Where to Eat in Alabang – Brunch at Cafe Breton

Westgate Center is a lifestyle district in Alabang where a number of casual restaurants and cafes are located – one of them is Cafe Breton.

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Serving breakfast as early as 7 in the morning, Cafe Breton is a place where expats and locals come together for their gourmet crepes, exquisite coffee, and all-day breakfast.

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The contrasting wall colors, wooden furniture, and unique accent pieces add a country rustic charm that makes the cafe look timeless and inviting.

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The focal point of this cafe is the kitchen where you can watch them prepare your food right in front of your very eyes.

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True to their claim, they do have excellent coffee! Their cappuccino is rich in flavor with a smooth, velvety foam on top. I think it’s the ultimate morning pick-me-up.

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Cafe Breton’s menu has an extensive breakfast selection that includes crepes, galettes, sandwiches, desserts, coffee and many more. Price ranges between 150 to 300 PHP per dish.

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La Primavera Veggie Scramble
A creamy omelet with a medley of tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, and gruyere cheese served with buttered toast.

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Adam and Eve
A delicate crepe stuffed with soft, stewed apples topped with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and a dash of cinnamon.

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I may not be an early bird but I do love me some great brunch!

The combination of good customer service and pleasant dining experience made love Cafe Breton instantly. We’ll definitely come back here if we can.

Drink Selfie Coffee at Bean Voyage Coffee Roasters

On the corner of Pabayo and Gaerlan streets in Cagayan de Oro City, at the entrance of Marfori Compound, a new coffee shop has emerged. Bean Voyage Coffee Roasters is a concept cafe that marries the love of coffee and travel together.

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The moment we swung the door open, baristas chorused “Welcome aboard!“ with great enthusiasm as we walked right inside.

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Adorned with travel memorabilia, tour brochures, directional signage, and world clocks, this travel-themed coffee shop will surely inspire your wanderlust.

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Bean Voyage Coffee Roasters is a place for travel enthusiasts, curious souls and people from different walks of life who want to sip on their faces… literally. They are the first (and the only one as of this posting) to offer the selfie coffee experience outside the area of Luzon.

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Of course, we had to give it a go and take a selfie.

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Staring at 140 PHP, you get to have your selfies printed on top of your favorite coffee blends.

If you want to grab your first selfie coffee at Bean Voyage Coffee Roasters, here’s how it’s done:

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbeanvoyageph%2Fvideos%2F1553452298297957%2F&show_text=0&width=500

Midnight Caffeine Fix at Cafe Noriter

Cafe Noriter is a Korean coffee shop franchise based in Cebu City.

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Noriter is actually a Korean word which translates to “playground” in English.

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Aptly named, there are two-story play dens inside this unconventional cafe where customers can nestle in and enjoy coffee.

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The vibrant and colorful interior is very appealing to young people like us who want a cozy place to hang out and have a good time.

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Everyone is free to stick photos and personalized notes on the ceiling, walls, shelves and just about anywhere which add to the playful and carefree vibe that Cafe Noriter exudes.

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I find their menu rather limited in choices though. The prices are a tad steep (150~180 PHP) yet I can’t find any reason to complain. Considering the ambiance, free WiFi, friendly wait staff and terrific service, the prices are (in my mind) well-justified.

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My boyfriend and I managed to score a spot in one of their elevated play dens which gave us a wonderful bird’s eye view of the entire cafe. I secretly love people-watching. But I guess that’s not a secret anymore. 😉

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Before we actually got settled, one of the wait staff prepped our spot by vacuuming the teddy bear, fixing the clutter and making sure the deck was absolutely clean in the littlest time possible. Now that’s service!

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As we were waiting for our order, I was surprised to see my college classmates taking the spot next to us. The world is small indeed. 🙂

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Okay, finally, our orders! On the left is Caramel Frappuccino and on the right is Java Chip Frappuccino. The Caramel Frappuccino wasn’t very memorable for me (to be fair I’m not much of a caramel fan myself)… However, Java Chip is definitely a must-try.

I loved how our beverages were served in glass jars for that extra homey touch.

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For food, we tried their Ciabatta. Basicallly, it’s a grilled ham and cheese sandwich served with pickle relish and spiced mayo. It was alright. I like it.

We should have tried their Honey Bread too though. I heard a lot of people singing praises about it. Too bad we missed it. At least we have another reason to go back here when in Cebu. 🙂

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And of course, I couldn’t leave Cafe Noriter without trying their Green Tea Frappuccino. This did not disappoint! I would have ordered another serving if only my tummy allowed.

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Cafe Noriter is a place for fun, creativity and photo-ops. They have reinvented “cafe experience” for all lovers of coffee and tea like us.

If you haven’t been here yet, I highly encourage you to indulge your inner 9-year-old self and give this awesome place a try. I guarantee happiness and Instagram-worthy photos!

Cafe Noriter is located at One Acacia Place, Unit 10 &11, Archbishop Reyes Ave., Cebu City. They are open 9AM – 11PM daily. For reservations, you can call them up at +63927-364-7138.

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 13: Blugre Coffee

Brewing since 1998, Blugre Coffee is a coffee shop chain based in Davao which is known for exotic durian coffee blends. 

Why Blugre Coffee has made its way in Gensan is no surprise as one of the major franchisees is the power couple, Manny and Jinky Pacquiao. 

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Walking into the coffee shop, I was caught off guard by a strong whiff of durian aroma lingering in the air. To be blunt, the scent was a little bit off-putting because I am not particularly fond of durian… However, it was bearable. 

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While Blugre Coffee specializes coffee, they serve pastries, desserts and other hot and cold beverages as well.

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Too full for anything else, we just had some iced latte for a little afternoon pick-me-up.

And although I was never a fan of durian, I braved myself for one of their durian coffee blends: Durian Arctic Blast… Which I painfully regretted.

Well, at least I tried. Let’s face it, it’s not for everyone. I read awesome reviews about it though and is certainly a hit with all the durian lovers out there.

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Blugre Coffee is a great place for study, work, hangouts, or meetups. You don’t have to be a durian connoisseur to be here. When in Gensan, visit them at Robinsons Place or at JMP Building

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 8: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Many moons ago, I noticed that a lot of people on my Facebook newsfeed have been raving about The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL). And being a tea-o-holic that I am (an ex-coffee addict too), I don’t wanna be left behind. 

CBTL is an American coffee chain that serves only the world’s finest coffee and tea. Born in South Califoria on 1963, CBTL has grown into one of the largest coffee and tea companies in the world with over 900 outlets in 23 countries since. And yes, of course, they have free WiFi too.

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This was taken on our first CBTL experience at Abreeza. In the photo above are Ice Blended Matcha Green Tea and White Choco Dream Latte.

Both are just a dream in a cup. Really. Definitely better than Starbucks by a mile. 

And just so you know… 
Starbucks doesn’t exactly thrill me. There. I finally spilled the beans. Please don’t roast me! (puns intended)

Oh, lemme introduce to you the greatest invention since sliced bread…

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This thingamajig! I really don’t know what it’s called. If you happen to know, you have to tell me! 

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What’s so great about this thing is (more like are):
1. It eliminates those silly table number tags.
2. I don’t have to constantly fidget as I wait for my name to be called. 
3. It vibrates and lights up once your order is ready.

Doesn’t it make life a lot easier? Whoever thought of this sorcery is a freakin’ genius! 

I still don’t understand why other restaurants or fastfood chains still don’t have this brilliant piece of technology yet. I’m sure it’s not that hard and expensive to make, right? Wishful thinking.

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Having watched too many Masterchef episodes made me feel sorry for ourselves that we haven’t tried eggs benedict yet. So we really had to give it a go! This was our second CBTL experience at SM Lanang. 

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The look on his eyes explained everything. Haha! Clearly, he’s more excited than I am.

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As my boyfriend ran the knife through the egg, the yolk didn’t run into this thick velvety sauce as I saw it should in Masterchef a thousand times over.

I then pictured Gordon Ramsey in my head like this…

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While it wasn’t close to perfect (at least to Gordon’s standard), it tasted really good. And that’s all that matters. I also happen to like my eggs to be done over medium thankyouverymuch.

For all those who have been disenchanted with overrated coffee shops, I plead that you at least give Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf a chance.

They serve high-quality, great tasting coffee, tea and food. Plus, their service and ambiance is marvelous.

Their beverages cost between 100~200 pesos… Not bad right? Know more about what they serve here.

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 1: The Laguindingan International Airport Experience

WARNING: May take forever to read.

For those who don’t know yet, Lumbia Airport will eventually cease to operate for commercial flights and has transferred all of their day flights to the spanking new Laguindingan International Airport (LIA) since June 15.

Now, since our departure date and location was moved from June 18, Lumbia to June 17, LIA… One of our major challenges for this trip was how to get to the new airport without getting left behind our 6:45 AM flight (check-in time is 1 hour prior departure time).

I know what you’re thinking…

“Iligan-CDO bus trips are available 24/7. So that shouldn’t be a problem if you wake up early!” Yes that’s true. But once we make our stop at Laguindingan, then what?

“Airports always have shuttles and taxis. DUH.” Sure there are smart ass… But what if there aren’t? It doesn’t hurt to be extra cautious you know.

My boyfriend and I originally planned to take a taxi from Iligan all the way to the LIA and shell out about 1300 bucks (OUCH). But I am lucky enough to have a friend who was going to drive his way there because he also had an early morning flight to catch on the same day as ours. And so we hitched and donated 200+ for gas (imagine how much we saved!) and got to the LIA much earlier than expected. 

And thank God for woman intuition because I was right. Although there were a lot of “habal-habal” queuing along the highway, there were no taxis nor shuttles in sight. Taxis and shuttles aren’t available until when the sun’s up. So if you’re catching an early morning flight and have a huge luggage, I don’t recommend that you take the bus. Hire a taxi. That’s the only way to go if you’re commuting from Iligan. At least for now.

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This is how the airport looks like at 4AM from the parking lot. Don’t be fooled. While it looks huge from here, it’s really a lot smaller than it looks like. 

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Going in. The airport is very clean and looks aesthetically pleasing. It is a huge improvement of the Lumbia Airport. I do hope they keep this up.

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Despite arriving early, the queue was already very long. Notice how the line ends outside of the building.

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Look how SUPER CROWDED and CRAMPED it is inside! Superimposed with the troll meme face is my friend “he-who-should-not-be-named” by the way. 

Imagine, all the people in the photo above, including us, are just the early morning domestic flight passengers. I can’t imagine how more crammed it will be once the LIA accommodates international flights. But I’m pretty sure they will expand by then as there is soooo much free space around the airport (unless the funds for expansion are “pocketed” if you know what I mean).

And because it must be said, I find that the 200-peso terminal fee is quite unjustifiable since LIA has horrible service. Chaotic queues, grumpy customer service assistants, clueless airport personnel, poor air-conditioning, no ATMs, cash only transactions (I prefer to just swipe my debit card for a faster transaction thank you very much) and the list goes on… Just be ready to get upset in short. I seriously doubt if anyone working there was ready for LIA’s soft-opening. Although, I do commend them for their baggage handling service. My Mickey Mouse suitcase was properly cared for. I’ve been very particular about this especially after what NAIA did to it (read story here).

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After all that chaos and a few security checks later, we just had to sit down, relax and have our morning beverage at Seattle’s Best Coffee.

Beside Seattle’s Best Coffee is Kenny Rogers which I didn’t bother taking a photo of since it was still closed.

Also, what I didn’t bother taking a photo of was the passengers’ lounge area since all I wanted to do at that point was to find a seat for the three of us and just rest. It was a challenge to do because not only were the seats insufficient, there were a lot of inconsiderate asswipes taking the entire bench space for themselves to sleep on. JUST WOW. As if they were the only ones who didn’t manage to get a blink of sleep. LIA security personnel should tell these selfish people off! I know I should’ve complained but if I leave my seat, someone else will take it. Lucky for them I just let that slide that day but next time I definitely won’t.

Another thing I don’t like about LIA was the smoking area. Badly thought-out. Every time a smoker comes in or out of the smoking area, the lounge area just reeks of cigarette smoke. Like what’s the point then? Somebody better do something to fix that!

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Boarding for Davao (“he-who-must-not-be-named” friend not included). Surprised to see a small plane.

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Touchdown from Davao. Surprised to see a big plane.

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I still stand by my opinion about their great baggage handling service. My suitcase is still in a good condition thus makes a happy me.

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When it was time to look for a shuttle… I spotted LAX. LAX is short for Laguindingan Airport Express. Their pick-up and drop-off point is located outside Seda HotelFare is 249 per head. For contact numbers and more details read here. For people bound to CDO from the LIA, you’ll find that link very useful as it includes a list of transport services and other helpful information. 

But then we’re not bound for CDO, so we took a different shuttle (which I wasn’t able to take a photo off since we were super busy tugging our things). And to drop us off along the highway, together with other people, we were charged 25 pesos each.

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And voila, this was our stop! THANK YOU LIA for your pre-mature opening and lack of preparedness! No waiting shed, chairs, whatsoever. I DEMAND a shuttle terminal/bus stop here with an air-conditioned lounge area plus free WiFi access; and no, that is not too much to ask!

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More than an hour has passed since and we were STILL standing and waiting here for a bus to ride. Buses that passed by were either already full or there just wasn’t enough room for the both of us anymore. No luck. Obviously, my patience was running thin at this point.

But thank heavens a van driver (who did not intend to go to Iligan) drove us home along with some other people bound for Iligan. We were only charged 85 pesos each. Real good bargain that one.

If you’re bound for CDO, you barely have anything to worry about since shuttles like LAX are readily available. But if you’re bound for Iligan, it is HIGHLY recommended that to have a “sundo”, lest you want to suffer like we did.

I know this vitriolic post is getting very long already and so I have to abruptly end it as writing this has drained all of my energy. 

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With all that said, I’m just glad we came home in one piece and survived LIA!

24 & 2 Part 2: Human Heart Nature

Just a block or two away from Little Miss Funnel Cake, we spotted a Human Heart Nature branch and we just had to walk right in.

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Human Heart Nature is a chain of stores in the Philippines that sell natural and organic world-class goods at very affordable prices.

Their products are ethically-acquired and are not processed with any synthetic chemicals.

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From personal care to pet care, they got your basic and furry needs covered.

What I love about this company is that they source their raw materials and manufacture their products here in the Philippines. So if you buy their products, you are not only helping the local economy but you are supporting the local farmers as well.

Another thing that I love about Human Heart Nature is their eco-consciousness. They ensure that their products don’t become toxic once released to the environment and they have a recycling program where 100% of the proceeds go to Gawad Kalinga.

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Oh, hi there! 

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Spotted! My boyfriend slobbering over bars of chocolate…

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My boyfriend asked me if I wanted one so he could get one for me but I knew it was him who wanted one really badly. HAHA! 

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We got the dark chocolate one. I didn’t get to eat much of it though because I was having a very bad cough that day. Please don’t judge the forehead. Hehe.

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Boyfriend holding a bag of coffee. 

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Here is a closer look of it. Don’t you just love the packaging? It was really nice of them to brew us some of this coffee so we could sample it. It was really good! I recommend that you pick this up should you bump into one of their branches that carry this.

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Picked out a bottle of Sunflower Beauty Oil for myself. It’s one of their best sellers. I already tried it and it’s amazing! I use it as a make-up remover, hair serum and under eye moisturizer. Once I’ve emptied this bottle, I plan to drop it at this branch for recycling and purchase another one.

By the way, Human Heart Nature has awesome customer service. Should you be unhappy with any of their products, you can return them for a replacement, refund or credit.

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They also have other merchanise such as t-shirts, bags and more!

To know more about Human Heart Nature and their products, I suggest that you visit their website by clicking here. They’re all about the good.

Bag of Beans Coffee Shop, Restaurant and Bakery

After our lunch at Hellenic Tavern Hotel, we took a jeepney and headed straight down to Bag of Beans to find out why there’s so much rave about it…

And when we got there, just judging it by its quaint entrance, I knew I was going to love the place right off the bat.

They have a shelf chockful of excellent quality coffee beans and some delicious pastry goodies.

If you can afford to try their expensive and globally-famous Coffee Alamid, I suggest that you give it a go. I heard this unique coffee blend has a sweet and dark chocolatey taste to it and it’s the best one they have. 

My boyfriend and I decided to have our coffee at the balcony (you too can read what’s on their menu here)…

Overlooking at their beautiful lush garden below.

Get it while it’s hot 😉

Chocolate mousse for dessert. It was gooooddddd.

Clearly, my boyfriend enjoyed his mug o’ coffee very much!

I say that no Tagaytay trip is ever complete without making a stop at Bag of Beans. Its cozy and homey atmosphere is the perfect place to retreat over coffee and dessert on a chilly afternoon. Located just along Aguinaldo Highway near the Mendez intersection, I promise, you wouldn’t miss it!