Travel + Leisure: Your quick guide to travel in style and a slow living lifestyle.

Howdy Guys and Gals! No more diet for me, well, I guess, It’s better to exercise regularly that to deprive myself from eating good and foods loaded with enough nutrients my body needs. Ha-ha. Moving on, it was Tuesday afternoon, after I posted “No-rice diet” on my Facebook wall, Ferds pm’ed me, inviting me to a sumptuous and sweet dinner at Sweet Bella Cafewhich is located at Ground Floor, Greenbelt 5, Makati City. At first, I was hesitant because I don’t have my camera and I was on a diet but then the love for sweets/desserts won.

After several hours of waiting in the office, I walked from RCBC Plaza going to Greenbelt to have some space on my tummy for the battle I will be conquering when I reach the destination. Good thing, I did that! Why? Because there were a lot of delectable appetizers, main dishes, and desserts offered for us to taste. Oh well, without any further ado; let’s start with “My Sweet Dining Experience at Sweet Bella.”

The sweet and sophisticated ambiance greeted me as I entered the cafe. The staffs greeted me on their sweetest genuine smile. The dim light added a little drama to the cafe; it made the dinner experience more romantic and dreamy. Of course, before heading to the soft and comfortable couch, taking photos of the vicinity is a must so I just did some several clicks using my Sony Xperia Mini Pro which was quite challenging for me because of the dim light, so guys, pardon me for my low quality photos. (“ ,)

As I sat down on the cosy couch the waiter asked me what I wanted for a drink, there were two options wherein I already forgot the other one (something with watermelon), I preferred Grape Mojito. This was soooo good! The mix of real bits of grapes, lychees and with a kick of wine/liquor was heaven! I so loved this drink.

To start the feast with appetizers, three variants of Oysters landed on our table one-at-a-time. The first that we had was the Fresh Oysters | P395. It was served fresh and cold with flavourful sauce and a slice of lime. Seafood especially if it is raw should have the one-of-a-kind level of freshness wherein Sweet Bella has it!

Next in line, Baked Oyster with Champagne Sauce | P395. Oh boy, the cream cheese over these sumptuous and oysters was superb!

And the third variant of oyster served to us for an appetizer, Oyster Rockefeller | P395. Mi Favorito! Ha-ha. Well, something with cheese is loved but adding bits of bacon to add crunchiness to a certain dish was really awesome.

Last but not the least for appetizers was the Gambas Ajillo | P270. The Gambas was served together with their very own Focaccia bread which was perfect for the dish. The sauce had enough oil, enough for an easy gliding of the bread but at the same does not look messy. The shrimp was perfectly cooked which has crispiness on every bite.

Let’s move forward to the main dishes we’ve feasted on. Wagyu Ribeye Steak | P995, the juicy-luscious steak in the house. By the way, Sweet Bella Cafe, owned by Christina Santiago Rivera is related to the Melo’s Steakhouse, which serves the best Angus and Wagyu steaks in the Philippines. Ms. Christina is Melo’s daughter, so what can you expect with this steak? It is absolutely served and cooked at its finest! It is best paired with Wagyu Steak Rice which has Wagyu Beef bits (rice palang ulam na).

We’re not yet done with the steak, but Capellini Pomodore e Salsa Verde | P395 had also landed on our table. For all pasta-lovers, this is a must-try! Angel hair pasta topped with pesto sauce with sweet eggplant on the side was amazing! Truly an angel sent from the heaven for us to taste the glimpse of HEAVEN.

Right next with it was the Gamberetto Pasta | P395. Topped with shrimps with thick cream sauce, this pasta was fulfilling!

Burp. Ha-ha. I’m full already but I still need to shield some space on my tummy because the feast is not yet over. To complete the main dish lined-up, Chilean Sea Bass | P1,050 was served. Served with fresh vegetables, this fresh fish with one-of-a-kind sauce balanced our meal.

Just when I thought that the dinner has come to an end, waiter/waitress, once again, setting up the table. It was like an afternoon siesta (another break for us from easting because another batch of foods are coming) because Ms. Christina served us the best hot chocolate in town. I am a big fan of hot chocolate and Sweet Bella Cafe’s Hot Belgian Chocolatewas terrific. It tastes awesomely splendid! It was a Belgian Chocolate that heated until it was melted down. The first sip was LOVE! And since it was LOVE, I even asked the other table for the left over. Ha-Ha.

After several minutes of exchanging stories with my fellow bloggers, came the love of my life – DESSERTS! Butterfly was all-over the desserts, sweet right? Yes, Indeed!

Chocolatta | Personal (P220), 9” (P1,200). It’s Bella’s favourite! The moist chocolate cake layered with rich ganache topped with chocolate glass. This chocolate cake heaven was also voted as the “Best Dessert.”

Pearl | Personal (P295), 9” (P1,100).So girly and posh because of its colour – pink! Some would think that this is a strawberry cake, oh boy, you must not be fooled by its colour because Sweet Bella store unique with a twist on every cake they had. This cake was light and refreshing Pink Guava Mousse! Yeah, you read it right, GUAVA.

Mi Camille | Personal (P295), 9” (P1,200).This was like an ice-cream cake with Hazelnut Praline and French Biscuit on Almond Praline Crust at the bottom of the cake. Soooo Yummmmy!

I bet, you’re now drooling on these delicious foods I posted here. However, to cap “My Dining Experience at Sweet Bella,” Ms. Tina also served to us her favourite and personal creation – Strawberry Charlotte | P1700. It was a flavourful pleasure to taste something that personally made out of passion. The original creation, crunchy cashew crust layered with Chantilly cream and topped with fresh strawberries is to die for! I highly recommend this cake!

Woaaaaah! It was an awesome night where there’s no room for diet. And I am glad that right then I said yes to the invitation. It was an overwhelming night of eating and pleasures. Thank you Sweet Bella Cafe!

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Meanwhile, before I ended this post, Sweet Bella Cafe also has macarons. Colorful, Sweet and Yummy Macarons with different flavours to choose from – Lemon, Strawberry, Rose, Salted Caramel, Chocolate, Passion Fruit, White Chocolate and Coffee – for only P480 for the Box of 8, Box of 16 (P960), Round Box of 18 (P1,080), and Round Box of 30 (P1,800).