Location: Quezon City
This is one of my restaurant review backlogs from last year. Back in college, I had to be in UP on Saturday mornings to be with Special Olympic athletes as part of my duties as a member of the Ateneo Special Education Society. The grounds where we'd jog and do exercises with the special children was behind UP's Bahay ng Alumni, so by lunch time, my orgmates and I could usually be found in Chocolate Kiss rewarding ourselves. Most people would say that the restaurant is more ideal for a romantic date though, and I'd have to agree as it's quite pricey for a normal uni student's allowance. Plus, its ambiance is conducive for quiet talks over cakes and coffee.
Chocolate Kiss is a combination of Italian and Filipino restaurant. Aside from the chocolate cake, it is famous for its iced tea which is real tea with honey. I have good memories of dining in the restaurant, but not because of the food per se. It's more of the place being a venue for once-a-week splurge impulses or whenever there's a special occasion. After college, I forgot about the restaurant until I saw a branch near Tomas Morato last year. One night after work, I decided to visit it out of nostalgia.
The interior is not as nice as the one in UP. There were only a few customers at the time despite it being the peak of dinner hour. If I remember correctly, the menu in UP's Chocolate Kiss is comprised of entrees that are more foreign. In this branch, the menu is locally inclined, including rice toppings like the ones shown below.
Tapa with rice and fried egg
Adobo flakes with rice and fried egg
I have nothing special to say about the food, except that it doesn't justify the prices. I was disappointed with Chocolate Kiss for adopting these dishes which I think murders its entire appeal. Then again, not everyone knows about the original Chocolate Kiss in UP. It can just as well be yet another Filipino restaurant-cafe indistinguishable from others in Quezon City. To make matters worse for Chocolate Kiss, my companion and I both felt we could've had the same dishes in Banapple, Il Terrazo, and enjoyed more while paying less. For desert, we ordered the angel--or was it devil?--cake (first picture) which was chocolate chifon cake thickly topped with sugar icing.
Though I don't recommend this restaurant, I'll still go back to the original branch if only for an afternoon date over iced tea, in a quiet corner by the window where I can see the blue sky and grassy field, and reminisce about simpler days long gone.
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