Got Pie?

If you like dessert, there is no way in hell that you haven't heard of banapple. For the last three years I've been driving to and from UP Diliman via Katipunan and I've been noticing this restaurant for months before I finally mustered the courage (and the patience to find parking space) to step in and have a look at their menu. Well, the first time I went there I don't remember seeing a menu, but I do remember looking through their cake display chiller and thinking that my passport to irreparable obesity is staring me in the eye.

Everything in the cafe is great. Pies, cheesecakes, muffins, drinks. Oh and I must add that their coffee is by far better (and cheaper: PhP 50 per cup) than those anonymous coffee chains which invariably taste burnt. I don't want to discuss each cheesecake and pie, but what I particularly like about this place is that it tastes homemade. I hate those pastry shops which sell cakes outsourced from bakers in Pasig. And I don't understand why their cakes are soooo expensive when they all taste the same anyway.

Since my first visit there I've seen their menu expanded to include rice, pasta and sandwiches. Haven't tried them all but I'm working on it. My friend Ricky's favourite is the Tapsilog, and we were pleasantly surprised that a plate of pasta fed three women. Great value.

Oh, they also have savoury pies: chicken, tuna and cheese. They're good for PhP 50 pesos each, or PhP 100 if you want it served with chunky potato salad. One thing I must say is that they probably use pate sucre instead of pate brisse for the savoury pies so it tastes sweeter than it should.

A word of warning, though. Don't even go anywhere near that place during lunch and dinner if you're starving. The place is tiny and parking is a nightmare so expect ages before you get served. But if you can get over that, this is the place for you.

The girls working there are super friendly, by the way. Always smiling, always attentive, always ready with their pitchers of ice cold water.

They're open from 7:30 am to 11:30 pm everyday so unless your craving hits you past midnight, you're covered.

I had brunch there this morning and there was a sign up saying that their Tomas Morato branch is open. At least Ricky doesn't have to traverse EDSA to get his pie!

wltrrbls