time check: 7:15 am
The Philippine flag sits calmly and radiantly by the bread of basket on Chocolate Kiss' counter. This my friends, is how you spend a Before Nine independence day breakfast date. With a flag and basket of bread. :) Maligayang Araw ng Kasarinlan, Pilipinas! Happy Independence day!!
And because it is a holiday, we took the chance to celebrate the Independence day in one of the cradles of the Philippine democracy - UP Diliman. It was a goosebumpy and proud Pinoy morning as the UP Carillon serenaded us with an enchanting rendition of "Bayan Ko". I was singing in my head "...aking adhika makita kang sakdal laya!". It took me an incredible self-control to stop my left fist from pumping in the air. :)
Except for a book-reading diner, we had Chocolate Kiss all to ourselves. So much for worrying about getting a space in the restaurant - they're usually filled up to the brim even in the earliest part of the day especially on weekends. This must be our lucky day. Those are our backpacks on the foreground, by the way. We plan to hit the gym right after our good morning meal. :)
Except for the monoblock chairs (come on, there are a lot of beautiful chairs in the world!), I love the cozy and romantic ambiance of Chocolate Kiss. Their table setting with mustard place mats and flowers in bottles is simple, unassuming but nonetheless beautiful.
What we had for breakfast:
1. Ensaymada at Tsokolate Eh
menu description: Home-baked sweet butter bread with grated queso de bola paired with a cup of traditional Filipino hot chocolate, made with Table from Cebu.
Our appetizer. Haha! The last time I have taken a sip of a thick chocolate drink was in Dumaguete. I missed how this drink embraces my throat in loving comfort. The bread was equally satisfying, all warm from the oven and soft as the clouds.
2. Daing na Bangus
menu
description: served with garlic rice, tomatoes and fried or salted egg
Filipino breakfast meal #1 for Alan. :)
3. Vigan Longanisa
menu
description: served with garlic rice, tomatoes and fried or salted egg
Filipino breakfast meal #2 for me. :) I gave my specific instruction to kuya order-taker, "Make it crispy and a little bit toasted, please; just the way my mother cooks it". :)
4. Spanish Omelet
menu
description: two-egg omelet with ham, black olives, tomato, onion and green pepper served with toasted home baked ciabatta bread
Chocolate Kiss' strength other than its cakes (we were so full we never got to try a slice of cake for dessert, darn!) is its home baked breads. They are soft the way a freshly taken out of the oven bread is soft and explode in melt-in-your-mouth goodness. The ciabatta bread we consumed was the perfect partner for the rich-in-flavor Spanish omelet.
I completely forgot that UP Diliman is one of my happy places. I usually look far and wide for beautiful breakfast experiences that I completely missed out trusty ol' and Diliman-darling Chocolate Kiss. 'Glad to be have come back.
Happy Independence Day, Philippines!
And cheers to mornings of freedom and heroism! :)
All Sunshiny,
Tina
Ground Floor, UP Bahay ng Alumni
Diliman Quezon City
(02)921-8663 | (02) 921-8659
Open everyday from 7 am to 10 pm
No comments:
Post a Comment