Rowena’s Blueberry Tarts & Apple Tarts

I’ve been curious about Rowena's as some people say their buko pie is better than Colette's. Although I'm not into buko pie, I will give things a second or third chance in the hope that maybe this time it'll taste better (I'm a little hard-headed that way). I'm even less of a fan of tarts but seeing the blueberry topping glistening back at me was just too much to resist. We picked up two boxes as well as some other fruit tarts as my dessert fridge at home was aching to be filled.

On the ride back to Manila, Eric started wondering why I was so quiet in the back and took a peek in the rear view mirror. BUSTED! I was too busy checking out the merchandise.

My aversion for tarts stems from the fact that most of the ones I've tried are hard, dry and if they're not shockingly sweet, don't taste like anything at all.

Rowena's blueberry cheesecake tarts are YUMMY! The crust is firm so that you can pick them up with your fingers but soft and crumbly that it melts in your mouth. The filling is similar to New York-style cheesecakes and completed with a gooey blueberry topping. Definitely worth the inconvenience of stopping by the roadside and losing your place in the afternoon rush back to Manila.

The apple tarts were delicious too! I cheated with this one and decided to go ala mode. I was going to add caramel syrup but the ones available in the grocery were too runny for me. After dinner I nuked one tart for about a minute then topped it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The filling has a hint of cinnamon in it, just enough to tease your taste buds. I ended up heating five other tarts because people kept asking for more.

To get there, turn left from the Tagaytay Ridge leading to the Sta. Rosa exit. Keep your eyes peeled -- just when you start to think that you've lost all hope of buying your pasalubong, you'll see a small glass enclosed structure on your right (the building used to be white but now it's a bright orange). There are loads of items that can be purchased at this store, but the lady behind the counter said that it's only the tarts that are "original Rowena's" and the blueberry tarts are only available during weekends.