Icings Cakes. Breads. Cafe

When I and my regular food buddy went to Icings to have a quick meal, the country was then being slammed by one of the strongest typhoons ever to hit Manila and, at that time, heavy floods were already inundating certain parts of the country, including the nearby provinces. But, what can we do? We just love food and no typhoon – weak or strong – can stop us from eating!

Hence, soaked and all, we still went to this place. I honestly thought that the security guard wouldn’t let us in because our clothes were literally sodden and dripping with rainwater, but he allowed us to step inside anyway.

AMBIANCE AND ENVIRONMENT

Icings, by the way, is a café near Tomas Morato but it is strategically located in such an inconspicuous area, far from the bustling crowd and peppy diners.

It’s really hard to notice and even the sign is barely visible to passersby and walk-in diners.

Inside, the place looked much like any other café - tiled floors, warm lights, paintings, and all.

There were plenty of cakes here too.

Now, this one's my favorite - the "Basket of Fruits". Too bad, they don’t sell cakes by the slice.

One more thing that's interesting is that their menu is bound on a chopping board. 

And, finally, here's the dining area. Look at how clean the floor and tables are.

     

     

Generally, The restaurant is very simple and straightforward. It wasn't really any different from other cafes out there. Uniqueness, I should say, is not really the shop's strongest point, but its cleanliness pretty much makes up for this shortcoming. Having said that, I still think that this is a really decent and quiet place to have a quick snack or some coffee and cake with friends and family.

    

FOOD AND DRINKS

Actually, the place was comfier than it looks. It was so cozy, we spent almost half an hour drying ourselves inside before actually ordering. When we’re already comfortable and dry, I flipped through the menu and called the waiter to have our orders taken.

Since we’re relatively new here, all I wanted to try out is the Ostrich Pasta. I’ve never really had ostrich in my life so I wanted to know how it feels to eat this fowl’s meat. So, I ordered one serving of this dish and this is what they served.

Ostrich Pasta (P 245.00)

Seriously, who wouldn't love to have a taste of this dish? This plate of pasta looked really good! The presentation was very clever. It had me drooling at the dish right away. I took a bite of the meatball and, surprisingly, it didn’t even taste like any other kind of fowl. It tasted closer to beef. However, it was also a tough meat. It’s a good thing that this one’s ground and formed into a meatball because it made the meat easier to eat.
   
The pasta and the sauce were good too. The spaghetti was al dente and the red sauce was very rich and creamy. I think they used fresh tomatoes for the pasta sauce, which is good. I had a pleasant first encounter with the ostrich because of this meal. This is a must-try!

Lemongrass Chicken Skewers (P 195.00)

Because we found it really hard to pick what else to eat, we just asked the waiter what their bestsellers are and when he told us about the lemongrass chicken skewers, we were convinced  to have this added to our order. This was also a good choice. It had this char-grilled flavor and was very flavorful. It was juicy and tender and was just plain good. The serving size is quite small though. Thus, we didn’t even notice that we have eaten all of it.

SERVICE AND SATISFACTION

Overall, we were satisfied not only with the food here, but also with the service. The waiter on duty that time (whose name I forgot) was very professional. He was smart and friendly. He was not pushy. He didn’t force us to order right away and follow-up on us every now and then. He just allowed us to dry ourselves first and feel all relaxed and comfy before taking the order.

He was also very attentive to our needs. He gave excellent recommendations, served us a glass of water each, and refilled our glass every now and then when he felt like we needed more water.

VALUE FOR MONEY

With such excellent service and above average food, I would definitely come back to this place. The prices may not be affordable, considering the size of the servings, but it was satisfying anyway. I’d have to get back here and try other ostrich meals. I think I’ve just become an ostrich fan!

TOTAL SCORES

Ambiance – 3/5

Food – 4/5

Service – 5/5

Value – 4/5   

TOTAL – 4/5 

Icings Cakes. Breads. Cafe
(02) 372 0351
101 Sct. Lazcano cor. Tomas Morato
Quezon City, Metro-Manila

Posted in: Cafe,Cakes,Desserts,icings,icings cakes. breads. cafe,ostrich,restaurant review,Tomas Morato