Plate 4 – spicy tuna sushi, bean curd roll dim sum, Korean ribs and lobster. Everything on this small plate was wonderful. The lobster was succulent and perfectly steamed.

Plate 5 – gorgonzola pizza and more spicy tuna sushi. I loved the first slice of pizza I ate a second one. No tomato sauce just thick white cheese topped with gorgonzola cheese and herb. Crust was thin and crisp. Love, love, love their pizza.

Dessert plate 1 – Apple tart was good but apples were too sour so I didn’t finish it. The bibingka was sticky yet light. Really a must eat!!

Dessert plate 2 – Very good chewy macaron with a jelly like filling, superb cheesecake. Chocolate chip cookies crisp and not bad. I liked their chewy cookies before better.

Dessert plate 3 – OMG the best chocolate truffles ever!! Tasted like 70% dark chocolate and the quality of Belgian chocolate used was so good that it tasted like quite exotic. The chocolate macaron was yummy and not too sweet.

The service was good except our coffee took more than 30 minutes to arrive and we had to ask for it more than 3 times. The coffee was strong but not aromatic.

I was so full from lunch that I didn’t have dinner anymore. From what little variety I was able to try I must admit the food was very good. The dessert was even better. Do go try it yourself.

SPIRAL
Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard Pasay City 1300 Metro Manila, Philippines
telephone: 832-6988 or 551-555 Loc. 6988
website
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Price of Spiral’s Buffet (As of November 2012):
Breakfast:
Monday to Friday: P1,719.55 (Adult), P982.60 (Kids 5-12 yrs.)
Saturday & Sunday: P1,965.20 (Adult), P1,105.43 (Kids 5-12 yrs)

Lunch:
Monday to Saturday: P2,431.94 (Adult), P1,351.08 (Kids 5-12 yrs)
Sunday: P3,046.06 (Adult), P1,596.73 (Kids 5-12 yrs)

Dinner:
Sunday to Thursday: P2,800.41 (Adult), P1,596.73 (Kids 5-12 yrs)
Friday & Saturday: P3,046.06 (Adult), P1,596.73 (Kids 5-12 yrs)

My Cousin’s New Book – The Greatest King

It’s hard to believe but I have a super duper talented cousin, Jerry, who used to be an animator for Disney. Now he wrote a children’s book!! Please support him by downloading the book. It’s free for the next 3 days.

It’s a Kindle book. If you have an Apple device you can download the Kindle app for free and download this book.

Here’s Jerry’s letter:

To family and super friends,

My revised book project is finally online. As part of my promotion, I am offering my book, The Greatest King, downloadable for free for 3 days. As you download it and enjoy it, please leave a review or like it. This will improve the book standing as it goes on paid status.

And of course, do not hesitate to share it to the world, since this publication is available worldwide.

It is a Christian-based children’s book for children ages 4-8. It teaches the value of humility and an introduction to Jesus Christ in time for the Christmas season.

This is just first of the many series that my co-author and I will be publishing.

Here’s the link.

As always, thank you very much.

Jerry Ching

Good luck to us;)

The Most Awesome Cookies EVER!!!

Cookies are my crack. I can give up cake, cupcake, donuts, muffins, ice cream for cookies. These cookies.

I have to be honest. One of the reasons I go to New York is just to go to Levain to buy my favorite dark chocolate peanut butter chip cookies. So far those are my holy grail of cookies. Until I received these gigantic cookies from Gourmet Finds. I was shocked at how big each cookie was. It was actually bigger than Levain’s (149g) behemoth cookies. Never in my wildest dreams did I think there would be cookies these big and good in Manila.

The first bite brought me back to New York. The second bite I landed back in Manila thanking the cookie gods that I can now get cookies like Levain’s in Manila. These cookies taste even better than Levain’s (gasp).

The ratio of chocolate to cookie seemed like it was 1:1. Some bites I barely tasted any cookie just melted chocolate oozing on my fingers. The texture was crisp on the outside and perfectly chewy on the inside. There were enough fresh walnuts to complement the semi-sweet Valrhona chocolate.

It’s not cheap though. A 170g (!!!) cookie cost P175 each. But when you think about the size it’s probably equivalent to 4 or 5 regular cookies. The ingredients are top notch too. You can really taste the Australian butter and all the sinfully decadent Valrhona chocolate chunks and walnuts.

With great difficulty and extreme willpower I managed to stretch my 2 precious cookies into 4 long days when I wanted to eat it all in one sitting.

If you know any cookie lover give them these cookies and they will be your best friend forever. For me these ARE the ultimate gift. For Christmas, my birthday, any day, everyday.

This is what a box of ginormous cookies look like when you order. I’m in heaven!!!

The other new product of Gourmet Finds are these Gougére or cheese puffs. Think cream puff but without the filling and add tons of cheese in the batter.

Toast them in the over for a few minutes and you can smell the cheese. It’s soft and chewy and oh so cheesy. I warn you these are so addictive. You can’t stop at just one or two pieces. I guarantee you’ll be popping these savory babies in your mouth non-stop.

Gourmet Finds
cellphone: (0921) 762-2240
pick up is at Narra Ave. Forbes Park, Makati
email: gourmetfinds@yahoo.com
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Rome: Fior di Luna Gelato

No meal in Rome is complete without gelato for dessert.

This was the only gelato store we saw in Travestere.

I was initially hesitant since this was the first gelato we were going to eat that wasn’t held inside stainless covered cylinders.

The sign for their ingredients gave me hope for good gelato.

This was the first and only gelato that put whipped cream on top. I never put whipped cream on anything I eat or drink but since I was sharing the gelato with Rochelle and she’s a whipped cream freak, it stayed.

We had the dark chocolate and almond flavors. I’ve never had almond gelato before and it was super duper calafragilistic awesome!! It was perfect with the chocolate.

Strange but the store also had some grocery items for sale.

Fior Di Luna Gelato
via della Lungaretta 96, Roma
tel. (0039) 06 64561314
website
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Rome: Ristorante la Canonica

Since we’ve eaten mostly at restaurants near our B&B in Rome we wanted a change of scenery so we went to Travestere, an area popular with tourists and filled with lots of bars and restaurants.

We walked and walked looking for a restaurant that didn’t scream ‘tourists eat here!”

We also didn’t want a new dining mate.

We finally decided to eat at Ristorante la Canonica.

Ristorante La Canonica menu

It was full so that was a good sign. We were lucky to get a table outside.

I didn’t try the pasta but I heard it wasn’t as good as Al Moro’s carbonara.

pasta carbonara €8

spaghetti vongole €9

Sha ordered the pork chop for us to share and it was good. Juicy and very flavorful.

braciole di maiale (drunken porkchop) €9

Rochelle had the grilled lamb which turned out to be tough and tasteless.

Abbacchio alla scottadito (grilled lamb) €12

The waiter asked us what side we wanted with the grilled meats. We thought it came with the meat but it cost extra. This is what two orders of bad roasted potatoes looked like. If it were as good as Al Moro’s potatoes then we wouldn’t have minded paying for it.

Patate Arrosto (roasted potatoes) €4

I ordered the ox tail stew and I was very, very happy. The meat was fall off the bone tender and the sauce was magnificent.

Coda alla vaccinara (ox tail stew) €10

Everyone dipped their bread in my sauce.

Our first and only tiramisu in Italy and it was good! Just look how moist it was.

tiramisu €4

This was the only restaurant that charged us for the bread. The food wasn’t bad but after eating at Trattoria Al Moro nothing can’t compare anymore.

I wish we rode the Segway in Rome too.

Ristorante la Canonica
Vicolo del piede 13a – 00153 Roma
telephone: 06.5803845
website

Vatican City: The Scavi Tour & St. Peter’s Basilica

Everybody who goes to Rome makes it a point to visit the Vatican City. The Vatican museum and St. Peter’s Basilica are the top most visited sites in Italy. What many may not know is another special tour to the Vatican Necropolis (Scavi) underneath the Basilica where Tomb of St. Peter is located.

Luckily I read about it while doing research for our trip. Sharon quickly emailed them for reservations and tickets. Only 250 people go through the Scavi tour a day in small guided groups of 12. Normally reservations must be made 90 days in advance. We were lucky to get slots even though we reserved about 30 days before our tour.

This is the entrance to the Scavi and no photography is allowed inside. This tour was really fascinating. We got to hear how they found St. Peter’s tomb and all the stories around it. We even saw the tombs of other people. For more information about the tour click here.

Entrance costs €12. Click here for a virtual tour of the Vatican Necropolis. I highly suggest you take this tour.

This is what the lines to enter St. Peter’s Basilica look like everyday. But since we took the Scavi tour we were already inside and exited through the Vatican grottoes where the popes were buried and then on to the main floor of the Basilica.

Of all the churches we’ve been to in Europe this was really the most jaw dropping. Everywhere you look there were exquisite works of art.

This [Pietà] is probably the world’s most famous sculpture of a religious subject. Michelangelo carved it when he was 24 years old, and it is the only one he ever signed. The beauty of its lines and expression leaves a lasting impression on everyone.

With this magnificent statue Michelangelo has given us a highly spiritual and Christian view of human suffering. Artists before and after Michelangelo always depicted the Virgin with the dead Christ in her arms as grief stricken, almost on the verge of desperation. Michelangelo, on the other hand, created a highly supernatural feeling.

As she holds Jesus’ lifeless body on her lap, the Virgin’s face emanates sweetness, serenity and a majestic acceptance of this immense sorrow, combined with her faith in the Redeemer. It seems almost as if Jesus is about to reawaken from a tranquil sleep and that after so much suffering and thorns, the rose of resurrection is about to bloom. As we contemplate the Pieta which conveys peace and tranquility, we can feel that the great sufferings of life and its pain can be mitigated.

Here, many Christians recall the price of their redemption and pray in silence. The words may be those of the “Salve Regina” or “Sub tuum presidium” or another prayer. After Peter’s Tomb, the Pieta Chapel is the most frequently visited and silent place in the entire basilica.

It is said that Michelangelo had been criticized for having portrayed the Virgin Mary as too young since she actually must have been around 45-50 years old when Jesus died. He answered that he did so deliberately because the effects of time could not mar the virginal features of this, the most blessed of women. He also said that he was thinking of his own mother’s face, he was only five when she died: the mother’s face is a symbol of eternal youth. source

Michaelangelo’s Pietà

There were several small chapels within the Basilica where people can pray.

Chapel of St. Sebastian

The tomb of Pope John Paul II was moved inside the Basilica after he was beatified.

Tomb of John Paul II in The Chapel of St. Sebastian

“Only those who wish to pray may enter”. This sign in front of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel lets visitors know that this is a place for reflection, and not just part of a tour of the basilica. source

Blessed Sacrament Chapel

The word ‘Confessio’ refers to the Confession of faith by St. Peter which lead to his martyrdom. St. Peter’s tomb is behind the Niche of the Pallium.

In this niche is a silver coffer with fabrics (each known as a “pallium”) woven from the wool of lambs blessed on the feast of St. Agnes (Jan 21) and bestowed upon patriarchs and metropolitans as a reminder of the Church’s unity. source

The Confessio

The Basilica centers around the Papal Altar where only the Pope celebrates Mass. It was consecrated by Clement VIII, June 5, 1594, on top of several other older altars.

Rising above the altar is the baldacchino (95ft. canopy), Bernini’s masterpiece and first work in St. Peter’s. The ancient tomb of St. Peter lies directly below the altar. source

The Papal Altar & Baldacchino

The Tribune Altar of the Chair of St. Peter

St. Veronica Statue

Our Lady of the Column Chapel

Confessional

Sacristy

List of Popes Buried at St Peter’s

First in the list is St. Peter.

Treasury Museum

Altar of the Lie

Saint Peter’s Square

Vatican post office

My cousin Sharon requested free tickets to attend the Papal mass on June 29th. Only Sharon and Rochele went to the mass. They didn’t know that the mass celebrated the Feasts of Saints Peter and Paul and the mass lasted 3 hours. The following pictures were taken by Rochelle.

Papal mass at the Vatican

Pope Benedict XVI

The mass was attended by archbishops from around the world.

A big surprise was that our own Archbishop Tagle was there too!

Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle

Rochelle was able to get some good shots.

There’s Sharon with Archbishop Tagle.

Sharon and Rochelle pose with Archbishop Tagle.

It takes some advanced planning to maximize your visit to the Vatican City. Hopefully these resources will help you.

Scavi Tour
Excavations Office
00120 Vatican City State Europe
Tel.: + 39 06 69 885 318 Fax: + 39 06 69 873 017
E-mail: scavi@fsp.va
website

Papal Mass Tickets here

Rome: The Best Coffee in Rome

I admit that I didn’t love the food I ate in Italy but I loved the coffee. When I searched for the best coffee in Rome two coffee shops were in the top of the lists. We went to both to try them out for ourselves.

Both coffee shops were near the Pantheon. Our first stop was Sant’Eustachio Il Caffé, located in the Piazza Sant’Eustachio, a few hundred meters from the Pantheon. This coffee shop was founded in 1938 and has been taken over by the Ricci brothers in 1999.

They sold their own coffee as well as other sweets.

Those yellow moka pots were cute.

I bought a bag of coffee beans which I loved. Everyday I would drink the coffee and it reminded me of Rome. I just wish I bought a 1 kilo bag instead of 500g.

The menu on the left lists the price of the coffee based on where you will take it. For example the Grancaffé costs €2.40 at the bar and €4.90 at the table. You can guess where we had our coffee.

Sant’Eustachio Il Caffé menu (click to enlarge)

Pay for your coffee at the cashier and bring the receipt to the bar where they will promptly make your drink.

I didn’t know that they automatically put sugar in the coffee and I added my sweetener without trying it first. Don’t forget to tell them beforehand if you want sugar or not. Anyway I still enjoyed my super sweet super creamy espresso. Just take a look at how thick the crema was. It’s without doubt one of the best coffees I’ve ever had. It was so fragrant and aromatic.

Grancaffé €2.40
Sant’Eustachio Coffee, larger and creamier

Rochelle had the whipped cream with a touch of espresso. You should have seen her lick the cream and the huge smile on her face.

cafe con panna €2.10
sin of gluttony with cream

Another day we went back for another round of Grandcaffé this time with sfogliatelle. I remembered to order without sugar. I also asked for some hot milk which they gave me.

Sant’Eustachio Il Caffé- Grancaffé & sfogliatelle

We walked around the area and saw an umbrella store manned by a Pinay. Isn’t the dog umbrella a cutie?

dog umbrella

The Pantheon

Tazza D’Oro, founded in 1946, was nearer to the Pantheon. Their website said they opened at 7:00 am but when we went on a Sunday morning they were still closed at 10:00 am. They finally opened at 10:30 am.

The display of Tazza D’Oro was more organized.

I bought a bag of Deseo orange peel and chocolate biscotti and they were delicious!!!

It’s the same system here. Pay for your drink and bring it to the bar. The cashier who spoke English fluently told me that Sant’Eustachio wasn’t their competitor since they roasted their own blend of special coffee unlike the former who merely bought their coffee from a source. I was doubly intrigued after his impassioned declaration.

Tazza D’Oro menu

Their menu only had a single price. There were some benches in the store where you can sit and have coffee without any additional charge.

The cashier also told me that their granita di caffe was very popular.

I chose marocchino which was a shot of espresso, milk froth and cocoa powder. It was good too but not as heavenly as Sant’Eustachio’s Grancaffé. To be fair I ordered a second regular espresso to have a fairer comparison and I was right. It didn’t taste as bold and as rich.

marocchino €1.20

I did buy a small bag of their house blend, Regina dei Caffé, which I will be opening tomorrow.

Even though the price of coffee at Sant’Eustachio Il Caffé was double that of Tazza D’ Oro’s I still prefer it. I only wish I knew somebody who was going to Rome and willing to buy me a bag of their coffee. If you love coffee then be sure to visit these two coffee shops and judge for yourself which is better.

Sant’Eustachio Il Caffé
Piazza Sant’Eustachio 82 00186, Rome, Italy
telephone: 00 39 06 68802048
website

Opening hours
Sunday to Thursday 8.30 – 01.00
Friday 8.30 – 01.30
Saturday 8.30 – 02.00

Tazza D’ Oro
Via degli Orfani, 84 (Pantheon) – 00186 Roma
telephone: +39.06.67.89.792
website

Opening hours
non-stop from 07:00 to 20:00

Chips Delight Triple Overload Chocolate Cookies

You know how much I love cookies and how happy I am to receive any kind of cookies. My friend sent me their newest variety from their Chips Delight line of cookies.

She must have read my inner most thoughts when they made this triple chocolate overload cookies!

I’ve always been a fan of Chips Delight cookies since they only use good quality imported chocolate and I really feel the taste is better to the imported brand, Chips Ahoy.

Take a fudgy chocolate cookie and dip the bottom in melted chocolate and drizzle more chocolate on top. That’s what these cookies are. The texture of the cookie is more cakey than chewy because of all the chocolate coating. I like my cookies chewy but these still brought much joy to my inner chocolate monster.

They have many varieties of cookies but my favorite is still there regular chocolate chip cookies pictured on the left.

I like to buy the mini chocolate chip cookies in a zip top bag which I open, close, open, close and finally just leave open until I finish the whole pack of mini cookies. They also have small packs perfect for the kids’ baon.

I swear their Smileys cream sandwich cookies taste just like Oreo’s at a fraction of the price.

For a more indulgent cookie try them dipped in chocolate too. All these cookies are available in the supermarkets in Manila.