Ka Tunying's Cafe: The place to be on Visayas Ave.

If you watch shows at the Kapamilya channel especially Kris TV, or regularly watch the news even at the Kapuso network, you've probably seen or heard about Ka Tunying's Cafe - that bakeshop/restaurant owned by Anthony "Tunying" Taberna, a news reporter and radio anchor of ABS-CBN. This homey place with classic and classy interiors opened last week of August but just about 7 days later, a gunman pumped bullets into the building's facade (it's a stand-alone establishment), shattering glass walls and balustrade. Fortunately, the incident happened in the wee hours of the morning when the store was closed, so nobody was hurt 
and Tunying himself was not there.

But anyway, the happy news is that this cafe offers lots of yummy stuff - smoothies, coffee, frappes, breads, pastries, and Filipino all-day breakfast. I've been here with my officemates maybe 5 times - either to eat and have coffee or just buy bread to take home. By the way, Ka Tunying's Cafe is on Visayas Ave., Diliman, Quezon City and is in my office neighborhood, that's why my co-workers and I are frequent customers.

So far, we've tried:

Creamy Baked Bangus with Rice, P225.

Tinapang Galunggong with rice, P175.

 Arroz ala Tunying, 150.  

 Pandesal Platter, P175.

Blueberry Danish, P85. 

 Strawberry Danish, P85.

 Banana muffin, P25.  

 L-R: Chocolate, strawberry and blueberry muffins, P35 each

 Agimat, P145.

 Supremo Latte, P65.

Kapinoychino, P65.

 Tunying's Blend brewed coffee, P55.

Dalandan Ginger Iced Tea, P65.

Ensayamada, P135.


Balikutcha - the sweetener they use in their drinks which they buy from Ilocos. 
I loved eating it as dessert, though. :)

Interiors

 Main dining area on the second level

Cup-shaped chairs 

 This is inside an enclosed area upstairs. Once, I saw Tunying having lunch 
here with some guests.

Balcony dining area

Stairway leading to the second level

Counter, ground floor

 Menu boards

 Part of the bread display area

 Just some of the breads available

                                     Ka Tunying's Cafe on Visayas Ave, Diliman, Quezon City

We loved just about everything, including the drinks. My friend raved about the healthy green smoothie called "Agimat" - a mixture of cucumber, ginger and kalamansi. She said the three ingredients' flavors blended perfectly well to make a refreshing, delicious drink. Even their iced tea is uniquely delicious. It has the flavor of dalandan instead of the usual lemon or kalamansi. There's also bits of black gulaman (or was it really?)  in it. Another one-of-a-kind drink here is the "Ensayamada" which is inspired by the Pinoy favorite bread "ensaymada". 

Now you may drink your bread. Hehe..

Now on to the food. I love that they serve brown rice, which is healthy and recommended for diabetics like me. I had it with tinapang galunggong with tomatoes and itlog na maalat on the side. Yummy! My friend had the Creamy Baked Bangus then, which I tasted and liked. It had cream so it could be cloying after awhile, though. Good thing it was also accompanied by itlog na maalat and with atsara too to balance flavors. Another time, I had Arroz ala Tunying which was loaded with chicken and eggs. Delicious and comforting to the tummy, especially on a rainy day. My friend had the Pandesal Platter then, which consisted of four pandesal with different fillings - Spanish sardines, fried egg, corned beef and pulled pork adobo. 

As for their bread and pastries, my top favorite is the baguette, which I make into pizza at home, while my kids love the blueberry muffins and floss bread. My officemates swear by the Danish - both the blueberry and strawberry, and the raisin bonnets. 

Oh well, there's just so many things to love here at Ka Tunying's Cafe - the food and drinks, the ambiance, even our selfies with the guy (Anthony) himself, who is very funny and accommodating - always obliging to selfie requests from customers. Pay this cafe a visit, folks, but be warned! Making a choice (among the drinks and breads) is tough. Haha! 

Happy eating!  

GT Cafe - our neighborhood's first coffee and dessert shop

Time was when we had to go to the mall if we wanted to eat in a restaurant. But these days, cafes and restaurants have mushroomed, not just in plush communities but even in middle to lower class residential areas such as ours in Manila. Well, that just goes to say how much Pinoys love to eat and now, drink coffee, too. And it's the younger ones who now drink coffee more than the oldies do - thanks to those yummy cold coffee concoctions  

Last June, my kids and I were thrilled to see the very first cafe open in our neighborhood - GT Cafe. GT stands for G. Tuazon, the street where it is.  And it wasn't long before we tried it. One Sunday night, we were there after dinner for dessert and coffee. 

We had: 

Oreo Surprise

Banana Split

Mocha frappe

L-R; Mango Shake, Mocha Frappe, Peppermint Tea

Peppermint Tea with milk

Brewed Coffee

My coffee being siphon-brewed

This was how the counter looked on our first visit

The interior of the cafe is nothing to be impressed about. It's bright and quite cheery because of the dominating yellow color but everything is simple including the Monobloc (plastic) chairs. There's a huge map of our district on the wall, which, for a minute got me engrossed finding our street. But what I was truly impressed about were the prices of the drinks that they offer here from tea to coffee, frappes and fruit shakes. They come really cheap - only half the figure in other coffee shops and restaurants. A mocha frappe, for instance, costs a mere P50.! 
A cup of Twinings tea is only P30. 
Can't have those drinks at that low prices elsewhere. 

My brewed coffee, on the other hand, was P40, while my youngest son's mango shake was P45. Considering the serving size (they use tall glasses!), not bad either.The taste was another thing - made us happy, too! Everything, though low-priced, tasted good! Their coffee is siphon-brewed - quite strong and rich in flavor - just the way I like it. In one popular Chinese restaurant near our office where I sometimes buy siphon-brewed coffee, a cup costs P90. 
But here in GT Cafe, it's a steal at only half of that price.

The desserts don't come as cheap, though. The Oreo Surprise and Banana Split were a hundred peso each order, if my memory serves me right. Anyway, since that first time in July, I've visited GT Cafe three times and their menu has expanded a little. They now have sandwiches with savory (Spam, corned beef, sausage, ham) and sweet (peanut butter and fruit jams) fillings. I really wish, though, that they'd also offer simple rice meals and pasta. 
On my latest visit together with our dependable househelp, we had:

Brewed coffee and corned beef sandwich for me, Cookie Monster frappe and sausage sandwich for my companion

Cookie Monster frappe

 The counter on my latest visit. The menu board has changed.

GT Cafe on G. Tuazon St near corner Vicente G. Cruz in Manila

But even if GT Cafe still has a simple menu, it's a big hit among students, such that it's always packed and seeing a line of waiting customers is a common sight. And it's even open 24/7. Well, GT Cafe has hit it big with its low-priced but yummy frappes, smoothies, coffee and tea. Pay this cafe a visit if you're in Manila.
Happy eating! 

Today's Word: Psalm 111:5

We often pray to God to ask for healing, protection, a job, and help in many situations but sometimes, we tend to forget to ask for His provisions, thinking what we eat is too trivial for the Lord to be concerned about. But we must not forget that it is also God who puts food on our table. I remember the story of the prophet Elijah in the book of 1 Kings. The king's wife wanted to kill him, so he escaped by running into the wilderness. There, exhausted after wandering and walking the whole day, he laid down to sleep but was awakened by an angel sent by God, telling him to eat. Near his head, Elijah found bread (it was cake in other Bible versions) and a jar of water. He ate a little then went back to sleep but the angel awakened him again and told him to eat some more so that he would have the strength to continue his journey. I so loved this story! Just like a loving parent, God loves 
us so much and cares enough to provide what He knows we all need. 
Let us ask God today to provide our daily needs and not forget 
to thank Him for all His blessings. 

God bless you.

(Thank you, Inspiration Ministries for this photo)