An Unplanned Lunch Out with a Dessert OFCOURSE!!

November 15, 2010 – Spent the day at school from 9 am to 6 pm and since we’ve got quite a long break time, my boyfriend asked me out for lunch. We went to Eastwood Mall, which is merely around 5 minutes away from our school, and dined in Old Vine Grille by Chefs Quarter. We simply ordered two kinds of pastas for both of us, Spaghetti Puttanesca and Old-fashioned Carbonara, because we wanted something that is served fast. My boyfriend, being a dessert lover as much as I am, craves for something sweet and so we ordered Chefs Quarter’s Surprise.

CQ’s Surprise is basically a white chocolate cheesecake but the interesting part is that there is a crusty sugar topping, just like a Crème Brulée. There is also some shaved bitter-sweet chocolate on top, a lengua de gato-like biscuit for garnish, mango and strawberry sauces, and some fresh mango slices.

Chefs Quarter's Surprise - Php 130

The cheesecake itself is very soft and has a very fine texture that makes it almost melt-in-your-mouth.  At first, it tastes good but then as it stayed in my mouth, I’ve noticed that there was some kind of an “eggy” taste in it. Maybe the egg that they used was not fresh or the oven temperature was not stable or the cake was constantly being taken in and out of the oven, which is the most probable reason because eggs are very sensitive to temperature.

When I was in CACS (Center for Asian Culinary Studies), we had our ‘Egg Cookery Day’ and we were taught how to cook a scrambled egg properly. It may seem a piece of cake but in fact, it was hard! We were asked to make one serving of a scrambled egg cooked the right way and we have to make Chef Gene Gonzales taste it. And so I did. My scrambled egg seemed to be perfect in presentation but then when Chef Gene tasted it, he said that it is ‘eggy’... it tastes  malansa. Why? Because I always took the pan in and out of fire; leaving the ‘eggy’ taste of the egg uncooked even though the egg was perfectly cooked physically.  

Moving on, the burnt sugar topping is a very good idea considering that the cheesecake is very soft. It adds a little crunch to the cake as you bite into it. The combination of the slightly sour strawberry sauce and the sweet ripe mango sauce is good because they neutralize the taste of each other. Accompanying the cake with ripe mango slices adds freshness to the dessert that it makes it less nakakauta.

I must say that this cheesecake is quite unique because of the burnt sugar on top but I was a little disappointed with the ‘eggy’ taste. But then the incorporation of the white chocolate makes it delectable in a way. CQ’s Surprise is satisfying but it will not be able to make it to my favourites list.

My Rating:

     CQ's Surprise     7/10

Address:

     Ground level Eastwood Mall, Eastwood City, Libis QC