Remember Your First Chocolate Kiss?

College gave me my first taste of the real world- meeting people outside my usual circle; encountering challenges (both in school and in life) that tested my mettle; basically, I learned that the world could both be loving and cruel.  But aside from waking up to these harsh realities of life, it was during my university days that I got to really experiment with food. 

            There are many blissful food memories of my time in the Katipunan area, and quite a number of them had something to do with The Chocolate Kiss Café at the Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman.  I recall how excited I was to be able to enjoy generous portions of my favorite pastas, followed by huge slices of beautiful cakes.  To my young, unexposed palate, it was my haven of good food, away from the poorly ventilated grills and fast food joints that college runts like me used to frequent. 

            One weekend, Matt and I were in the QC area and I spotted the branch of Chocolate Kiss along Roces Avenue.  Excited, I decided to grab a quick snack just to see what has become of this old favorite. 

            I loved their Fettuccine Carbonara, but having since outgrown pastas with creamy white sauces, I ordered their Aligue and Prawn Pasta.  The linguine was nicely cooked (al dente), and the aligue (crab fat), although fundamentally rich, was not oily.  There were notably more than a handful of prawns in my bowl.  Most aligue pastas tend to be heavy on the garlic, but CK’s version seemed to have practiced restraint.  I think I like it more this way. 

Matt opted for the Salisbury Steak with Mashed Potato- his idea of comfort food.  I believe he enjoyed it, particularly the thickened, home-style gravy.

             

            For dessert, I had to have a slice of a classic- Devil’s Food Cake.  Stark white peaks of marshmallow-like frosting enveloped a rich, fudge-y chocolate cake- there’s a reason why it made an impact back then and was burned into my memory.  It’s still good.

            Matt also had to have his cheese fix- this time in the form of a Blueberry Cheesecake.  The blueberry topping was obviously canned, but the cake itself was good enough- thick and dense, but not cloying. 

            The service was a tad “too relaxed” for my taste- boisterous banter (and singing!) among the staff is a no-no in my book.  Save it for your yosi break, guys.  Still, it was a fun afternoon of reminiscing, especially having discovered that this old favorite has maintained the pleasantly homey quality of their food.



The Chocolate Kiss Cafe
G/F Korben Place
Roces Ave. cor, Sct. Tobias St., Q.C
Tel. no. (632) 412 7876