The family has been eager to escape the city and find solace in an al fresco cafe after a whole year of being locked at home.   Antipolo being one of the nearest provinces outside Metro Manila was an easy choice for us and apparently, for many others too as most cafes were crowded for the weekend.  

Cafe Agusta is very spacious.  It has an air-conditioned indoor cafe area which most guests preferred. 

While the coziness and coolness of the cafe was inviting, we stuck with our preference and chose the indoor al fresco area instead.

The Bar by Cafe Agusta

The cafe overlooks Antipolo which was still full of greens. 

Food

The food took almost an hour to arrive so we were able to explore all areas and realized that the best time to dine there for the santorini al-fresco area with overlooking view would be around sunset to night time so it wouldn't be so hot.

There were a lot of unavailable items in the menu so we weren't explore as much as we hoped and ordered several of the same items. 

Salad

Insalata Agusta (325 php)

For starters, we had the Insalata Agusta.   The price was very reasonable for this good-for-sharing  bowlful of mixed fresh greens, green beans, corn kernels, tomato, cheese, grilled chicken drizzled with its homemade orange dressing.  

P.S. For those who have a bit of an OCD for cleanliness, the tableclothes in the indoor al fresco area are noticeably stained and don't seem to be replaced regularly. 

Pasta

Creamy Pesto with Grilled Chicken (350 php)

The Creamy Pesto with Grilled Chicken is a delicious plateful of cream pesto pasta with generous strips of chicken breast. 

Main

♥ Salpicao Di Manzo (460 php)

The Salpicao Di Manzo is the priciest selection in the menu and also a must try! It was served hot with fragant garlic aroma.  The beef tenderloin cubes were so tender and juicy that every bite was so pleasurable.  It is also comes with vegetables and steamed rice.

♥ Chicken Parmigiana (325 php)

The Chicken Parmigiana is our favorite amongst our orders. The light tangy homemade creamy tomato sauce together with the cheezinesss (of mozzarella and parmesan cheese) perfectly complements the crunchy breaded chicken breast.  The chicken breast was also soft and juiyc to bite and not dry or tough at all.   

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict

The food and ambiance made our trip to Cafe Agusta worth it.  But, the service could be improved more.  Honestly, the patience of my companions was really tested while dining here.  

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® (CBTL) has sprouted a new leaf with its open kitchen concept - Kitchen by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®.  The Kitchen by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® was pioneered in High Street South amidst the pandemic - October 2020, serving all-day breakfast, gourmet dishes, specialty coffee and teas and pastries for dine-in, take-out and food delivery.

Followings its success, the Kitchen by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® will be rolled out on more CBTL stores soon!  In fact, the Kitchen by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® just opened in SM Megamall B.  Can you see its minimalist signage?

We really liked the bright, clean and spacious dining atmosphere of Kitchen.

In addition, after your drink or on a separate occasion, you may opt to explore its expansive food menu that offers a wide range of dishes served hot and fresh from its open kitchen.

Food

If you've tried 26th St. Bistro by CBTL before like we did, you'd notice that your old favorites with the same generous sharing portions are offered here at a lower price point.  

Salads

California Cobb (395 php)

We had the California Cobb is a large salad plate with fresh romaine lettuce, grilled chicken breast cubes, sliced hard-boiled eggs, corn kernels, diced tomatoes, mozzarela strips, avocado cubes, almond slices and ranch dressing.

♥ Shrimp & Pomelo (395 php)

The Shrimp & Pomelo is a Vietnamese inspired salad with romaine lettuce, cilantro, mint leaves, poached shrimp, pomelo, roasted peanuts, dessicated coconut and coconut lime dressing.

Mains

♥ Steak Chimichurri (675 php)

We especially enjoyed the Steak Chimichurri with extremely tender slices of top blade steak with chimichurri served w/ chiptotle rice and fried potato basket. 

Pastas

Carbonara (365 php)

The Carbonara is the classic and homey kind of pasta you miss once in awhile.  The rich and creamy carbonara sauce is complemented by the savory bacon slices and creamy umami-rich poached egg yolk.

Sandwiches

♥ CBTL Burger (455 php)

The  CBTL Burger is worthy holder of its namesake. Biting into the tender and juicy double USDA beef patties, romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes, cheese & caramelized onions is simply heavenly!  This burger meal is a wholesome and filling one with the soft and thick oatmeal buns, double patty and french fries on the side.

Pizzas

♥ Proscuitto (595 php)

The Proscuitto is a thin crispy crusted pizza topped with the finest ingredients - proscuitto, argula, tomatoes and mozarella.  

Desserts

♥ Tostones with Vanilla Ice Cream (195 php)

The Tostones with Vanilla Ice Cream which is a double-fried thinly sliced flower-shaped bananas served with vanilla ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce was such a pleasant meal ender.  The precision in the cutting and frying process which gave each tostones a crispy coating and chewy banana filling is commendable!

Coffee & Espresso

♥ Matcha Macchiato and Caramel Macchiato (215php)

 As previously mentioned, the best part is you can enjoy your favorite CBTL along with your food.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict

Dining at Kitchen by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® reminded us of what we missed during the pandemic: 1.) premium quality and well-presented dishes (for sharing) served hot and fresh from the kitchen, 2.) bright, spacious, safe and clean ambiance, 3.) friendly and accommodating service staffs and 4.) a wide selection of drinks and dishes to mix and match.  With its reasonable price point considering the generous portion of fresh and premium quality ingredients in its dishes, good service and the cozy CBTL ambiance, we highly recommend this place!   

Tsinoy Foodies Review Rating		Kitchen by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® Menu
Ambiance	★★★★	See CBTL Facebook
Taste	★★★★
Service	★★★
Price	★★★★
♥=Favorites or Recommended

Kitchen by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® SM Megamall
Business Address	Upper Ground of Megamall B, near SM Department Store entrance facing San Miguel Avenue.
Business Hours	10am-9pm (mall hours)
Payment Options	Cash
Service Charge	10%
Budget/Person	300-800
Free WiFi	Yes
Contact
Other

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We've been oriented with the vast and rich world of specialty coffee from the time we began this blog.  For years, we've been enjoying coffee as a delicacy hopping from one cafe to another with appreciation for the convenience of simply grabbing a cup which has been especially whipped up by our local baristas.

V60 X& Y Coffee Philippine Single Origin: Cordillera Arabica

Recently, we have discovered X&Y Coffee through Lazada which offers six kinds of friendly Single Origin Coffee variants: 

3 Proudly Sourced from the Philippines

1. Cordillera Arabic

2. Cavite Robusta

3. Batangas Barako 

3 From The World: 

1. Colombia Arabica

2. Brazil Arabica

3. Vietnam Arabica

We ordered from Lazada and it arrived the next day!

 

To date, we've only opened the Cordillera Arabica since we have this house rule of opening only 2 different packs of coffee beans at a time to keep them fresh and flavorful.  

The best thing about Single Origin Coffee is that you can identify its flavor profile judging from the: (1) source - altitude, terrain & climate and (2) roasting process.  Of course, the taste and sensation can still vary depending on your selected brewing method and brewing precision which makes it quite fun and interesting.  Allow us to share our casual Tiktok video of the Cordillera Arabica through V60 brewing method.

@tsinoyfoodies

##tsinoyfoodies ##coffeebeans ##singleorigin ##cordillera ##arabica ##v60 ##v60_coffee ##coffeeaddict ##coffee ##barista ##baristalife ##cafeathome ##mycafe

♬ Cute Kitty Coffee - Cat Café Music

Can't wait to try more of X&Y Coffee products and highly recommend them too.

You can buy them -

ONLINE
Silca Coffee Co LazMall: https://www.lazada.com.ph/shop/silca-coffee-co
Silca Coffee Co Shopee Mall: https://shopee.ph/silcacoffeeco
Check us out on Instagram: @xycoffeeroasters  

OFFLINE
SM Hypermarket, SM Kultura and Unimart (more outlets coming soon!)

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As Peri-peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar opens its 45th branch in Manila Central University (MCU) Caloocan, Northern Manila peeps can now begin or continue your gastronomic adventure with Peri-Peri's famous Charcoal-grilled Chicken to match with its 8 delectable sauces and satisfying dishes.

The 183 sqm branch, which stands along EDSA near Manila Central University in Caloocan City with a distinct festive Peri-Peri theme beckons you all for a fun dining experience with its festive Portuguese ambiance coupled with its special charcoal grilled recipe.   

So come on and feel the fiesta experience with its eye-catching murals and graffiti covered walls and appreciate Peri-Peri’s way of showcasing local artists exceptional skills and talents.  You'll find that everything is well-coordinated with the Peri-Peri motif from the floors accentuated with colorful tiles of different patterns to the tables and chairs.

It also has that adds a playful color for the eyes and flavor for the taste buds.  Allow them to pique your interest as you wait for your orders.

The Peri-Peri MCU Caloocan branch opens on September 8, 2021. As a special offer, the first 45 guests on September 8 will get FREE Whole Chicken for a minimum purchase of P500 and the same for the first 20 guests from September 9 up to the 12th.

Peri-Peri also delivers when you call 7374-7374 (PERI-PERI) within Metro Manila or 0917-7747374 for Provincial locations. Customers are also encouraged to order via Facebook messenger at m.me/pericharcoalchicken or through the website www.periperichicken.ph. For exclusive offers and promos, join the Viber community https://tinyurl.com/PeriPeriViberCommunity. #OnTimeOrOnUs

With the non-stop rains and the escalation of COVID cases, we're so glad we discovered Formesa Frozen Foods where we could buy premium Taiwanese frozen foods online.  It also offers in-store shopping and pick-up in Binondo and Makati. 

As they say, the contents of your fridge tells a lot about you.  We have a one-door freezer dedicated just for Asian Frozen Foods and it is usually full!  We're really fortunate to have access to Asian frozen foods because they are usually easy to prepare (i.e. by steaming, pan-fry or boiling) and they are healthy and nutritious too.  

Abalone Salad, Shrimp Pork And Kutsay Frozen Home Made Dumplings, Taro Cake, Taiwan Black Bridge Sausage (Garlic), Grass Jelly and Frozen Baked Pineapple

Allow us to show an example of our easy to prepare lunch, all of which are Taiwanese Frozen Foods bought from FormesaFoods.Com.  

FormesaFoods.Com is easy to navigate and it comes in three languages too: English, Simplified Chinese 简体中文  and Traditional Chinese 繁体中文 .  We love how the site is updated is so you can see how many stocks of the product are available for purchase.  If you see your desired product are already sold out, don't despair because there is also a schedule above on when its new container will arrive.  

A useful function in its website to take note is the messaging icon on the lower right which allow you to anything about the ordering process and also information on how to use or cook the products.

 

So as our friend said, there a indeed a lot of good finds at Formesa Frozen Foods and our shopping cart is proof of that!  Upon checking out from its website, you will receive an email confirmation.

 

Click "View Your Order" and you will see the full delivery details too.

 

On the day of the delivery date, we received a text and viber regarding the booking of delivery.

 

Abalone Salad, Shrimp Pork And Kutsay Frozen Home Made Dumplings, Taro Cake, Taiwan Black Bridge Sausage (Garlic), Grass Jelly and Frozen Baked Pineapple

We were very impressed with the packaging of all the products.  And, they came with a printed list of our orders too.

 

Abalone Salad (310 php/500g)

The Abalone Salad turns out to be Master Yen's Calamari Salad with Abalone Flavor (顏師傅 鮑魚風味沙拉).  Yens is a popular Taiwanese seafood salad brand since 1968.   It was our first time to try it and it was really good!  It had a dominant wasabi flavor and chewy abalone-like texture complimented by the crunchy Capelin roe (a.k.a Masago). 

Grass Jelly (195 php)

The Grass Jelly is YuanLin Shimmering Black Gold since 1900 (員林食品仙草凍).  YuanLin is a Taiwanese maker of purely natural grass jelly since 1900!  It focuses on a specialized product line: Mesona and Grass Jelly from seedling to canning.  As expected, the quality is top-notch.  The Grass Jelly is refreshingly light and jiggly, you can add milk, brown sugar or ice if the sweetness is not enough for you.

 

Shrimp Pork And Kutsay Frozen Home Made Dumplings (350 php/24-pc. pack)

 

Taiwan Black Bridge Sausage (Garlic) (1,280 php/600g)

The highlight of our orders is the Taiwan Black Bridge Sausage (Garlic).  We've actually been looking for this and we're surprised to find it at Formesa Frozen Foods.  Black Bridge Sausage 黑橋牌香腸 is like the King brand of Taiwanese Sausage.  It even has its own Museum in Taiwan.  Black Bridge Sausage now has over 26 product varieties but its best seller is still its 50-year old Original Sausage.  Since we've tried that before and Formesa has several varieties available, we decided to try the Taiwan Black Bridge Sausage (Garlic) which was a good choice because we usually eat Taiwanese Sausage with leeks and garlic.

 

Taro Cake (250 php/1kg)

 

Frozen Baked Pineapple (265 php/6 pcs)

Just for fun and good luck, we also ordered the Frozen Baked Pineapple (老實旺來冰烤鳳梨).  Earnest Farms (老實農場) is a Taiwanese Brand established in 2000 which aims to make natural, organic and healthy fruit products. We're quite surprised that Formesa's pricing is even cheaper than the official shop price with this item.  The Frozen Baked Pineapple is a new snack that quickly became popular in Taiwan because its delicious and also healthy - made with 100% fresh pineapples without any preservatives. 

Overall, this is our first time to shop online for Taiwanese Frozen Foods.  We'll surely order from Formesa Frozen Foods through FormesaFoods.Com again!  Highly recommended! 

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