Located on the mezzanine floor of the V Hotel, this is a basic, no-frills coffee shop that serves…read moreFilipino and Western dishes. It's a clean, comfortable, relaxing place for a meal with an attentive and friendly staff. I was here for breakfast and had the three-egg omelette with garlic rice and a side of hash browns. The food was well-prepared, nicely presented, and tasty. The cheese in the omelette wasn't real cheese. It was something like Kraft white American slices, but honestly, who doesn't like that when it's melted on stuff. The garlic rice was light, fluffy, and had good flavor. I wasn't expecting quite so many of the hush puppy, hash brown, tater tot thingies but they were fresh, hot, delicious, and served with a creamy white dressing loaded with fresh minced garlic. The brewed coffee was very good too. I even had a second cup.

Hidden among the many hostels and cheap lodging houses in Malate, Manila is this gem full of…read moreflavorful food and the best tanglad iced tea in town: EAT Café. Honestly, the first time I ate here was because of the free breakfast coupon from V Hotel. Well, the breakfast was...errr yeah Filipino breakfast. Nothing to rave about the breakfast food, BUT....the pasta is actually good!!! After welcoming the Pope last January 2015, my adventure/travel buddy and I decided to rest and eat. We knew EAT Café was a perfect spot to rest, with wide screen television sets and a comfy sofa. So, we hurriedly went to the restaurant, ordered food and got to catch the local news on the Pope's arrival. While waiting for the food, a cute little creature popped out. She was Cookie, a Silky Terrier, and the chef's pet. She would run around, wagging his tail, and waiting to be petted. Before the food came out, we were just having fun with the dog. The food came out and we were surprised how thick the pumpkin soup was. Our favorite though was the pasta. The serving was more than one, especially the many chunks of grilled chicken with the creamy pesto sauce. The meatballs were big. It may be a little dry but boy, it was big. For desserts, I would personally suggest you to get the strawberry cheesecake. The tartness of strawberries mixes well with the cream cheese and the base. The food is best paired with tanglad iced tea. The drink is so good, I actually mentioned it twice here! Just try it! If you happen to pass by Malate, just visit EAT Café. For sure, Cookie will be waiting for you, and the great food. Happy eating!

It's really good but not enough seats. I was hesitant going there but now I'm glad I went thereread more

Cha Time serves a decent milk tea, but these days, who doesn't? I honestly go there more because I…read morecan get an order of their Parmesan fries! Their serving portion is not enough for me, especially since it's so good that people always end up getting from my share. Please. Order. Your. Own. Parmesan. Fries. Other than that, the Pioneer branch's second floor is pretty cute. They have nice, comfy couches and wifi. My milk tea of choice from them is the signature Roasted Milk Tea because it gets the basics done, really flavorfully. Their fruit slushes are okay, I've had the mango once. I've had a sip of the jelly drinks and it's fun to drink, though I don't usually have a craving for that kind of thing.

Lucca's Nutella Snail…read more This was still pretty in tact given that it's been hours post-bake. They're Choco Chunk Cookie was good too. I would've grabbed a couple more of that if I weren't going to grub some more haha. They have their bake goods/pastries on sale, 30%-off after 9pm. Located across the ice skating rink, near the IMAX theatre. 3.5 stars for now. Will probably increase if I've gone earlier during the day, when everything is freshly baked. Can't wait to try their other pastries and cakes next time.

Reasons to love the Philippines? Merienda! This bakery/cafe is a nice spot for a lazy afternoon…read morechitchat. A bit dim inside with bad acoustics but everything is forgivable when you try their desserts and pastries. I love, love their 5-layer chocolate cake. Unbeatably decadent with moist cake and a nice velvety not fudgey milk chocolate frosting that even kids and adult would love. Very old fashioned like the ones you'd have as a child. It's a sure hit at any party- so big it can feed about 15!

I have a friend and she likes green tea. She likes to have green tea in the morning, green tea cake…read morefor dessert, green tea latte as her coffee and green tea biscuits for a snack. I am not obsessed with green tea as much as her. But I like to appreciate green tea every now and then, especially the good kind. Kozui is a coffee shop that apparently specializes in green tea products. But when I'm here, I always go for their Black Sesame frappucino-like drink. While I haven't quiet tried to sample their food items, I did try most of their dessert line-up, including their mocha balls, green tea ice cream and tiramisu. It's said that Kozui is owned by the same team from one of my favorite milk tea places located in San Juan called Tea Tap. So only if they're able to bring to Kozui my favorite Rose Milk Tea from Tea Tap, they will definitely find themselves one more loyal customer.

Kozui is definitely a matcha heaven for me. I fell in love with their teas that are stored in…read morecanisters especially the Jasmine Green Tea and their Geinmacha Tea and guess what? They're so affordable compared to other tea places. They sell their tea for around 150 to less than 200 compared to the others that sell it for at least 500 pesos per canister of the same size. The place is nice for quiet intimate conversations, studying or even writing your next novel. The music isn't too loud so that you could focus on whatever it is that you're working on. I just wish that they could expand their space in their next branch and hopefully, somewhere in Pasig. I've yet to try their green tea ice cream and their food selection which I heard were really really good. I also wanna hoard their other flavors as I've only tried two of them so far.

Like most bubble tea houses, they've got various types of tea in their menu. There's your usual…read moremilk and fruit tea, yogurt, brewed, they even have latte and some food. Not to mention the low prices, ranging from Php 50 to Php 100 tops! Pretty common these days too, of course. What I love about Tea Life though is their line of choco milk tea. I found myself trying to decide what to get; they have around 10 variants. Of course I couldn't order hazelnut and almond 'cause uhhh allergies. In the end we ordered Whey Muscle Milk and Peppermint. The former reminded me of the choco malt shake I got from the neighboring milkshake hub, but the Peppermint one. Oooh. My friends have always opposed the marriage between chocolate and mint, claiming it tastes like Colgate or whatever. So it took me by surprised when they commented that they found it decent. It is something! And I agree, the peppermint one only cost me Php 100, and it's worth every cent.

Despite its name, at Tea Life the milk tea actually seems secondary. The place does more business…read moreas an Internet cafe that, like most of its ilk, focuses on online gaming. The internet speed here is actually not bad, making it a real option when I need to go online without a computer handy. The equipment seems to be taken care of pretty well, as I have yet to transfer to another unit because of unsatisfactory performance. Given the gaming nature of the business, the crowd tends to be young and enthusiastic. That does translate to noise, though, with shouting, cheering and jeering all typical. At times, epithets fly fast and furious, so this isn't the best place to let a kid surf. Milk tea aside, some food items are also available. The staff are generally pleasant, and will leave you alone after the initial setup so you can do whatever you came there to do.

I instantly fell in love with their cold horlicks drink when my friend introduced it to me. It's…read morelike eating a cereal with some undissolved malt powder in a cuppa chocolate. It's something new and underrated in my opinion. It reminds me of my mornings back when I was young. I love eating powdered milk or even chocolate and dissolving it in my mouth. I love going here to study when I have spare time. Too bad the branch at Robinsons Ermita shut down but thank God there's still another branch in Makati and The Fort that I go to whenever I miss it. I also love the ambiance it gives which is like living in a super duper clean and neat barn in the US. The interior is also the type that I would love to have in my room or even the whole house. I also wanna grab the bike on their display and stroll around the metro.

I first got to taste Toast Box in Malaysia, and I remember that I liked the iced coffee a lot. This…read moreis the same reason why I was so excited when I found out that Toast Box was coming to the Philippines! This restaurant is great for breakfast or brunch, because they serve Malaysian/Singaporean classics like toast, Milo dinosaur, Horlicks dinosaur, and more. They also serve other food like Laksa, Hainanese Chicken, Kway Teow, and more. Price range is a but higher. A complete meal with a drink will set you back about 300-500 pesos. Their iced coffee is priced at 110 for something equivalent to a Starbucks Grande. The ambience is nice and airy, but on really hot days it seems like their air-conditioning can't keep up. They keep the place clean, especially the bathroom, which is a plus.

On my seemingly endless conquest of Metro Manila coffeeshops, I blindly followed my friend to this…read morecoffeeshop in San Juan the day before our exam week starts. I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. Located above the Rustan's Supermarket on P. Guevarra, the café is quiet compared to the busy street below and gets tons of natural light from the building's all-glass facade. Great plus for me as it made the place have a very airy feel which went great with the painted concrete floors and industrial seating. The coffee was great too! I got their cold-brew coffee and it was a solid cup of cold-brew. Nothing out of the ordinary but it wasn't offensive. The price was great though! At least 30 pesos less than a comparable brew from one of the third wave stalwarts. They also have a lot of differently sourced beans to choose from, with even a Filipino Benguet option! So even though it might not have same pretentious or hipster vibes that we have come to expect from many of the other third wave purveyors here in Manila, I love how laidback this place is. You can definitely get a lot done here. Cash only!! There are ATMs downstairs though if you're in a pickle.

Backyard Coffee is a treat for coffee lovers like me. They offer single origin coffee beans and I…read morelove them! After eating out with my friends, we tried different drinks that they offer. My friends ordered Iced Mocha, Iced Black, Cold Brew, Strawberry Frappe and Ube cake. As for me and my posh friend, I ordered Sumatra while he ordered Civet coffee. Love the beans that they are using even for their regular coffee drinks. But let me describe my order. I love Sumatra because it is not that bold and not that bitter. It's a little sweet, a bit acidic and fruity in flavor. So if you are in San Juan area and looking for a different cafe or different drink of coffee, checkout Backyard Coffee and try their single origin coffee beans.

First time to eat at Kopi Roti, first time to eat Kaya Toast, and I regret doing so. I dislike coco…read morejam, and it is only after taking my first bite that I realized my mistake. I should have asked! Ah well, I was hungry and I didn't want to waste anything, so I forced myself to finish my kaya toast with cheese and egg. The cheese seemed non-existent, while the egg was dry and bland. I did, however, enjoy the siomai (so siksik) with chili toyomansi and the Ruby iced tea. When I saw the "iced tea," I was disappointed because it had so much ice! The drink is actually more like a slushie instead of the usual "liquified" form. I warmed up to this drink as I carried on with my meal.

I've tasted coffee buns in some bread shops, and hands down, Kopi Roti's is still the best coffee…read morebun I've tried. Though yes, it's more expensive than the coffee buns I buy in bakeries. It's a soft bun with some crispiness on the edges, with a mild coffee flavor, and a sweet filling inside. It's delicious maybe also because it's served fresh and hot when you order it. And also because Kopi Roti comes from Singapore, home of the kopi tiams (their local term for coffee shop) where they serve this delightful bun. I'm not really a coffee drinker but I had to try it with the coffee because it is, after all, a coffee bun. And they have a value meal for it too. It's a good thing that the coffee is sweet - it turns out that this is how Singaporeans prepare it. Kopi Roti has other interesting items on the menu like choco milk toast, kaya puff (looks like cream puff), and coffee jelly. But it's always the kopi bun that I order.