Sunday, October 6, 2013

π Breakfast and Pies


   One fine, not so sunny Sunday, a respite from the stormy weather we had been having for weeks, we made our way to Teacher's Village.  It was a first time for all of us, to visit the esteemed food strips of Diliman.  Good thing there was less traffic, and my girls didn't mind the long drive.  Well that's because I promised them stacks of priced pancakes for their afternoon snack.
   After reading about the newly opened restaurant of Chef Ed Bugia - known for his vegan resto, Pipino and it's sister resto bar, Pino, I instantly calendared the next Sunday for our next family dine-to experience.   
   π Breakfast and Pies is the third resto opened on the building where Chef Ed have the two sister restos.  
   π is a bit tucked on the extreme left of the building.  My kids were a bit adamant to go in when they saw that Pino Resto Bar looked liked their sort of venue with wall to wall humongous doodles.  But when I told them that it's a vegetarian resto they concluded with  π.  Also, let me just inform you that the place is not that big with just three rows of seating and would probably seat only about 25 people at a time.  

   The place was simple without paying much attention to interiors and colors.  Gray bare cemented walls, wooden chairs and tables, aluminum cups containing utensils, very industrial-style, which my husband liked, by the way.
  However, I found these DIY lamps very interesting.  One of my girls even told me if we will be whisked away after we eat, they somehow resemble wire whisks with light bulbs inside.  Whatcha think?

   From the resto's namesake, they whip up a storm of breakfast meals for breakfast lovers like my kids.  My kids will work for slices of bacon, dripping in it's own maple or smoked flavored oil.  They would do chores for stacks of pancakes and waffles.  They would even paint a picture of you for a comforting bowl of champorado, but make sure it's pure cocoa or Belgian dark chocolates used for it.

   Yes my family (except me) is a bunch of suckers for all-day breakfast meals.  Let me just also mention our fanaticism with Flapjacks to support that.


   So here are what everyone had.

   My youngest daughter's choice was Dark Chocolate Champorado, which came first.  It was expensive for P155, considering she didn't had it with the mix of cream cheese and Momofuko inspired cereal milk. 

   For one, we didn't like the thought of soggy cereal swimming in our milk, my husband had a few scoops, and he didn't like the mixture of that milk with the chocolatey porridge.  Saying I can make a potful of this for the same amount serving five people (just that the frugal man needed to breathe it out).  I guess that would suggest to have the milk as an option with a regular milk on the side, for not too many diners are open to sweet-salty food combination.

   Next is what Dana had, Omelette served with a chubby toast and microgreens.  When ordering this you will be asked to customize your egg with five ingredients to go with it. My cutie pie chose bacon, mushroom, onion, garlic and mozzarella.  You can choose from Gruyere, Mozzarella and  Ricotta if you want cheese on your omelette.   Still costly for P215.  Sorry about my being a practical momma.


   For the big sister and one big eater, it's Huevos Rancheros (P275).  This came with a delight.  Danielle said it's a complete colorful meal in itself and I'd say healthy at that.  Served on a cast iron skillet held by a wooden plate it's a garden of feast with chopped zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and cilantro.  Plus bits of bacon, chicken skin, cheddar cheese, ricotta cheese, sausage and to complete it baked beans and topped with raw eggs.  Served with a bread (a slice of baguette) which according to her was hard as a rock, but realized it was meant to be dipped on the tomato-based sauce.


   Another on the bill was Dana's Chocolate chip cookie.   Similar to a famous Blue ribbon recipe out in the market.


   Since the kids ordered a lot, with the thought that they might not finish up everything, the Dad only ordered Malongo coffee and I had him have one from π bread pantry, Ricotta Ensaymada.   The buttery bread somehow looked like an odd -shaped flower overdressed with grated cheese.   Ricotta is a milder cheddar cheese version but tastes more like cream than milk, so to say the least, it complemented well with this buttery and slightly sweet Filipino staple food for "meryenda."  

   Take a look at some other bread offerings they have, good to take home too.


   Of course, this is undone without having to sample some of their pies.

   At first, when I checked out the menu, I was intentionally after savory pies.  But they don't have one.  The pie selection was purely sugar-laden except for the sugar-free apple pie.

   Though the girls had their fill, they still made room for Smores Pie.  The smell and taste of the great outdoor is brought in with the traditional campfire treat, S'mores.  Who wouldn't love marshmallows, chocolate and graham mixed all together.  Now made into a pie, this gooey, creamy and addictingly-sappy mass of molten marshmallow was easily loved by the girls, hmmm, and were compelled to do some S'moring at our roof-top garden. 

   If I haven't cajoled you in coming over yet with what we tried, I hope this would. 

   For me, nothing can  better combat a depressing day with a slice of chocolate pie!  However, a pure chocolatey heaven and raspberry patch in one can perhaps do better than that.  And yes, this slice of Choco Raspberry Pie have won me over.  It was actually not my first choice, it was Key Lime Pie, which apparently was not palatably-looking anymore.  This got me dismayed.  Not until my kids were able to finish their plates that I've decided to put another option to proof.  Battling over the Sugar-free Apple Pie and the Crack Pie, I quickly shifted to the one not ordered often by the  customers, which is the Choco Raspberry Pie.  

   I agree that when it comes to pie it has to be about the filling.  That was until I tasted (and tested) a few chocolate pie crusts. The crust alone became reason enough to eat the pie which  blends seamlessly with the innards, making a cohesive treat you can indulge on.   This is indeed a triple layer of sweet escape- chocolate pie crust, sticky chocolate filling and a gracious mantle of raspberry gel.


   Also, it was one of those rare opportune to bump into one of my favorite hard-core food blogger, Smarla Angtuaco of Everyday Sweet Notes.

  Now, it's your turn to try them...Do let me know how it was, for I'll be coming back to try more of their pies.



π Breakfast and Pies

Address:  39 Malingap Street in Teachers Village, Quezon City

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