When in Manila and actually just about anywhere else, believe it when your mom tells you that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. This is probably what’s at the back of their heads when they came up with Maple – offering the most sumptuous of breakfasts all-day long.
Maple is a popular high-end breakfast place that started in San Antonio Plaza, Makati City and just expanded in Shangri-la Plaza Mall recently. It is an original concept from the Pancake House Group and since Pancake House is known for, obviously, pancakes, you can be sure to find this in Maple, just made even better to satiate the premium consumers’ palate. You need to give Maple the credit for satisfying all customer whims. They aim to address all your needs not only for breakfast but for anything for that matter. And after my first visit to this all-day breakfast restaurant, I am glad to say that they have lived up to their promise of satisfaction.
Maple is a Western-style all-day breakfast place that’s open every day. I paid it a visit along with several WhenInManila foodies and when we arrived, we were seated quite promptly and offered a beverage to start off. Inside Maple, it truly exudes that sophisticated ambiance albeit not missing the feeling of comfort that breakfast dining truly deserves. I guess, this ambiance is one reason why a lot of people love breakfast and can eat it all-day.
It is a plus point for restaurants who serve fresh and unlimited bread rolls as you deem necessary, and Maple scored on that one. Add half a point for the butter that comes with the roll. The bread roll is crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and it is made a bit sweeter since it is wiped with a bit of maple syrup. Before, they use to cover the entire bread with syrup but it can get a little too sweet and sticky so they decided to just pat the top. Sometimes, you can already get full with the bread rolls while waiting for your food. And because they make almost everything from scratch, we should note that it should be done painstakingly and thus, take time.
Maple offers pretty standard items from the menu including pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, and everything else that can beam up the start of the day. Yet, they promise to use only the best and freshest of ingredients, and serve only heart portions. So, looking at the menu, you may smirk at bit due to the price but when you see the serving size and taste the food, slowly that smirk will turn into a smile.
I was a bit parched when I arrived at Maple so I started off with Country Iced Tea (PhP 105). This is Maple’s house blended iced tea and it was something I like in a cold tea. It is not too sweet and it just had a minute tea taste. If you prefer other beverages, they also have variants of coffee and brewed tea, and they have hot chocolate with marshmallows, which are all perfect day starters.
The Blueberry and Cream Cheese Pancake Tower (PhP 450) is a sin I am willing to make at the start of the day. The tower consists of six fluffy pancakes stacked together with copious spread of cream cheese in between and topped with blueberry compote. It is a battle between creaminess and fruitiness that work well together and does not overpower each other. The fluffy pancakes are soft and adding maple syrup to it is like giving it a badge of recognition that it deserves.
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Maple’s maple syrup is not just the usual syrup you have at your local fastfood joint that serves brekky til 10 AM. They have tried and tested several types of syrup to find the one that match the Pinoy’s taste buds. It’s sweet and had a thick consistency that we can compare with the familiar.
