Cafe Amazon

The first time I saw a Cafe Amazon was not in Thailand but in the Philippines. There is a Cafe Amazon at the PTT service stop along SCTEX. I didn't know it was a Thai brand though I knew PTT to be Thai. Fast forward to our recent trip to Thailand and the cafe, I found out, was all over the place (that's in a good way, of course). There seems to be one at every corner and at least at every PTT along the expressways.

The shop's menu include various drinks. There's something there for everyone or anyone's fancy.

Coffee, tea or choco to take home, prepare and enjoy. We picked up a few boxes for souvenirs including pasalubong for friends.

My iced chocolate drink for our long road trip to Kanchanaburi

They also have sandwiches, cakes and pastries, juice, water and other stuff to go with your drinks.

We thought that this is a company that's competitive particularly to the likes of Starbucks.

Their coffee and chocolate are good. The banana bread was also okay. We only had some drinks to go when I took these photos as we were on our way to Kanchanaburi from Bangkok. We eventually went back to a Cafe Amazon near our hotel to get our morning drinks there.

-

Publiq Coffee & Eats

We recently discovered this cafe at, of all places, the hospital. Our daughter had a viral infection that required for her to be admitted for treatment at The Medical City in Ortigas. So for 3 days we had to get our food mainly from the restaurants nearby. Fortunately, there were many choices including those at the Rockwell Business Center across from the hospital. I first went to Publiq to get some hot drinks for the wife and myself as we waited at the Children's ER for our daughter's test results late in the night. We later bought food and drinks from them after the results led to hospitalization for treatment.

Box seal for the cookies I bought as a treat and baon for our daughter

White chocolate walnut cookie

While I don't have photos of their pesto pasta nor of their cakes, pastries and pizzas, friends I told about this cafe say only good things about their food. They also have gelato or ice cream but I wasn't able to buy some for tasting. It seemed inappropriate to enjoy a stay at the hospital but at least the food from Publiq helped make our stay a bit comfortable. I would definitely buy food and drinks from Publiq and hopefully under better circumstances.

-

Early morning beverage and snack

We start the month of March with an early morning beverage and snack. I already had breakfast before I went to an official function last December.  We arrived early in the vicinity of the venue so instead of proceeding to the venue, we decided to have some coffee at a nearby enclave. The Starbucks and Jollibee branches were full of people. Fortunately, there was also a Krispy Kreme there and it seemed we were the only customers at the time. Many people probably think they only serve donuts but they also have good coffee at their shops.

One donut each to go with our coffee

A wide selection of donuts to choose from

 

The shop eventually filled with people but at least we got to enjoy our coffee and donuts before it became crowded.

-

Coffee rush, East Ridge, Binangonan, Rizal

This post is more than 3 months overdue. We went to East Ridge in Binangonan, Rizal with our "Morning Walk" group. We learned from our neighbor-friends about this place where you can have good coffee and breakfast, and with a spectacular view of Laguna de Bai. They had gone there several times after their weekend walks but we had not gone with them yet as we usually had somewhere to go or something to do after our morning walks. We finally had some time last June so we decided to head there for some breakfast and fellowship.

Coffee Rush is at East Ridge in Binangonan, not far from the Thunderbird Resort and Casino

It is popular especially among the young in what we call the 'east' (i.e., Quezon City generally being the 'north' and Alabang generally being the 'south'). They have popular artists over to play on certain evenings.

 

The main building has several levels. The morning we were there, th

Another view of the main building from the grounds

The view from Coffee Rush - hazy/smoggy Metro Manila in the distance. Angono town is in the foreground.

View of Binangonan town and the Laguna de Bai

Corned beef silog

Tapsilog

Believe it or not but it was just the second time I tried Basque burnt cheesecake. This was good and better than the first one I had many years ago.

Their sansrival is really good. It should go well as dessert or to complement your coffee.

Signature coffee

The breakfast silogs were okay. To be truthful, they were not spectacular or fabulous but were not so-so. I would say par for the course or a bit above average. The coffee is good according to my wife and our friends. The hot chocolate was good (according to me). Price-wise, there's value for money there. The ambiance is definitely there but it is already crowded. I guess that's also because it is the only place to go there for breakfasts, brunch or lunch. The other establishments open late or do not have a similar view as Coffee Rush. Parking is currently all along the roadside. That could be a problem in the future when there are other establishments that will not permit parking for their competitors across from their buildings. The place is not that accessible to public transportation so people will definitely bring their cars to get there. Will we go there again? Perhaps, but I am not in a hurry.

-

K-Pop coffee?

I went to a nearby convenience store to get some ice cream. I ended up picking up a few of these to sample the coffee with the wife who was quite amused about the variants for the hot brew and cold brew.

We have to admit that the Vanilla Latte was good even if its not heated.

Found these in the refrigerated section.

The Americano proved to be strong so I think it can substitute for 'barako' for a wake up effect.

 

I am not familiar with the members of BTS but I have heard and watched them on TV. Pretty catchy tunes and nice dance moves! Our daughter seems excited about them despite her being only seven. Our teener was more familiar with the names, which I forget easily. I assume they're the most popular group in the world now? No matter... the coffee is good!

-

Artisans Italian roast coffee

The wife usually bought her coffee from a shop at a nearby mall that had a very good selection of coffee from local and foreign sources. They're definitely cheaper than Starbucks or CBTL and it was convenient for resupplies since we went to that mall almost every other week before the lockdown. I found that their brand is at the supermarket shelves now (thanks to the latter's purchasing people) so I could get a bag or two whenever our coffee supply runs low.

Italian Roast - we usually get their Kilimanjaro and Colombia in addition to Barako

Details on the coffee brand at the back

Storage suggestions and bar code

Recommended brewing methods and contact information on the company

I will post on coffee again soon!
-

More on coffee choices at the supermarket

Last Friday, I took this photo as I was deciding on which coffee to pick-up in addition to the usual bag of Barako Batangas to replenish our supplies at home. This work-from-home scheme has led to more coffee consumption as in addition to my wife's breakfast brew, she would have coffee at least once more after lunch. At times, she will make another mug at mid-afternoon if she had a meeting.

In the photo and at the bottom shelves are coffee from Healthy You, Gourmet Farms and Tanay Hills.

I'm not sure if the bottom shelves are the most appropriate for these but I think local coffee deserves a better place on the shelves. Let the instant coffees, especially the imported ones, be on the lower shelves so local coffee can be promoted better and people encouraged to buy them.

-

Coffee choices at the supermarket

The recent trip to the supermarket allowed me to get a few photos of local coffee being sold in beans, ground or instant form. I just wanted to show that there are so many to choose from among the many brands and blends from locally grown coffee. I think we have gone a long way in as far as coffee is concerned and this is something that should be pursued and promoted with or without government help.

Among the local brands are Kickstart, Healthy You, Artisans and Bo's Coffee

There is also Blue Notes coffee nestled here among the instant coffee jars that include Nescafe, Key Coffee and UCC coffee. The latter two are Japanese brands; both having a chain of coffee shops in Japan even before the arrival of Starbucks there.

More local coffee in Silcafe (from Silang, Cavite), Cafe de Lipa (from Lipa, Batangas), and Gourmet Farms (also from Silang, Cavite but usually attributed to nearby Tagaytay, Cavite). These areas in Cavite and Batangas produce some of the best coffee in the country. Batangas, of course, is famous for its Barako blend of coffee that's perfect for morning cups. 

Not in the photos are other local coffee like those from the Cordilleras, Rizal province and Mindanao. These also grow high quality coffee in these regions/provinces. I will try to take a few photos of these brands in the next trip.

-

Vietnamese coffee at the supermarket

The wife's supply of coffee for her morning brews were running out; well at least the ground coffee that she uses for the press. We still had a couple of bags of beans from our pre-Covid cache and she didn't want to grind these for the press. She usually used these for her more complicated coffee machine, which automatically grinds the coffee beans according to her settings. I usually bought coffee at the supermarket where they have a good selection of local coffee including those from Cavite, Batangas, Mindanao and the Cordilleras. And so the next time I went to the supermarket, I was ready to pick up a couple of bags, one usually the Barako blend, when I spotted a bag that had "Viet" on it. This turned out to be Vietnamese coffee marketed under the brand of Mr Viet. We love Vietnamese coffee (I make an exception when there's Vietnamese coffee around as I usually drink chocolate or tea.) so it was a no-brainer for me to get a bag.

Mr. Viet Coffee

Details on the coffee at the back

Information on the manufacturer and country of origin

Brewing instructions

The coffee was really good and so now I get a bag every time I go for our groceries. It's good to know that they also have Vietnamese coffee available at the supermarket so we can have some variety outside of getting coffee from Starbucks or CBTL, which also have branches nearby.

-

Local coffee renaissance?

It is nice to see a lot of local coffee brands on supermarket shelves. The many choices now available means that higher quality coffee is now being produced at significant quantities. It helps, too, that the packaging has improved. I took the following photos at one of supermarkets we frequent for our groceries. This one's located in Cainta, Rizal.

Coffee from Amadeo and Silang, Cavite (don't mind the KitKat)

Coffee from the Cordillera region and Lipa, Batangas

More coffee including packs carrying a popular cafe chain brand that competes with Starbucks

We usually get local coffee whenever these are available. The wife is a 'coffeeholic' of sorts so rarely run out of good coffee (in beans or ground) at home. I am more of a chocolate guy but I do sip a cup of coffee once in a while so I know if the coffee is good. Of course, we also try to get good coffee whenever we are abroad especially if the country we are in produces good coffee (e.g., Vietnam, Indonesia).

-