My favorite cake shop in bicol!! The staff is always nice and friendly even if our group of friends…read moretend to get loud. As for food, the usual, small serving since I'm so used to the American portions. But honestly it's not bad. My usual is the spaghetti which is pretty cheap. It's like a mix of Filipino and Italian spaghetti. Service is great!

The Naga City Starbucks is indeed one of a kind. They offer the PH Starbucks reward program for the…read morePhilippines. As most businesses in this country, they have a security guard stationed upfront who will help you park, open the door and greet when you walk in unless he or she is on their rounds. This establishment can get excessively busy as it is one of the only Starbucks in the area making indoor seating limited. Outdoor seating which is convenient (weather permitting) is also available. Regardless of the amount of patrons there, the local employees do their best to give you excellent service. On the visits when they are not as busy, some of the baristas will actually deliver food and desserts to your table as you wait for your drinks to be prepared. The pastries and food items here are exceptionally delicious this you have been warned. One of my favorites is the New York Style cheesecake to which they can add whipped cream and a flavored syrup. As for food, I would always default to the pastrami sandwich on a croissant style bread. Truly one of a kind! My wife and daughters would usually order a flatbread or French toast and whatever variation of chocolate cake desired. One of many memorable qualities of this location is that if you are unable to finish your food items, they will take your items and package it to go. Last but not least, the restrooms are always clean and PWD (People With Disabilities) accessible.

The name of our friendly, knowledgable, and enthusiastic bartender who served us last night sums up…read moreIbalon Craft Brew -- this place truly is a Gem. It is tucked in the midst of the lively, and somewhat noisier, bars and restaurants on Magsaysay Ave in Naga City, Philippines, but easy enough to find across the street from the Villa Caceres. The decor inside was that of dark and cool colors, with earthy tones weaved throughout, reminding me of a coffee house where a musician with an acoustic guitar would feel right at home. The atmosphere was definitely comfortable and quiet this weeknight, and our bartender Gem greeted us promptly and warmly as we sat at the bar, and perused the offering. Now, onto the beer. The beers that we tried were great. Visiting from the United States, I was in search of some Filipino craft brews to try in a land that has been dominated by San Miguel for over a century. Ibalon Craft Brew did not disappoint! Being a craft microbrewery, their 4-5 main offerings are brewed right on site, and I loved the graphic on the back wall explaining the step by step process. The first one I tried was the Baltog IPA. This easily stands up against many of the IPA's I've tried in the US. Reminds me of a West Coast IPA style, although I'm not 100% sure that's what they were going for, with hops leaning towards the citrus and mango tropical flavor profile. Delicious!! The others were delicious as well -- the Bandiong Pale Ale, Handiong Sili Beer, and Oriol Stout. (at P250, or $5, flight, can't be beat! The Handiong Sili (chili) beer was definitely the most interesting of the mix, and I'm glad I tried it. The level of spiciness was perfect, and refreshing in a way. I wondered how the stout would fare in this hot, humid climate of the Philippines, but it was perfect. The body was heavy or syrupy at all, and the coffee and chocolate flavors came through nicely. Gem also gave us a sample of the new Passionfruit Pale Ale they were brewing, and it was wonderful as well. She was enthusiastic about talking about their beer, and knowledgable about beers in general. There were many other guest beers available as well, and some food offering which we didn't get to try. All in all, I loved this place. I definitely want to come back.

Come to Ice Blink if you want to try a different kind of halo halo…read more No, this is not your normal halo halo. While that wonderful dessert varies from restaurant to restaurant, and from town to town, and each places claims to have the most decadent one yet, halo-halo is almost always made with crushed ice, beans of various sorts, rice crispies and flan. The Ice Blink version of Halo-halo differs from the usual in three important ways: - the ice in the dessert is shaved, not crushed. The halo-halo here is therefore much smoother dessert. - there are, as far as I can tell, no beans - grated cheese is a key ingredient. As strange as it might sound, mixing in grated cheese with the other halo-halo ingredients actually works The Ice Blink halo-halo can be ordered with and without ice cream. If you are unsure if you will like halo-halo, get the one with ice cream. Worst case scenario you get one scoop of ube ice cream and one scoop of mango ice cream on top of your halo-halo. If you do like halo-halo though, order the straight up no ice cream version for the full on treatment. Do stay away from the chocolate halo-halo though.