Bean Box for the K-pop junkies

My youngest son told me about this cafe on Claro M. Recto Ave. that's becoming his favorite after-class hang-out venue with his friends. It's Bean Box -- a hip, crib-style cafe where one can eat and drink in a homey environment -- dim lights, low, wooden tables, lots of huge pillows. Last Friday, my not-so-little boy and I went there together after his classes and I quickly found out, the place could well be an enjoyable one for lovers of Korean culture. There's some Korean food on the menu, and they have several of that beautiful traditional Korean dress called "Hanbok" that anyone can wear for free for the must-have selfie and groufie. 
As for me, I immediately took a liking of the very relaxing place, where there are no chairs, only tables! Yup, everyone has to take off shoes, climb stairs and sit on the floor to eat. I bet groups of friends love it here as they get to huddle 
in a crib to chat or even study if they have to. 

Anyway, we were there for afternoon snacks and ordered:

Pasta Carbonara, P195.

This was quite good though a little too saucy for me. Well, better than dry, I guess. I would be happier with some more bacon, tho. The garlic bread? It was the bomb! 
Really good, I wished there were two.

Cheese Ramyeon, P165.
My boy's favorite! Well, it was really flavorful --a little salty, yes -- and very spicy! But I wished they served the whole egg instead of just half. Tee-hee.

Chocolate Chip Freeze, P180.
My son's choice. He loves anything chocolate!

Green Tea Latte, P155.
I absolutely loved my drink! Despite the deep green hue, there was no tinge of bitterness, and very creamy too! To top it all, it wasn't sweet! I requested to have no sugar added and that's what I got -- a delicious, tummy-soothing warm drink without the guilt! Yaay! 

Menu

In and around Bean Box

This was where my son and I were seated

Cribs

If you're at the University Belt and looking for a place for coffee, snacks and dessert, where it's relaxing and homey, Bean Box is it. Food and drinks are good, but prices are a bit steep especially for students. It's near San Sebastian College-Recoletos, foodies! 
Happy eating!

Coffee Project glams up U-Belt

I first stepped into a Coffee Project branch in August 2017, choosing it as venue for an important writing that I had to make. It was their store at South Triangle in Tomas Morato, Quezon City--a place that seemed to have come straight from the pages of my favorite fairy tale book! Flowers were everywhere I laid my eyes on and the whole store just smelled divine. It was the chicest, sassiest place I'd ever seen. 

Fast forward to November 2018. I was on my bed browsing through Zomato and getting suggestions on nearby places to visit for coffee in Manila. And there it was, Coffee Project on España Blvd. -- very, very new and just a good 10 minutes from home! Was I thrilled! I was there just a few days later, ogling and enjoying another lovely, elegant and cozy place to finish a cup of coffee while 
reading a book or chatting with a friend. 
Since my first time there, I've visited the place for three consecutive weekends and it's always difficult finding a vacant table. Coffee Project--España is always jam-packed with students who have apparently considered the coffee shop their library, staying there for several hours reading through textbooks or typing on their laptop. Oh, well! Anyway, I was there alone on first occasion, with my son's girlfriend 
on the second and with my youngest child on the third. 

Here's what we had:

Caesar Salad, P155.
Fresh, crunchy lettuce and lots of bacon bits. I thought that the croutons 
were cut a bit too big, though. Still, this is yummy and filling, too!

Carbonara, P195.
I loved this one! It was creamy and bacon-y and the sauce was perfect in consistency -- not too runny and not too thick.

Bacon and Egg in Rye Sandwich, P130.

When I saw the piece of bacon on the plate, I thought, "How nice of them to give extra bacon" but I realize as I write this that it just fell off the sandwich. Hahaha! I was chatting with my son's girlfriend as I was eating this that I hadn't paid much attention. But I do remember that the bun wasn't as soft as I would have liked and 
that I was looking for some spread for added flavor.

Fold Over Pesto Cream pastry, P65.

Just lovely with coffee. It was two thumbs up on first bite for being flaky 
and crunchy on the outside and savory with the
tangy pesto spread inside.

Red Velvet Cake, P150.

This was divine. A slice of heaven! It's moist and not cloying; the level of sweetness was just right for me. My boy loved it too! I paired it with a hot cup of latte 
and my son, with his chocolate frappe. 

Oreo Cheesecake, P160.

This was too saccharine for me but my son's girlfriend loved it. 
A sweet girl with a sweet tooth!

Chocolate Cookie Frappe, P190.

My baby (my 12-year-old) always goes for a chocolate drink at coffee shops and this earned his nod. He wanted the largest size but that's a no-no for having too much sugar.

Mocha Frappe, P165.

I'm a coffee person but wanted it cold one hot Sunday afternoon (and it was November, quite unusual indeed!) so this was my choice. I would have given it some love were it not too sweet for my taste.

Caffe Latte, P125.

Coffee Project's cup of joe is a pleasure to have anytime. It's 
bold, smooth and comforting. Just perfect!

Cappuccino, P140.
Hot, delicious and the ideal cake partner!

 Counter

Assortment of cakes, sandwiches and pastries
A lovely sight to behold! Tee-hee.

Inside Coffee Project-España

  Coffee Project at the ground floor of Vista Residences, 
G. Tolentino St. corner España Boulevard

Coffee Project stores all have beautiful, relaxing interiors but the Espana branch is tops for me. Aside from being near where I live, I believe it's bigger and lovelier than the other branches. Try visiting when you're in the University Belt (near UST but on the opposite side) and enjoy chilling out while having some coffee or tea and good food. Hope you find a seat quickly, though. If you don't, 
remember that patience is a virtue. 
Hahaha!

Beyond Coffee adds excitement to U-Belt

Manila's University Belt is teeming with surprises these days - restaurants and cafes that offer such delightful food and drinks including various coffee concoctions. Last Saturday, my foodie discovery amazed me with such creative drinks that were eye candies and possibly a gift to the taste buds. I'm talking about Beyond Coffee on P. Paredes St, Sampaloc, Manila, near the corner with Espana Blvd. It is near both UST and FEU and opened just three months ago. My eldest daughter actually discovered it on Facebook. I looked it up and seeing those colorful drinks served in curvaceous glasses got me 

so interested and wanting to go! So there I was for lunch, together 

with my eldest and youngest kids. 

And we had:  

Herbed Pork Chop a la King, P155.

Fried Chicken Barbecue, P155. 

Pesto Carbonara, P155. 

Cheesecake frappe, P135.

Cappuccino, P85.

                                                                    Sola Iced Tea, P65 

Java Chips (This wasn't our order; I snapped at it at the counter)

Our lunch

                                                                             Menu

                                                                          Counter

                                                                              Interiors

Hahaha!

The names of my kids' orders got me a little confused: Fried Chicken Barbecue and Pesto Carbonara. Obviously, Beyond Coffee wanted something new to offer, something far from the ordinary. And they succeeded, I must admit. I particularly liked the marriage of pesto and carbonara flavors in one pasta dish. It was meaty, too, with lots of cubed ham added with mushroom slices. 

This was delicious! 

I didn't really like the Fried Chicken Barbecue because I still want my chicken either fried or barbecued. My son, however, liked it so it's a plus point for this U-Belt cafe. My order was the Herbed Pork Chop which, I think, still had room for improvement. The taste was okay though a wee bit bland without the creamed sauce, but the slices  to me were too thin and the meat itself, dry. I would be a lot happier with thicker, juicy and tender porkchops. Well, the cappuccino saved the day for me 'coz it was good, only it was a little stronger that most cups of it I've had elsewhere. There's a lot of really fancy drinks here that I wanted to order and take a shot of but alas, I couldn't have a sweet drink for fear of my blood sugar shooting up. My son didn't want any of it, too, and preferred the Sola iced tea so it was just my daughter who ordered one of those yummy looking coffee drinks topped with a chocolate cookie and chocolate chips, which she loved. She cajoled me to try it, but with a stern warning to just have one sip because yes, it was a diabetic's nightmare-kind-of sweet!

And have you noticed how beautifully they serve the food and drinks using nice and one-of-a-kind plates and glasses? They make every serving "Instagrammable"!

Plus points, too, for the nice service and cozy ambiance. It was obvious that Beyond Coffee is a hit among students 'coz it was jam-packed with those uniform-wearing, backpack-carrying youths. I think, though, that their prices are a little too high, don't you think so too, considering that a slice of cake is P145-P155? A customer would well be shelling out at least P400. if he orders an entree, a fancy drink and a slice of cake for a single meal. For a student, that would be steep! Well, I guess some people don't really mind 'coz as I said, the place was packed when we were there. 

So grab some good company and enjoy the food and drinks at Beyond Coffee, guys. 

Happy eating! 

Amo Yamie Crib and Movie House: Perhaps U-belt's hippest hangout

Before 2014 became history, I was happy to discover a nice, new place for hanging out at the University Belt Area in Manila. Amo Yamie Crib and Movie House had just opened then, not even a month old, and me and my daughter hauled off ourselves there right after she saw it on Facebook. And we were happy finders that weekday afternoon. The place was cool, hip, with a totally different concept from most places we'd been to. I was in awe as we stepped inside - there were many small rooms that were like.. well, cribs - one on top of another, with groups of friends huddled in each one, sitting on the floor (you'd have to leave your shoes outside, by the way) and eating on a small, low table. How cozy each room, err, crib, looked! Perfect for a barkada hanging out after classes, chatting away the time. There was quite an extensive menu of drinks but not so much 
food - only snacks that included waffles, burger, cakes, tacos and nachos. 
No heavy meals here, no pasta, no rice and viands.
Anyway, these were our orders:

Taco 

Mini burgers with fries

Strawberry Waffle 

Cafe Latte

'Jack and Jelly'

I was impressed by everything that we had except for the waffle. My taco was soo yummy it just might be the best I've had in a long time. It was meaty, crunchy, delicious and filling. The burger was good, too, and fun to eat because of their miniature size. The waffle failed to impress me, though, because I had just eaten 
a really good one somewhere. Hehehe..

The 'cribs'

 

Entrance

Anyway, as their name says, Amo Yamie includes a movie house which is a separate unit in the same building, just a few steps away from the food and drink place. There are several rooms of different sizes. One can accommodate a couple or up to four persons while some may hold a bigger group of about 20 people. It can be rented for P500 (or was it P550?) for two hours for movie-watching, and there's already unli-popcorn for the group.
Nice, right? 

Movie room

My daughter and I had a great time eating and hanging out at Amo Yamie. The food and drinks were generally good, service was friendly and the prices, just right - pretty affordable for students. I give the highest mark to the ambiance, however, because I totally liked how homey and cozy each "crib" was and how cool it was to spend time there eating and drinking and just hanging out with friends or family.  I definitely want to bring my whole family here for some bonding time eating and watching a movie. 
Amo Yamie Crib and Movie House is at the 2nd Floor of Gordi Plaza Building on Legarda St. near the corner with C.M. Recto Ave. in Manila.