I know, I know. This is my nth post about cupcakes, but what can I say? Cupcakes have been pretty consistent in maintaining its status as "the" dessert to beat at the moment. I noticed how most of the home bakers who make cupcakes are based in Makati or Quezon City, which makes deliveries and pick-ups more complex as I live about an hour or two away from those places, respectively. So, when I found out the Patricia Jose of hey cupcake! was from Alabang, just within my area, I let out a big *PHEW*. While browsing through hey cupcake's Facebook page, I couldn't help but giggle as I read some of the typography photos posted on her timeline about cupcakes such as "Friends are good. Friends are better with cupcakes" and "You can't buy happiness, but you CAN buy cupcakes and that's sort of the same thing". As I looked through the photos of the cupcakes, my eyes widened when I saw variants based on chocolate bars such as Hershey's Milk Chocolate, Hershey's Cookies 'n' Cream, Reese's, Toblerone White, Nutella, Snickers and of course Red Velvet Cupcakes and Chewy Cookies.

            I was able to try the Red Velvet variant, a half-dozen dozen box to be exact. I adore the little red hearts at the tip of the icing on the cupcakes. If Snow White were a cupcake, this would be her. I did say this was a half-dozen box but there are only four in this photograph, yes? Well, there's a story behind that - I usually dorm in-campus during the weekdays and Patricia's cousin was nice enough to give me the cupcakes since we both go to the same school. Late night studying and 8 exams in one week is enough to stimulate my cravings for sweets (I think you know where I'm going with this). I wanted to save all six cupcakes until the end of the week just in time for their "photo op", but alas, not all of them made it home. Anyway, enough of the food drama!

         Cupcake frosting is beginning to make a name for itself - it's a smoother version of whipped sugar and although some may contest that this one was made too sweet, I enjoyed every bit of it! Its "partner", the cake base, complemented the richness of the frosting. Mmm. I tried hard to resist eating all of them in one sitting, but the only thought that kept me from doing just that was me publishing a food feature with no photos - one of my absolute worst nightmares. 

        Patricia started hey cupcake! as soon as she noticed how quickly it was making its way to dessert lovers' "must have" list, "After graduating from college, I observed that cupcakes had become a dessert favorite. So, I tried to come up with flavors that are unique and attractive and offered them initially on a limited scope." She wanted an appealing and catchy name to go with her cupcake line, which captures what one would say as soon they lay their eyes on their favorite cupcake coupled with a loud gasp, of course. 

        Patricia is no stranger to local bazaars. After being a part of COCINA (an event by UP Diliman), Soderno and The Village Bazaar, hey cupcake has garnered a following both from opposite ends of the Metro. This can be attributed to Patricia's burning desire to put up her own business as well as her training, "I've been into baking since my secondary school days. I really wanted to have my own pastry business and so I pursued it after graduating from college. I took up BS Hotel & Restaurant Management and attended baking classes."

Prices for all the cupcake flavors are as follows: P50/piece, P300/box of 6, P600/box of 12. Orders can be made through Facebook, email or by phone. Pick-up points are in Alabang and Las Pinas.

Facebook page

0927-2030504 / 0947-4086735

heycupcake@hotmail.com

Fridays are something I always look forward to. After a long week of school, deadlines, ward work and 4-hour lectures in between breaks, there is that sigh of relief and the utterance of "Thank goodness it's Friday!" that never fails to leave my mouth. Ending the week with a smorgasbord of food is, to me, one of the most satisfying pleasures of life and that is exactly how my Friday night went. 

Before getting down to the core of our meals, we started off with some of their appetizers. Nachos, coupled with their Skillet Queso and salsa, was enough to get our taste buds running. After the first batch of nachos was close to reaching a hollow status, it was immediately refilled before we could even ask for more. You would think that an order of these never ending nachos would be enough to make you feel stuffed, but not this hungry tummy. I would usually go for a huge burger with fries but I had a sudden craving for some fried chicken, so I ordered their Chicken Crispers, which did its name justice. One bite into a chicken crisper and I could hear myself crunch loudly as I chewed.

Chili's, Alabang Town Center

Skillet Queso

My cousins Pao & Patch

Salsa Dip

Nachos

Calamari

Chicken Crispers

My meal of the evening complete with corn and homestyle fries!

Wings Over Buffalo

Grilled Baby Back Ribs

Grilled Salmon with Garlic & Herbs

Big Mouth Burger Bites

My cousins ordered the Big Mouth Burger Bites, which is said to be one of the restaurant's best dishes. What it is is a bacon cheeseburger...miniature style. Okay, maybe they're not that small. *laughs* They are, however, tinier versions of the burgers they serve in the restaurant. Topped with bacon, cheese, sauteed onions, green onions and ranch dressing and a pierced with a stick to keep everything in position. These burger bites would be perfect for people who have a hard time eating monstrous burgers and who like to keep the sauce from dripping down their hands when biting into a really juicy burger. Although, I would go for a supersized burger and eat it with my bare hands any day! 

Chili's

Alabang Town Center

LGF, Corte de Las Palmas Expansion,

Alabang Town Center, Muntinlupa City