Pan De Manila is a place that I can go to for a snack. It's something that I've grown emotionally…read moreattached to because it's dependable and reliable, you know, like a good old dog. This particular Pan De Manila deserves special mention because its particularly close to the office where I intern. The good thing about this one is that it really helps me to deal with the stress of working at the office. Buying bread from Pan De Manila fills my head with nostalgia and all the other chemicals that I typically associate with happiness. The only thing different between this particular Pan De Manila with the one near my village is that it doesn't have that freshly baked bread smell. That's the only thing missing that would've made this particular branch a whole lot better. Their menu though is substantially better than the one near my village. They even have those donuts and churros that I like.

Pan de Manila stores are now ubiquitous in Manila, and I completely understand why. They serve…read morereally good but very very affordable bread, from the simple but always satisfying pan de sal, to the more fancy cheese-and-butter loaded ensaymadas, their bread always hits the spot. But what really draws me in is that they don't just sell good bread. They have chillers inside the store where you will find amazing dips and spreads such as their own herbed butter, and fresh soy milk of different flavors. They also make their own super yummy peanut butter which rivals a super yummy super oily local one that shall not be named, and bottles of spiced fish that's ready to eat -- you can stuff them into the pa de sals or enjoy with rice. And last --but certainly not the least among the reasons why this franchise is such a hit -- they sell instant hot chocolate that is not bad at all. If you haven't been to a Pan de Manila or have not ben visited one lately, try and find one near you.

Whenever I go to Greenhills, one of the first places I stop by is Crazy Crepes. Yes, I start my day…read moreby filling my body with sugar to prepare me for shopping in all the stores nearby. After trying everything on their menu, my favorite thing to order is their Banana Split Parfait. Normally, I don't like bananas in my dessert, but it goes so well in this dessert that I love it. It's healthy too! They use one banana for this sliced into three. There's three scoops of ice cream and chocolate syrup drizzled on top of it. My parents usually just share one order while I can take the whole thing. But it is a big order and it fills me up so much that this is usually my lunch.

Talk about your guilty pleasures. This is mine... specifically their Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream…read morecrepes. It's so bad for me and so very very bad for my diet but if I've had a bad day or I feel like I need to treat myself, this is probably one of the things I'd go for. See, I've always been jealous of those huge Japanese crepes with everything but the kitchen sink on them. The crepes I usually saw were thin things with barely any fillings in them and were usually served on a plate to be eaten with a fork and spoon. Then I found this place and my little japanophile heart went wild. Ever since that day, these Japanese style dessert crepes have been an indulgent comfort to me. With my nostalgia goggles on, I can safely say I'm very fond of these crepes. They're sweet and filling and definitely make a bad day better for me. But if I was to look at it from an objective standpoint, then I'd say they're lacking. Its mostly ice cream and cream and syrup... but it's still a warm, tasty crepe. It'll never stop me from going back time and time again to chase away the blues.

One of the nicer bakeries around the area. They have a wide variety of pastries and baked goods…read morethat can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is conveniently located in Espana, with easy access to FEU and UST. They also have different drinks as well and the service is quick and prompt. If there was a negative, it would be their requirement limit of minimum purchase if you plan to dine in or study with friends on the second floor. I believe 150PHP for 3 hours. Not sure if it is strictly enforced though. They do have reservations for tables which are consumable.

If you want to open a business beside a school, the best kind are the ones that students feel they…read morecan study in. This place opened a couple months ago, and I remember visiting during its first week open. It was a very picturesque bakery that smelled so good and can be smelled a few feet away. It had the "Bread Talk" vibe with the trays where you can pick out the bread and pastries you want. The prices were pretty good for their food but their coffee is more on the expensive side. The place is lit by naturally light throughout the day and by night they have dim lit ambiance. Each table though is given an extra lamp if you're there to read or study. It was comfortably cold and the chairs were easy to sit on the whole day I was there. I loved studying here because the music wasn't too loud and the place was nicely made that noise doesn't just bounce of the walls.

Grabbed some ensaymadas to-go from this famous spot. Got both a cheddar and a quezo de bola. Both…read morewere super delicious - cheesy and sweet, with the pastry itself being very light and fluffy. I preferred the quezo de bola more than the cheddar but both were delicious. Would def come back!

i swear hizon's mocha cake is basically a manila time machine. my lola used to bring one to…read morebirthdays and the rule was always "don't smash the box on the jeep ride home" . it's that super light chiffon + buttercream combo that doesn't feel heavy even after a big meal. also the ensaymada + hot tsokolate there on a rainy afternoon? undefeated. legit old-school manila vibes.

The best mango bravo cake!! Yummy and can't wait for the next time we visit. Took this beautiful…read morecake to a celebration and it was a absolute treat.

The cakes are so amazing! When having take out from their branch, there is a line in front of the…read morestore. Customers are allowed to enter one at a time. Sometimes the guard gets the order and process it with the cashier. It just takes some time to get your order but the cakes are the best!

Premium bakeshops might be everywhere, but there are days when I just feel like eating something…read morelocal. Something simple and cheap but definitely tasty. I'm sure you're familiar with cheese bread, monay, kabayan, that purple-colored square thingy coated with niyog, and speaking of niyog... pan de coco! One of the best-tasting bread you can buy from this bakery is the cheese bread. It's dotted with cheese outside and there's a tiny slice in the middle. I really appreciate that. Some bakeshops sell cheese bread that don't have fillings, which is definitely a bummer. I mean why call it that when you can have all the cheese that you want, right? They also have pan de sal. I mean which bakery wouldn't? I haven't tried it but I heard that it's pretty good. I cannot vouch for that though, but you can see for yourself.

While the list of small, homey shops in BF has dwindled in recent years in line with the influx of…read morebigger or more-polished locations. Still, there are a few that have managed to stay alive. Nana Osiang's is one of them. Compared to a regular neighborhood bakery, the selection here is rather limited. You won't find a lot more than some of the standards, although what you actually can get is pretty good. The prices here are quite reasonable, especially given the taste. The pandesal, in particular, is quite tasty. Surprising, for a bakery, there are actually a couple of seats inside. This does add much to the homey feel, bringing up memories of hot afternoons made bearable by a baked snack and a bottle of soda.

I love this place, I wish there more of it around the Metro. Actually, I'm surprised, genuinely so,…read morethat I haven't seen a lot of this littered around Metro Manila. It's simple, basically it's a bakeshop where you put the stuff you want on a tray like Bread Talk. Speaking of Break Talk, I would probably go so far as to say that I love this more than I do Bread Talk. I mean, it has things that I don't find in Bread Talk. Pinoy classics like crinkles are things I don't see in Bread Talk. I could best describe Baker's Fresh as the upscale version of Julie's Bakeshop. It's this bakeshop that sells a wide variety of treats done well using great ingredients. I bought the lemon square and my God was it one of the best lemon squares I have had in a long time. The crust was the right kind of soft and crumbly. The lemon was there, but I could still taste the sugary sweetness and the smooth butter. None of the three dominated my mouth when I took a bite, it was a balance or symphony of different flavors dancing around on my tongue.

Every single time I've gone to Shang in maybe the last 6 years, I've bought Garlic Bread in Bakers…read moreFresh. EVERY. TIME. The last time I went to Shang, we were literally just exiting from the MRT and were headed for the ground floor to get a cab. I halted the entire barkada and was like "WAIT. I HAVE TO GET GARLIC BREAD FROM BAKERS FRESH. I HAVE TO." And then I raved about how amazing this garlic bread was and they were looking at me like I was completely insane. I've tried a few other breads from Bakers Fresh, of course; they have really solid cookies, brownies, and these square pizza things. But oh god, the Garlic Bread. The Garlic Bread just makes me so insanely happy. It tastes just perfect: soft with a certain odd crunch, just the right amount of garlic (i.e. not horribly overpowering like other garlic breads), and it kind of just melts in your mouth. This might be my favorite bread from a bread shop ever. It's inexplicable that I'd like this specific garlic bread from this specific store so much, but it's like instantaneously crave garlic bread the moment I even get near Shang. I think it's like a weird association my brain made. But this garlic bread is just, wow. Next time you go to Shang, go here. It will change your life, as it has changed mine.

My friends had been raving about La Lola for months. Of course, since they work near Powerplant,…read morethey almost get to eat it everyday. I was only able to try it recently at this branch. So, my expectations were pretty high up there. Basically, I wasn't "mind-blown" with their churros (sorry, friends! :( ). I ordered the plain churros (6 pieces) and I was a bit bothered that the chocolate dip was an add-on. Isn't the sauce suppose to be part of one order already? Anyways, I ordered the Large because I wanted to drink the chocolate after. I think the main reason why people "love" these churros is that they are huge. One order is actually good for two. They also have other flavor options. But, I wanted to try the plain ones since it was my first time to taste them. The churros I ate when I was a kid were thin, light brown and crispy. These churros, I guess because of the thickness/size, tasted starchy and undercooked. I wasn't sure if I was eating fried bread or a donut. Plus, they were very oily. The highlight was the chocolate dip which was thick and not too sweet. But, again, I had to pay extra for the Large size. Would I eat them again? Maybe. Most likely just get one churro from a friends basket. If i feel like eating churros that day.

I'm no churo conisseur - my knowledge of churros extends as far as trying out a few here and there…read moreand watching the "proper" way of serving churros on French travel shows. (Which, from what I've gathered, is to eat it in a Parisian cafe at around 5PM or whatever time susnet is. Always.) And yes, the fact that both churro and connoisseur was supposed to be a joke, and no, I did not just notice that now and am trying to make a joke to save face. And so when we stopped by La Lola's this afternoon, I wasn't really sure what the big deal was. It's like a really sosyal version of the breadsticks in nutella thing I do at home right? Boy was I wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. Jesus these are good churros. The churros, on its own, were perfect - crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, just the right hint of salt to compliment the bittersweet chocolate. And their chocolate dip had the perfect blend. Here's the thing - I don't like my chocolate that sweet. So the dark, decadent bittersweet flavor that this particular dip had hit a not-so-sweet spot (hehe, get it?) in my palette. Really, as far as churros go, I'm not sure it gets any better than this. Now, to figure out how to get the Parisian sunset and the Eiffel tower in front of me somehow...