Adventures of Jin & Friends

Vanilla Cupcake Bakery at Glorietta 4, 2nd Floor (in the newly renovated wing)

I shared some pictures from here on my Instagram, and people seem interested in this place so I thought I’d post about our experience there. And I just really like talking about food.

My friends and I ventured into this relatively new cupcake place and I couldn’t help taking pictures because of the ambiance. It was like stepping into dollhouse, hahah. It was pretty busy when we got there; they had only a few tables and they were already full. After a few minutes of waiting, a table cleared up for us and we got some sweets to sample.

1. Pink Vanilla Cupcake - We had to try this since they are called Vanilla Cupcake Bakery. It was very pleasant. The royal frosting had a nice consistency with just the right amount of sweetness, and the base was moist and tasty.

2. Chocolate Chip S’mores Cupcake - As much as I enjoyed this, it didn’t taste like s’mores at all, hahah. The chocolate chip base was packed with walnuts, which I didn’t expect from the name but I liked it anyway. The milk chocolate frosting was moist and delicious.

3. Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcake - Pretty basic. It was like a miniature strawberry cheesecake. Nothing too unusual, but still yummy. The strawberry sauce was good and the cheesecake was tart, which I like. I only took one bite from my friend’s cupcake so I don’t remember much of the crust. It seemed like more than the usual graham crumbs but I’m not too sure.

4. Chocolate Nutella Cupcake - Even though it’s a chocolate-based flavor like #2, I appreciated how the batter they used seemed very different. I’ll have to try the other chocolate flavors to see how much they change it up. Buttercream frosting is my least favorite kind, but I enjoyed the Nutella buttercream on this. I’m not sure if it really tastes like Nutella though. I guess I can give it another try. FOR SCIENCE

5. Strawberry Panna Cotta - They had other things apart from the cupcakes, so we decided to give one of them a try. Part of what drew me to this was the fact that they’re served in little jars, hahah. The strawberry sauce was very nice. Smooth and just the right balance of sweet and tart for me. The panna cotta was creamy and more jiggly than I’m used to, but I liked that about it.

Other cupcake flavors I want to try: Salted Caramel, Chocolate Banana, Carrot Cake, Red Velvet, Peanut Butter Cookie, Brownie Fudge

If I had one thing to complain about, it would be the wooden spoons they provide you with to eat your cupcake with. At first we thought it was a novel and earth-friendly idea, but when we actually tried eating with them they proved to be rather unpleasant. The wood felt abrasive on my lips (it left them feeling dry and a little painful) and had a strong taste of, well, wood. You know how you can taste the tongue depressant when you go to the doctor? Yeah, like that. It distracted us from the great flavors and textures of their desserts. We’re the kind of people who like to eat every bit of frosting off our utensils when we enjoy it, but those we just couldn’t do that with those awful wooden spoons.

So yeah, that aside this place is worth a try! All in all a very pleasant dessert place with a cozy ambiance and good service. Just bring your own spoon or chomp on your cupcakes without utensils like a man!

- Jin