The Frazzled Cook: The Pancake à la Mode Takes the Cake

 The Frazzled Cook’s décor recalls a charming country cottage furnished with flea market finds. It is certainly a pleasure to dine in.

However, you’ll have to be selective about your food choices because they have a few ungainly dishes, including the paella negra, which had overdone rice and lacked the full flavor of squid ink, and the pork chop, which was a bit tough.

The sizzling squid was flavorful. The squid was cooked perfectly, and the vinaigrette and pickled mangoes provided an interesting flavor element.

The scampi pizza could satisfy a craving if you’re not looking for the smoky, wood-fired variety. It is akin to 3M Pizza, albeit more generous with its toppings of tomatoes, bell peppers and kesong puti.

The barbecued short ribs were good but still short of fantastic.

The best option for mains or pasta is the truffle pasta with Portobello mushrooms and white sauce, an almost no-fail combination, if I may say so.

The absolute standout was the pancake a la mode, which was once described by Chuvaness as the best pancake in the world.

I don’t know if I will bestow it such singular honor but I have to agree that the pancake was pretty darn special. It was crisp around the edges, more dense than fluffy, and buttery as all things evil should be. After sharing one, we ordered two more. And we’re coming back for more.

While the pancake a la mode is, hands-down, the best bet for dessert, their other desserts are also good, like the chocolate mousse that Julia ordered and the crepe cake I got to try with my dear friend Yamine during our long-overdue reunion a month ago. 

Our meal ended on an interesting note when I ordered Alamid coffee. The waiter asked me if I preferred mild or strong. I opted for the former.

I was surprised when a contraption that looked like it was smuggled out of a science lab arrived at our table. It turned out to be a siphon coffee maker, which is ideal for making a delicate cup. Click on the video above to see how my coffee was brewed using this coffee siphoning method.

Dinner with my dear Yamine. This was our first visit to The Frazzled Cook. 

Weekend lunch with my foodie family

The Frazzled Cook
78 Scout Gandia,
Brgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City
Phone (632) 374-6879

Apartment 1B: Gourmet Comfort Food

If you’ve been following my blog or Instagram account, you’ll know that comfort cooking is the quickest to my heart. Trendy, cutting edge cooking has its place but they tend to come and go. Feel-good foods are forever.

One restaurant whose menu epitomizes home cooking is Apartment 1B, which earned its repute nine years ago as a neighborhood joint offering “gourmet comfort food” in Salcedo Village, Makati. It has since opened another branch in One Rockwell.

Its exhaustive menu is filled with much-loved standards such as meatloaf, beef pie, macaroni and cheese, and grilled cheese and tomato sandwich.



Judd keeps going back for the narcotizing embrace of its mushroom-gravy-laden meatloaf while I like hopping from one classic to another, like the roasted chicken and the three-cheese lasagna.



I always shied away from the osso bucco because I thought it was overly expensive at P1500. I finally succumbed and found it to be one of the best I’ve ever tried (the best so far being the version I tasted last year at Dante’s in Florence). The fork-tender, delectable parcel of Australian veal shank sprinkled with gremolata was sitting on a bed of saffron risotto rimmed by a pool of rich, luscious sauce. I could do without the risotto but the osso bucco was a triumph for meat.



For dessert, I often opt for the spongy cakes over cheesecake but the waiter assured me that the white Toblerone cheesecake is one of their best cakes. Delivering delightful bits of white Toblerone chocolate with every bite, it was a showstopper.