14 Apr Chocolates and Creams – The Wonderland of Sweets and Everything Delicious
Have you ever experienced walking into a pastry place, thinking that all you’ll do is sit down, order the sweets, eat, and then get out? Oh, you’ll probably dab into your smartphone or tablet while eating.
But what if you can walk into a sweets and pastry café and suddenly find a different world? Chocolates and Creams is such a place, though we’re not talking about wormholes or Alice in Wonderland, though it’s close.
Let’s just say, as their tagline suggests – “The Taste of Dreams” – when you walk into the place, you can imagine sitting on the beach-side or staying in a playhouse, the stuff you experienced when you were still a kid.
The Taste of Dreams
Chocolates and Creams did start from dreams. Being long-time college friends, the proprietors, Shela and Melody, started out baking cakes and pastries at home and selling them online. As their home-based business started to grow, they also began supplying cakes and pastries to a few restaurants in the city.
Eventually, family and friends began to suggest that the pair put up their own shop or café. But it would be several long months before they could find a really good location to open their café.
Finally, they found a good spot at the corner of Don Apolinar Velez and Gaerlan Streets, where the former Anon’s Lechon used to be located, in front of the Bureau of Treasury office. The café opened in February of last year, so they are now a year old.
The name Chocolates and Creams is derived from their very first attempt and experiment to bake a cake which was a chocolate and cream variety. It was actually something that they had tasted in Singapore so they tried making it when they got back and started on their home-based baking business. Because of the success of their previous home-based business, they continue to deliver cakes and pastries to customers and still supply to their long-time consignment clienteles.
Friendship is Good for Business
Ms. Melody Joy Tan
Melody Joy Tan and Shela Mae Camarinta both graduated from Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, with the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Food Technology. (We have no picture of Shela since she wasn’t present during the interview) Shela took up baking and pastry courses from a local culinary school in the city. After graduation in 2010, they both tried out working in a couple of food service companies before applying for work in Singapore in 2012. Soon enough, Melody and Shela decided that they could make better if they go home and set up their own business. This is when they started their home-based cake and pastry business.
The Taste of Dreams, Part II
As the name of the place implies, most of their cakes are of the chocolate or creamy variety. They got their food ideas during their work and travels abroad as well as browsing in different international food books and websites.
Their bestseller has always been the Sans Lava, a different sort of sans rival with a really creamy chocolate filling inside.
Sans Lava
Viewing the cakes on the menu will definitely set you salivating with names like Strawberry Divine, Chocolate Madness, and Heavenly Tiramisu, to name a few.
They still have sans rival, while they have a unique dessert called Tamago.
Tamago
It’s a sweet dessert placed inside an egg half shell, and served in a set of three. This you really need to try. It’s a unique dessert first created in Japan. Tamago is Japanese for “egg.”
For the drinks, unexpectedly, their milk and fruit tea drinks are their bestsellers. Of course, their ice cream shakes, yogurt drinks, and hot beverages are also just as good and very delightful. You need to try their Pastel Yogurt Happy Shots for something unique that is served in test tubes.
Yogurt Happy Shots
For their other menu items, the grilled cheese sandwiches are their bestsellers and can be served with a selection of bacon, mushroom, or Hungarian sausage. They also serve appetizers, pasta dishes (served with garlic bread), and entrees served with rice and fruit tea.
For their toast dishes, you really need to try their Fondue.
Fondue
Its sweet-coated toasted bread served with a chocolate dip and a caramel dip. Fondue is French for “dips.”
Ambiance and Concept
The ambiance and concept of the place is an amalgamation of a playhouse, tree house, and beach-side.
While there are still tables and chairs around, there is an area wherein you can take off your shoes or sandals and sit on the floor that has been carpeted with artificial turf. Their floor tables consist of tires and wheel rims with glass placed on top. A large inflated rubber inner wheel tube can be found in the middle.
In another area, a special playhouse (that also looks like a tree house, depending on how you look at it), designed like a castle, also allows customers to sit on the floor or the upper deck. You can still find the wheel rim and tire tables there.
Some of the wall decors and paintings were created by the local Cagayan de Oro artist, Melissa Abuga-a.
Clients and Cafe Capacity
Their clientele is actually a mix of different ages and professions, with no one single entity dominating as customers. Though they are not yet into the catering business (probable future plans), they can cater to exclusive events like birthdays. The overall price will then depend on the food items that the client selects. The whole café can fit up to 40 persons if you include the “beach” floor area and the playhouse.
Future Plans
Team About Cdo posing with proprietor – Ms. Melody Tan.
For the future, Shela and Melody would just like to maintain and improve their present location, even if they have gotten several invitations from malls to open a branch. For them, should they open another café, it would be something different, and will no longer be using the same name. Because for them, there will only be one Chocolates and Creams and only one place where the customers can have their own “taste of dreams.”
Location and Operating Hours
Chocolates and Creams is located at the corner of Don Apolinar Velez and Gaerlan Streets. They are open from 10:30 a.m. until 10:30 p.m.
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