Banana bread from Kontrabaker by Bing Loyzaga

Bing Loyzaga has been baking up a storm. It turns out that the actress, who’s fantastic as a kontrabida, is a gifted baker, too. Her banana bread comes in four yummy flavors—Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate, Choc-Nut, Banana Walnut—and she promises more variants soon. It was my grandma who made me try the Double Chocolate and Choc-Nut and they were so good I couldn’t stop eating them. The loaves come in pretty red boxes, making them perfect for gift-giving, too. Follow @kontrabaker on Instagram

Boozy brownies from Brownie Bar

Here’s a treat you might want to hide from your kids. Jomel Salas and Joby Provido’s Brownie Bar offers liquor-spiked brownie slabs—Callebaut Cointreau, Don Papa Tablea, Frangelico Truffles, Cerveza Negra and Double Black. The brownies are rich, fudgy and boozy, and here’s the best part: you can make them boozier with drops of Brownie Bar’s special bitters which are made using locally sourced botanicals and high-proof alcohol. You can get just the brownies but we say go for the bitters, too. Who doesn’t need a dose of alcohol these days?

Tel. 0917-5209349; visit browniebar.pub; email [email protected]; follow @browniebarphilippines on Facebook and Instagram

Truffle cream pasta, cheesy shrimp from House of Truffle & Co.

House of Truffle & Co. has only two items on their menu and they’re both delicious: truffle cream pasta and cheesy shrimp with garlic aioli sauce. The two dishes go well together—they make for a rich and filling meal and are a hit with both adults and kids. The pasta is available in servings good for two, four or six people, while the shrimp comes in 10- or 20-piece orders. We have to warn you, though: you’ll end up craving their pasta and shrimp again and again. In fact, we just placed another order.

Tel. 0917-8365684, 0917-1050612; follow @houseoftruffleandco on Instagram

Leche Flan Sapin-Sapin Torte from Sebastian’s

“This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever made,” said Sebastian’s Ian Carandang.

That’s saying a lot, considering that he’s the sorbetero that brought us mangga’t suman ice cream, champorado ice cream topped with dilis (our forever favorite), green mango sorbet with bagoong on top, the classic leche flan torte and so many other delightful treats.

But he’s right—his leche flan sapin-sapin torte is beautiful, in colors, in texture and taste. Layers of jackfruit, ube and kutsinta ice cream on a latik cookie crust and topped with coconut cream leche flan—that latik crust is killer! And he launched it along with Sebastian’s new website, making it easy for fans of his ice cream to get their dose of his popular pints, tortes, Chilly Burgers, Dive Bars, Poppits and more. We have Butter Pecan (another forever favorite) in our freezer and we couldn’t be happier.

Visit sebastiansicecream.com

Cheesy Brioche Donuts by The Sweet Life by Ange

We can eat these donuts all day, every day. Ange de la Cruz brings together many things we love in her cheesy brioche donuts: pillowy soft bread, sugar, butter and cheese. Sink your teeth into one and enjoy that generous and decadent cheesy, custardy filling. So, so good. And if you’re ordering these, try The Sweet Life by Ange’s famous ube pan de sal, too. They’re also a huge hit.

Email order@sweetlifebyange; follow @thesweetlifebyange on Instagram

Crispy ‘kare-kare’ by Medina eatery

Neil Christian Morales Medina, 23, works as a teacher in Vietnam. “But due to COVID-19 (new coronavirus disease), I am stuck here in the Philippines, no work, no pay. But thanks to our trait of being resilient, my family and I are able to sustain our needs,” he told Lifestyle.

Neil’s family had been running a canteen beside a university in Mandaluyong for 13 years. But the eatery, which used to serve around 300 people a day, had to close temporarily because of the lockdown.

Neil and his family decided to take their business online. Because of their delicious offerings, they were soon serving customers all over Metro Manila and even reaching as far as Cainta, Antipolo and Cavite. Some of their most popular menu items are the cheese rolls, palitaw, special dinuguan, kutsinta de leche, ube cheese pan de sal bites and brownie and chocolate chip cookie overload. We can’t get enough of their crispy kare-kare and kwek-kwek.

Follow @_neilcutter on Instagram

Pecan Sticky Buns from chef Valerie Borromeo

We first spotted chef Valerie Borromeo’s pecan sticky buns on a friend’s Instagram. “Looks amazing,” we commented. And when we were told it’s even better than it looks, we knew we had to order. We were not disappointed—the pecan sticky buns are a cinnamon lover’s dream. Our mouth waters just thinking about them. They disappeared so fast that we regret ordering just one box. Tel. 0917-1883588

Ube Crinkles by Ube ni Nanay

They’re more than just crinkles, we like to think of them as a crinkle-macaron hybrid: two chunky crinkle pieces sandwiching an ube jam/cream cheese filling. Ube ni Nanay serves an assortment of ube products, of course, from ube jam to ube pan de sal and cheesecake cups.

Follow @ubeninanay on Facebook and Instagram