Where to eat in San Juan, Batangas: Cafeño

A Cafeño visit would be very easy to squeeze in the itinerary.

Walking distance from Alps bus terminal, just across Petron gasoline station. 

This summer season I seem to have put my quest for quirky, cozy, and inexpensive coffe shops to a rest. Not because of summer being hot and all, coffee is a staple for me no matter how unbearably scorching summer gets. exagg? :P It's just that these days I've been allocating the funds on beachineering, huzzah! hahaha With my recent escapade to Batangas, the land of kapeng barako, it would be a sin not to have a sip of the trademark drink though; hence, the sidetrip to Cafeño before going back to the concrete jungle.


We did not just chance upon the place. I saw it in a blog and thought that the place looked familiar even though I've been to Laiya just once, and seven long years (or so) at that, hah! Too bad, I wasn't able to salvage pictures from Friendster days. The then and now images would have been nice. But here's how the cafe looks now: 

The sign by the door says: home made ice cream :)

Know your barako...

How do you like them sweets? 

Cafeño mugs for sale

Antique sewing machines adorn tables, or rather tables were antique sewing machines so handle with care.
   

Because coffee is our fuel...

Anyways, other reviews did not clue us in on how much to shell out, but it seemed budget friendly (and if this is the cafe I've been to way way back, then it IS budget friendly) so into the itinerary you go Cafeño. ^^ And I believe the girls enjoyed that we did drop by. 

The aftermath...pardon the messy table. hahaha

We left Naambon on full tummies so we just planned on having light meals here. And, here's what we had:

Almost half of us ordered pasta of the day: Puttanesca P90

Quesadilla with Eggplant P100

Eggs Benedict (with rice) P135

Barako Float P135

Barako Condensada P85
One shot of Kapeng Barako + condensed milk = love in a cup 

Halo-Halo P150, good for sharing
What would summer be like without you, halo-halo? hehehe

Chicken Burger P120

Grilled Cheese Sandwich P85

They also have an art gallery which, by the time of our visit, was closed. We were told by staff that it houses works of local artists, and said paintings were already sold. Great for these artists, too bad none for us to see then. hehe  


I don't know when I'll be beachineering in San Juan again but I'm sure there's one place my sixth sense (coffee sense.haha) will be pulling me ~ Cafeño. Hope to see you again next summer! :)



Cafeño

9 Gen. Luna Street
Poblacion, San Juan, Batangas

budget per person: P250

Weekend Eats. Don Day Fresh Korean BBQ Restaurant

The restaurant was located on the second floor of the building in front of Budgetlane in Antipolo at Circumferential road, across the street from Seisha and Max's. 


Well, hello there Antips, we meet again! Heh I have made it a quest to try out different restos at least every sweldo weekend. I'm just so happy that my friends have the same interest - food trip! And this time our palates are craving something Korean. (Well, I kind of influenced them into craving something Korean.kkk) 

There are a lot of choices in Makati and Ortigas area. However, it's a weekend and I make it a point to shun Ortigas Ave or C5 since traffic is terrible no matter what day it is. Such. A. Horror. Story. (I know, it took you longer to read that.kkk mianheyo) The savior: Mareng Google who pointed us to the right direction that is LA, Lower Antipolo?hahaha Antipolo City is just less than half an hour away. Don Day Korean Restaurant is the one nearest my place, so Don Day it is. 


Don Day offers buffet lunch and dinner. The price though, is really not that buffet-ish.Hahaha I mean, starting at P239, this is a deal you should grab, right? 

Their price list. Posted by the (mini) buffet.

So after the Cell Group sesh at church, I made yaya my friends to have dinner in Antipolo. An easy feat, I must say, since it's just near Seisha in circumferential road. It's a coffee shop we used to frequent. Hence, finding Don Day is easy peasy. We left Cainta at past 6 pm and we were already at Antips at around 7. We still had 3 hours or so to enjoy our Korean dinner. So without further delay, tada... The food...

The rate posted above was actually still slashed for their 2nd year anniversary.
We had the Regular buffet + unlimited samgyeopsal (pork belly) which was originally for P335 but we just paid P299 each. The staff is unsure though when asked how long this promo will last. 
As of our time of visit - February 1, prices were:


Regular buffet                               P199
(lunch only)

Regular buffet + unlimited pork     P299
Regular buffet + Pork (5 plates)     P399
Beef (5 plates; combination)
Shabu Shabu                                 P399
Regular buffet + Shabu Shabu        P447

This was how round one looked.hehe Yeah, the plate looked bare. I didn't want to cram everything since I could just go back. We're having a buffet, and you know there's some reminder/tip about not eating too much before sleeping, right? Might as well do some leg workout by going to the buffet table for ... times :-P So what were in it? Banchan: pajeon, kimchi pajeon, baby potatoes, gimbap, tamagoyaki (egg rolls), and chicharon (because who passes up on chicharon?haha) Spicy fried chicken, jeyyuk bokkeum, bulgogi. 

Unli Samgyeopsal, yay! That's Meann's plate at the corner. They also had japchae but I passed on that. I'm not a fan of the sweet potato noodles. 

Others that I didn't try were mandu (dumplings), spring rolls, sisig (by the looks of it, it was definitely sisig but I'm also not sure if they have a version of that in Korea. I might need to ask my students to confirm.kkk) and the other leafy banchan. There were also two kinds of soup, egg and kimchi chigae according to my friend who did try them. 

 

Fresh fruits for dessert. They also had Bingrrae ice cream, frozen yogurt, and popcicles which were priced cheaper than other Korean restos I've tried.hehe Above: Frozen themed strawberry yogurt P60, and coffee flavored ice cream P30.

Flashing the "V" sign while munching on something.kkk Annyeong Haseyo! :) 

Ahh...mashitaa ^^ There were no more pictures of the succeeding rounds. I just had two. And after the ice cream round, I was done. I don't usually go to buffet restaurants because  feel like I can't get the value of my money. But then again, P330 for a filling dinner plus ice cream is not bad. So, where will our hungry tummies and happy feet take us next?.. Did anyone say Marikina? :) 



Don Day Fresh Korean BBQ
Cicumferential Rd.
11 am - 2 pm; Lunch
5 pm - 10 pm; Dinner