Current Coffee Shop Craze in Town: Caffé Bene!

It was a long while since I last posted on my blog. I blame this on diet. For the past few weeks, my office mates and I started our own version of "The Biggest Loser". Since I've realized that Borgy and I have fleshed out a few pounds for the past few months, we decided that it's a good idea to try be in shape for a while before getting back to food-tripping. :p Even through diets and exercise, we still managed to sample one of the growing increasingly popular coffee shop in town: Caffé Bene!


Caffé Bene

Located behind the corporate facade of skyscrapers and office buildings of Makati Central Business District is the unruffled presence of Caffé Bene. Caffé Bene is a Seoul-based coffee house chain which is distinguished for its pastries and waffles, gelato, coffee and tea brews, and its Misugaru--consists of black sesame seeds, black bean, black and brown rice and barley. Unfortunately, Caffé Bene Philippines only serves the Misugaru latte.

It became apparent to me when I first entered the coffee shop why it was so popular among my Smart colleagues. Their place was very spacious with its European vintage designs. The walls are lined with books (too few!) and classic ornaments on shelves, in contrast with the minimalist interior of Starbucks coffee shops. Plus, they have a fun and quirky menu and they sell Italian gelato.

We sampled quite a few drinks from their menu but so far, only one stood out for me.

The blueberry latte has bits of blueberry in it but it was milky to a fault. Because of it being too sweet for a drink, I grew tired of it easily.

I am a sucker for "green tea"-flavored foods but not the actual green tea so I couldn't exactly give a valued opinion of their version of this drink. I can say one thing though, it tasted very herb-y and tea-ish so I guess that's a good thing? :P

Green tea and Blueberry Latte

The vanilla frappe surprised me. It was actually better than what I expected. Yes, it was excessively sweet and rightfully so. There's something in it that...makes you drink more. The taste is actually reminiscent of our favorite childhood Filipino candy, Haw Haw (that's the milk candy, not the Chinese candy flakes). So far, this is my favorite from their menu.

They also sell Bundaberg products. Bundaberg is an authentic Australian flavored drinks and brews. It is not cheap, I'm telling you. I tried the Burgundee Creaming Soda and it's new and unique to my taste but if you ask me, the price is not worth it. It tastes a very very light grape-flavored soda without the excess fizz and pop of a carbonated drink.

Bundaberg Creaming Soda and Vanilla Frappe

After trying their green tea, I decided to give their herbal tea a chance and ordered a chamomile tea. It turns out I'm not just a big fan of green tea, I'm not a big fan of herbal tea in general. :|

We also tried a slice of their Red Velvet Cake. Like the blueberry latte, it tasted more milky and buttery. I was expecting the sweet explosion of cream cheese but I was disappointed. Their cake bread was hard and even harder to finish.

Red Velvet Cake

After that disappointing red velvet cake experience, I just had to go with the next thing on their pastries that captured my curiousity: the Garlic and Cheese Honey Bread. It's this big honey-dipped bread slathered on with garlic and melted cheese. When it was served to me, it smelled heavenly. The verdict though was it was average. Yes, the bread is huge but there really is nothing special about it. The bread itself was tastless. It would've been awesome if it was absolutely drenched in cheese. Unfortunately, as what is seen in the picture, only the top part has cheese. Only the presentation made up for what it lacked in taste...or shall I say, cheese. But I actually prefer this over the red velvet cake. I'll give their other breads a chance only because they really look mouth-watering and I really want them to taste as awesome as they appear to.

Garlic and Cheese Honey Bread

Not enough cheese :(

"Bakery" corner

I have yet to taste their gelato but my boyfriend, who bought one scoop, was unimpressed. He says the texture is not "gelato" enough and still incomparable with that of Gelatissimo's.

Gelato Corner

I still have to try their coffee-based drinks. So far, I've only ever liked their Vanilla Frappe and tolerated their Garlic and Cheese Honey Bread. I'd still like to give their other frappes and waffles a chance, though. But bravo to their astonishing interior design and concept. And having it so close to the office doesn't hurt as well. ;)