A lot of people know I am, by heart, a vegetable addict. I love greens and I adore the colorful mix of beautiful fresh vegetables on my plate every time I eat. For six years, I have been a loyal lover and I don’t think I’ll ever break my herbivore vows. On the contrary, I also have a habit of sneaking a few cheat meals in between to keep the greenly relationship alive. One of my guiltiest pleasure: FROMAGE. Oh la la, les plusieurs sortes de fromages. I can’t get enough of cheese and I think it may take a lot of years before I truly get over this illicit dairy lover of mine (even though I’ve been a lactose intolerant for as long as I can remember). The best part of it? I share this vice (and this intolerance) with my husband.

Last week, after having a shared bowl of ramen with my man, we walked around our neighborhood to find something good. I was sick so food barely had any appeal to me. He asked me what I wanted to have after dinner so I just said, “I think I’m good with a cup of tea, let’s walk around and find one.” So we ended up visiting his favored coffee shop, Toby’s Estate Coffee Roasters to have a cup of coffee.

As we were ordering, there I was standing by the counter and it caught my eye – a delectable confection: CHEESECAKE. I got so into it that I have forgotten about the tea and ordered a glass of fresh lemonade instead. And without any hesitation, I proposed to share a slice with my husband.

The Espresso Latte coffee arrived first (with my lemonade).

Oh what a sight (as  the dessert landed on our table).

The cheesecake was rich and the subtle taste of the pistachios unraveled as I had my first taste. I loved how the pistachios were all here-and-there and it didn’t seem like they were superfluous. The crusting (base crumbs) was compact but by the time I had that taste, they had dispersed pleasantly in my mouth. The whipped cream with caramel syrup was an absolute flattering touch as well. As I took parcels the cake, so I did with the cream.

Bit by bit, my husband and I shared delight in indulging on this beautiful dessert. It was a perfect to end the night.

And so we went home with happy hearts and contented stomachs – dreaming of the next time we’ll be able to revisit this admirable dessert.

Location: Toby’s Estate Coffee Rasters, Shangri-La at the Fort, Manila

Menu Costs:

• Pistachio Cheesecake (slice) : 250 PHP
• Fresh Lemonade (glass) : 150 PHP
• Espresso Latte : 150 PHP

To learn more about Toby’s Estate Coffee Roasters click here. You may also visit them on Instagram and Twitter.

All photos were taken by the author and her husband, Rudolf Padlan.