Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Conti's Greenhills

Conti's pastry shop and restaurant is a name that I've heard and read from different sources. And if you've been reading this blog and my life blog, you'd know how the word "pastry" catches my attention. Originally from Paranaque, it has now opened a branch in Connecticut street, Greenhills which made a visit inevitable.

My first visit at 10 minutes past 9 o' clock met with rejection from the security guard telling me that the kitchen's closed. Disappointed but not swayed, I pointed to the row of coolers containing droolworthy pastries and asked if perhaps I could buy a cake or two. He opened the door gladly and I zoomed in the seducing beauties that had my saliva glands working!

Try them I did (We ordered four slices of different kinds...I was on a sugar high for hours.) and found out that the rumors were true! 3 out of 4 were delicious, putting me in that in a can't-wait-to-go-back-and-try-some-more mission.

So on the next get-together with friends, I suggested Conti's. Stangely enough, none of my friends have been to this sweet shop. It was lunchtime and the tables were full of hungry folks, just like my first visit. I silently hoped for a deja vu of food and sweet tooth satisfaction.

Luckily, we reserved a couple of tables. My friends, normal eating beings, ordered main courses, while I instantly flipped the back of the menu to stalk the list of desserts. Upon recommendation, She ordered the Baked Salmon, blanketed in cheese and oozed of butter and garlic, which she said was quite strong for her taste. It is accompanied by two little cups of Paella rice and buttered vegetables. Not for the diet-conscious! (Don't expect real Paella though!)



This is Chi and Tabs' same orders: Chicken Pastel, which contained a cream-based soup with chunks of chicken and vegetables under a biscuit-like pastry cover. If you're looking for flakiness, you'd be disappointed, but taste-wise, the topper gets a passing grade. While beside it is a dish of Tofu with Mushrooms with Japanese rice by gym buff, Choi. Healthy, but tasty!


Up at last is my favorite part of the meal: dessert. We ordered (from top, clockwise) Peach Walnut Torte, which was tasted too much of whipped cream and hardly anything else. I am not a fan. Then, there's Choco Overload, chocolate ganache is criss-crossed and allowed to trickle down "chocolate" cream filling (mousse?) in between and on top of almost-brownie chocolate cake layers. I truly enjoyed the dense cake layers, but left most of the cream, which I think would benefit from more chocolate.



Below is Banana Cream Torte. Thick, chewy, slightly crunchy meringue sandwich thick cream layers with banana slices and walnuts frosted with even more whipped cream. Subtly sweet, the whipped cream was worth eating as it complemented the other components. Lastly, the famed Mango Bravo. Here are the layers in order: mango cubes on cream frosting, thick meringue layer, more mangoes in cream, meringue, chocolate cream filling (like the Choco Overload) on a meringue base. Good, good, good... This is a revelation, a definite must-try for cake lovers everywhere!

Prices are reasonable, portions are filling and desserts are notable. And even just for the last one, I'd say Conti's is a place worth going back to. :)