Cafe Shibuya

Remember my post about Red Onion Cafe?  That was the very first time I set foot in UP Town Center.  Despite all the hype about the place, I never actually found myself wandering around the Katipunan area, thus, it took me this long before I actually saw the place myself.  The dinner at Red Onion finished quite early, and since I was already there, the glutton in me was not about to pass up the chance to try another restaurant in the area.  Yup, I went for dinner #2 at Cafe Shibuya (cue the oink oink sounds!  LOL!).  For the longest time, I've been hearing raves about Cafe Shibuya and how heavenly their dessert toasts are.  Naturally, I wanted to try it out and see for myself.  And these were the orders:    

Below Zero Chocolate Frappe

Made with Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate

The moment I saw that the chocolate frappe was made with Ghirardelli milk chocolate, I knew I had to have it.  Images of cold and creamy concoction began swirling in my head, and I was almost sure that I'd reach chocolate nirvana.  Erm... apparently, this was just a dream (or a hallucination) because with just one sip, all my hopes came crashing down.  In just two words, I will sum up what it tasted like:  bland and watery.  Sheesh.  Goodbye chocolate dreams.

Karaage

Japanese style boneless fried chicken topped with grated radish and sauteed onions

Tasted fine, but nothing special.  I've had better karaages in my life.  And this one is definitely not one of them.

Truffle cream with prosicutto

Rich truffle cream accented by shiitake mushrooms and premium quality prosciutto

If you're a regular reader, then you probably already know that I cannot simply pass up anything that has the word truffle in it.  This was no exception.  And once again, disappointment.  Yes, there was a slight hint of truffle on the pasta, but tastewise, it did nothing for me.  And do you see the small sliver of meat in the middle of the dish?  Yep, that's about all the prosciutto there is.  Oh well.  On to the next!

Mango caramel dessert toast

Diced mangoes served on top of a crumbly Graham cracker crust and vanilla cream sauce.  Served with vanilla ice cream

Looks good, doesn't it?  All this time I never gave up hope that I'd get to the better part of the meal because after all, Cafe Shibuya is known for their desserts and not their entrees.  Was I right?  Well, sadly, no.  The toast wasn't as soft as I'd like, and it's basically a thick toast smothered in cream and topped with mangoes, graham cracker bits and ice cream.  Something I can definitely make on my own at home.  Sigh.

Overall, I guess you could say that I was disappointed with Cafe Shibuya.  Sure, the food was not bad, but it wasn't blow-your-socks-off amazing either.  Far cry from the raves that I've read everywhere.  Good thing I've already had a satisfying meal in Red Onion Cafe, or the night would've been a complete bummer.  2 out of 5 stars.

Cafe Shibuya is at UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City