An Impromptu Date at Banapple Pies and Cheesecake, Tuscany, Taguig

Since I had the car, I promised Ain that I would pick her up from work, which I did. Nearby her workplace were new condominiums with commercial spaces slowly opening up for public. In one of the commercial spaces, I excitedly spotted an open and crowded Banapple branch!

Banapple started to become a hit among my circle of friends when they opened a branch in Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati. Ain and I ate had a dinner date there a few years back and I remember loving their pies and cakes. But as it was always over-crowded and a little out of our usual ways, we didn't revisit the said branch, choosing to explore other restaurants instead.

However, as mentioned earlier, I became excited to find out that they opened a branch near us that had a nice ambiance which, I also suppose would not yet become as over-crowded as their branch in Ayala Triangle Gardens.

Upon my pick up of Ain, I excitedly proposed to have dinner there instead of at home because my mouth was simply watering just thinking of their yummy cakes! Thankfully, she agreed! Yey!

So, we went inside to line up, pick out what we would like to have and finalize our orders at the counter. The place was of two floors. On the first floor, where the counter was, only seats a few since they had shelves of cookies and pastries on display as well as of cakes just beside the counter. On the second floor, (I didn't really go up anymore but saw it from the outside only) were more seats than that of the first floor. They chose to have these soft yellow lights around the place which reminds one of the comforts of home mashed with the feeling of watching the sunset. They had these outdoorsy chairs and tables (the metal ones you would pick as a set for an outside venue such as at a backyard or a garden).

The staff was very attentive. First, we were asked if we preferred to wait for an indoor table, were informed that we were second in line for a table then offered us a table outside which was already available for us.

We chose to sit at an outside table since it was busy inside. It was much peaceful to sit outside then (and the heat wasn't so bad since it was at night anyway). The ambiance outside was comfortable and relaxed. There was a bench for any who would need to wait for a seat as well.

Once seated, they brought us two glasses of water even without our request. Just a few minutes after they served us water, came our smoothie. We didn't have to sit for 15 minutes before our food arrived. And, the staff even asked if we preferred to have the cake served together with main dish or at a later time. Of course, we chose to have it served last, which they did.

For myself, I ordered one of the best seller main dishes, Chicken Milk Shroom. It was the first time that I would try it out and found it to be tasteful.

The Milk Shroom which was the sauce on top of the chicken was creamy, with the right amount of saltiness. The boneless fried chicken meat was the right amount of tender - wasn't too crispy that would hurt the gums but wasn't soggy at all. The combination of the chicken and sauce was just wonderful.

The rice that went with the meal tasted good as well with right amount of flavor. It can also be eaten on its own! The meal also has these salted and buttered corn kernels which I loved especially. The taste was just right for me!

I would surely order this again!

Of course, I had Ain taste my food (so that I can also taste hers)! Haha! She ordered another of the best seller main dishes which was Hickory Ribs. I am not a fan of pork, you see, so I don't normally eat it. But I took a taste and actually enjoyed the dish.

The pork meat was really tender. But there are some tender meat that when you bite into, you will only taste blandness. This dish though, was not that well-tendered but bland pork dish. All-in-all, the dish was actually nice since it had the same set of rice and corn kernels as mine had. But, to our taste, the barbecue sauce was a little over-powering - a little on the sour side as I remember.

The serving was actually a pretty good size. Since I easily feel full, I don't believe I'm quite a good judge of serving protions for most but for those like me, an FYI, I did not get to finish my food. I had the leftovers for take out instead. Actually, Ain and I could possibly just share a plate as long as we still order a smoothie and a dessert. But then again, Ain usually has a huge appetite so probably still not! Haha!

Together with these dishes, we ordered just 1 drink which was the specialty - Banapple Smoothie. The banana used to make it seemed to have been a little under-ripe which caused the drink to have a bit of the banana aftertaste. But I still liked it as it was a fruit smoothie anyway. It wasn't too sweet that it would over-power the fruit flavors but you would taste the creaminess of the milk as well. It also wasn't filled with too much chunks of ice (which I hate in a smoothie or any other cold beverages). It was real smooth. (And a glorious drink during the summer season!)

For desert, we chose to try a different cake than the most popular Banoffie Pie. Instead, we tried a cake that we both haven't tried yet - Santa's Chipper Slice. Now, where to start with this??? Top to bottom it is!

The cream on top is heaven. The cheesecake in the middle which had tidbits of chocolate mixed in, was heaven. (The cheesecake alone was heaven enough even without the chocolate chunks actually. The crust was also delightful. Eaten together at once, the cake was a great finale to a wonderful meal!

To summarize my experience (at this particular time):

Food: GREAT
Service: GREAT
Value for Money: Pretty GREAT actually
Location/ambiance: GREAT for any day
Over-all Dining Experience: GREAT
Would I dine there again? I'm looking forward to it! (I'm even craving for their cakes as I write this blog!)

Orders:

Chicken Milk Shroom - Php175
Hickory Ribs - Php185
Santa's Chipper Slice - Php110
Banapple Smoothie - Php105

For more details on Banapple Pies and Cheesecake (their branches and menu), please see the link below:
http://www.banapplekitchen.com/Banapple.html