This one's not as "stiff" as an afternoon tea in Fairmont/Raffles Hotel, The Pen or TWG. Very comfy setting. Almost like having snacks at Grandma's!

Right across National Bookstore in Glorietta 4 Second Floor, you'd find this bakery with cute-sy decor and a shelf of yummy cupcakes. There's a wide range of cupcakes and cookies to choose from, priced at 85 pesos or so.

As soon as you make your selection and pay, you will be led inside to claim any of the comfy seats. Quilted seat covers, wooden stools, chandeliers --- so colorful and dainty!

It was a bit crowded and we were lucky to get seated. So choose an odd hour when you plan to check out the place. And yes, the cupcakes are yummy. We tried the Oreo and the Vanilla (blue) though I promised myself I'd try the carrot and chocolate cupcakes next time.

There would be next times, for sure. So much more to try!

I reserved for late lunch at 1:30pm but arrived an hour early. My apos are famished and I sort of expected there would be the lunch crowd when we arrived. Not so.

They gave us a table, shoved the menu and waited for our orders. Hungry, we went on auto-mode: Xiao long bao, mushroom and vegetable dumplings, braised beef noodle soup and pork chop with fried rice.

The xiao long bao is so-so. My elves had their 1st xiao long bao in Din Tai Fung (Shanghai) so their tastes can be a bit discerning, so to speak. Can't blame them.

We had hoped the mushroom and vegetable dumpling would "surprise" us. It did, but not in a pleasant way. Blah. Dud. Enough said.

When the order of fried rice with pork chop came, we gave it one quick look before my hungry grandson claimed it. Now, this growing boy knows his fried rice well. When I saw his bowl half eaten, I knew something's not right.

We shared a bowl of braised beef noodles and for the first time, I wanted to send this order back to the kitchen. We expected it to be piping hot. It wasn't. It was hot in the spicy sense. So the kids didn't like it either.

We left Shin Lin full. But not content. We ate because we were very hungry. If we weren't, I bet we'd send the soup and the mushroom dumplings back. Well, there's always a first time. But no second times for us here.

This place seems to cater to a younger crowd so "matured diners" like me didn't expect much. But guess what? I actually like it here!

We've tried their pasta, maki, bibimbap, tofu steak, rice toppings, desserts and milk tea shakes. All good! Especially the Roasted Milk Tea with JCC (Japanese Cheesecake Cream). Yum.

For sure, you wouldn't be coming here just for the milk tea. Lunch or snack items are reasonably priced and food quality is consistently good.

Oh, did I mention desserts are good too? Free wifi+good service. Our new fav dining place!

Tokyo Bubble Tea is near Burgos Circle at The Fort, just across Starbucks.

The first time I tried this place, their coffee machine broke down and so you know what that means. Got my coffee now but it was a lonnnng wait for that black liquid! And it wasn't even piping hot when it was served!

I could have charged the wait to the "traffic" but there was hardly any! Toast Box in Greenbelt 5 was nearly crowdless at the time I dropped in today at 4pm.

In fact I chose to dine there hoping to get quick service since there was just me and another lone diner. My Kaya toast was alright but took time to arrive. When I asked for a glass of water, I had to remind them after waiting in vain for 10-15 minutes.

I dread the service when the place is packed. But on 2nd thought, maybe I'm not going back.

About time I bring my elves to TWG Tea Salon. Sure they've done afternoon tea at The Pen but they skipped the tea there and instead enjoyed the tea buffet. Not this time.

Presented with the Menu and tea selection, my apos shamelessly proclaimed "We feel like cavemen". They can only manage to select their choice macaróns and left everything else to me.

No worries. A pot of Darjeeling and a tea set to enjoy. First time to pour tea from a pot, enjoyed with some sugar but no milk. Macaróns, muffins and other pastries. No creme brûlée. No fan of scones too.

More than anything else, I enjoyed watching them. ;-)