A Sweet Escape to Gillian Gail Desserts Buffet #lynnikaeats

If you feel down and out, tired from the usual post-Christmas feeling - wouldn't the words "buffet" and "desserts" make you feel like the joyous spirit of Christmas magically came back?

A couple of days before Christmas, my best friend Erika invited me to have lunch with her at Katipunan. I'm pretty sure she wanted to try something different and knowing her - Gillian Gail was a perfect contender since it screamed desserts. We were bummed when we found out that it wouldn't be open on the 23rd which was supposedly our lunch date out. But considering that it were the holidays, it was reasonable considering even establishments needed a couple of days off to re-energize and get on with the holiday spirit. We opted for finding somewhere else to eat, but we really wanted to eat at the said desserts buffet so we just waited until the 27th.

Gillian Gail is a quaint, cutesy (but mostly fancy-looking) restaurant nestled in the 3rd floor of the Oracle just along Katipunan. If you come from the North (where I come from), you would want to pass through the farther end of Xavierville so you can just drive by the streets of Katipunan with ease. It's really easy to find, too.

Upon entering, most of the shops in Oracle were closed which made it a really nice quiet. The staff greeted me sincerely, where Erika was already seated down in one of their plush sofa-looking chairs. The first thing that caught my eye in the desserts area were the many colorful candies and pastries. I didn't fancy the candies in this situation (don't get me wrong, I can eat a whole bag of Jellybeans) since it was accessible pretty much anywhere.

First, pastriieessss (insert heart-eyes emojis)

The first thing I tried from the pastries section were these yellow cake bars. What I liked about it was the moistness of the cake. It was also light and it being moist was already good enough for me.

Next were the red velvet cupcakes (which one of their lovely staff offered to us). I was surprised when one of the kuya staff gave it to us - since I read from another blog (I read a couple of blogs which had reviews about Gillian Gail the night before) that the cupcakes costed around 70 pesos each. I was saddened by this and instilled into my mind that the cupcakes weren't part of the buffet. I told this to Erika and she quickly shot an "Pang take out siguro yun kaya may bayad." So I'd like to confirm that THE RED VELVET CUPCAKES ARE FREE!!!! Yay!!!

(Red velvet cupcake with my unlimited cup of coffee)

The red velvet cupcake was really moist and also had layers of jam (I think) in between.

(A cupcake ferris wheel!)

Next on my to-eat list for pastries was the apple cobbler and bread pudding. Again, one of the kuya staff initiated that he heated the apple cobblers we took (he was really nice that Erika dubbed him as Kuya Rainbow) It had mango ice cream on top when he gave it back for us to devour it. It resembled a hearty apple pie and was also flavorful without sacrificing the amount of juicy apples in it. As for the bread pudding, one of the chef/owners suggested that we try it so like Kuya Rainbow - he had it heated and topped it with also mango ice cream. He insisted that it was supposedly vanilla ice cream, but they were out of stock so the mango had to do.

Next, non-pastries.

(An assortment of gummies, jellybeans and apple cobbler servings at the back)

Panna cotta were one of the items on the table that was foreign to me by taste. Only in Masterchef had I heard it often so it was kind of a coming of age moment for me. Erika described it as "pillows in your mouth" (or something like that! Basta may pillows) and told the tale of how her elder sister considered it as her favorite dessert. It indeed was a nice moment of feeling the sweet cream travel around the insides of your mouth - the sweetness not too much that you couldn't handle, and I hinted a note of vanilla in there too.

Next was the crème brûlée which was also my first time to try. Lo and behold, the nice kuya staff suggested that he torched it first for us. Just like my experience with the panna cotta, it was all the while worth it. The thin layer or caramelized sugar was just ace, more so on the creaminess hiding beneath it.

Both were, as I would say - a gastronomic event for a person who doesn't eat desserts on a daily basis.

Next was the fried palitaw which was served to us by one of the ate staff who was just as nice as the kuya staff. It had peanut butter and sesame seeds and was a good take on a classic Filipino favorite. It kills me that I haven't took pictures of the last 3 desserts. I enjoyed it so much that I had to dig in right away.

Erika had gotten the last mango cheesecake on the display so I didn't bother getting another cheesecake flavor. It wasn't your regular cheesecake since it was neatly cradled in a shot glass and the consistency of the cheesecake itself was above par.

Last on my list were the brazo de mercedes cutlets. Light and sweet - it's your typical brazo de mercedes.

We all know that too much of anything is well... too much. In this case, you wouldn't want yourself to get into a dessert comma where you haven't tried what's left to be eaten. A nacho station, siomai station and "kwek-kwek-nalang-street food-na-talaga-to" section" are also provided to aid you in your quest for a happy tummy.

Nachos were great. Cheese wasn't clumpy. Sad that I didn't try the jalapenos though.

I give Gillian Gail's siomai an A+. Siomai in general - A+. My best friend even joked, "Siomai lang talaga ang pinunta dito e." I think I was able to down at least 8 pieces.

Last review are the marshmallows which were injected with jelly. I heard their coffee was the best flavor they had but they were all out. Although the rest of the flavors were still good.

(An assortment of truffles, mallows and cookies)

Writing this review made me realize that I wasn't able to try their blueberry crepe which was made to order and their ice cream selections as well. I was so caught up with our kwentuhan sesh which made me forget about trying everything else - which goes to show that this is a very fitting place for catching up with a friend, family or even a special someone if you have. Quick segue, the price ranges are from 299 - 499 pesos. If you'd like to have rice meals, I suggest you go for the 399 and 499 meals. We just wanted the desserts so ours only costed for 299 per head.

(View of the busy Katipunan streets from Gillian Gail)

(The interiors were really nice so we had to take a picture or so)

Overall, I consider Gillian Gail Desserts Buffet as to that of a unicorn minus the "it doesn't exist" factor. Because in this case, nice things do exist. Good place, great food, an even better staff, and a humble chef/owner as well.