Renzie Recommends: Banapple

Shortly after arriving from Los Angeles, my friends suggested we all get down for some coffee and cake and swap stories. Banapple had always been a favorite place of ours- since Tish (one of my friends) recommended we try the place out.

At the time I had heard about Banapple, it was already having quite a deal of good word-of-mouth. The cakes, I heard, were excellent, and so was pretty much everything else in there. The hype at the time (around August or September of last year) was such that even if it had a sole branch down Katipunan Avenue (near where all the other drinking spots, nightspots and restos are located), it's definitely worth the effort.

We come back to it everytime, at least whenever we could manage.

Banapple's name comes from their two specialty treats: The Banoffee Pie (pictured above; forget that commercialized crap they make at other bakeshops- this one's the real deal!), and their signature Apple Caramel Crumble.

This quaint little coffee shop/bakery started out in 2000, at first churning out nice little pies and cheesecakes for family and friends, but now it's gained an impressive legion of devotees- loyal patrons- who stop by for a quick take-out or to even stick around for a hearty meal and dessert.

Banapple is a rather small place- which can only accommodate about 20 sit-down customers at a time. But it does have a certain appeal- welcoming, pretty much like home- even when there's a line of people out to get some muffins, slices of pie or sandwiches to-go.

What To Have at Banapple

You know you have to leave some room for those much-raved about pies. Banapple has enough to offer you- whether you're looking for a sandwich, a pasta dish, or a rice meal.

If you feel like having something light, ClickTheCity.com recommends you try Banapple's Terrific Tuna Sandwich, or you can also go for the Awesome Blueberry Pancakes (a stack of three mean-looking flaps which are indeed, awesome!) or have the Creamy Chicken Pie- which comes with a generous side of coleslaw.

Banapple also has a selection of must-try pasta dishes: slightly heavy, but you don't exactly go to a place like this to watch the calories, right? Check out their Fettuccine Jacintha- their own version of creamy carbonara, or you can also try the Pasta Verde- which is a penne dish with their special pesto sauce. Both dishes come served with bread which they made themselves.

For dinner, you may want to try their Salpicao Rafael- essentially rib-eye beef cubes stewed in a special sauce of garlic and mushrooms, and then served with rice. For your next visit, you can try their Chicken Breast Parmigiano- tender chicken breast fillets in a parmesan-crusted breading, then smothered in a chunky tomato sauce and topped with mozzarella.

For your dessert, you can also try some of their Chocolate Chip Walnut Pie, the Cadbury Old Gold Oreo Cheesecake or another customer favorite, Banapple's own Blueberry Cheesecake. Grab a slice, and you're guaranteed to bring home an entire box home- unless some other customer beats you to it. Yes, they run out of pies sometimes- so you know it's real good.

Speaking of take-home, consider raiding their shelves for the Banana-Apple Sweet Bread, my personal favorite. Help yourselves to some of their muffins, meat pies and cookies- which is great if you want to bring some Banapple goodness into the office, take it out-of-town, or just have a ready stash of goodies at home.

In our next post, we'll talk more about the legendary Banoffee Pie.

Banapple Pies and Cheesecakes is located at 225 Katipunan Avenue, in Blue Ridge, Quezon City. They're open Monday to Sunday from 7:30am to 11:30pm. For advance orders and inquiries, give them a call at (+632) 439.2675 .

Some pictures are from ClickTheCity.com. Check out their very own review of Banapple here, and their own gallery of Banapple photos here.

Renzie Recommends is a continuing series of personal reviews on this blog, Renzie on Food, featuring restaurants, food items and other dining experiences I personally think you should try out, given a chance. For me, eating is one of the simpler pleasures we enjoy, wherever we go- and good food is definitely the the way to go.

Cheers, everyone!