But First, Coffee - Ateneo Ave. Naga City

After more than a year after its opening, I finally tried But First, Coffee - Ateneo Ave Naga. My friends have been raving about their Spanish and Vietnamese Latte since then. I just love small cafes not only because it gives you a homey space but you can actually smell the aroma of the coffee in every cup that they prepare. 

Let’s go straight to the point, their coffee is SO GOOD but at a VERY AFFORDABLE price point, perfect for people who are always on the go and especially students who are mindful of their budget. 

Varieties:

 Drip Based starts at P55

 Espresso Based starts at P100

 Matcha Based starts at P100

They also sell pastries 

From L-R: Spanish Latte in 500ml Reusable Bottle, Matcha (Hot) & Auro Series -

And some limited series like aas of writing, The Auro Series - the Auro Choco Butterscotch has a unique chocolatey flavor that I haven’t tasted in other cafes before. 

Loved the Spanish Latte, as it was not too sweet. 

The Vietnamese Coffee is someone for those who need a little extra caffeine boost. 

The Matcha oooh matcha, that earthy feeling for the Matcha lovers will definitely dig this, I tried the Hot version, and as for someone who drinks Matcha based drinks on an occasional basis? This I liked! 

SIZES: 12oz for hot, 16oz for iced and 1 Liter for Bottled Coffee, they also have a 500ml which you can use next time you visit them with a discount yey!

And guess what they OPEN at 8AM! Morning coffee people, rejoice! 

But First Coffee is actually easy to find just go straight to Ateneo Avenue and turn right in Mother Francisca’s Street and they are at Melrose Place on the right. Do try the Coffee by Bottle, it’s perfect for the office and groups. If you will have it delivered, just request for ICE and it’s good for sharing. 

But First, Coffee - Ateneo Ave Naga

Mother Francisca St. Ateneo Ave, Bagumbayan, Naga City

Store hours: 8AM-9:30PM (Mon-Thurs), 8AM-11:30PM (Fri-Sat), 12NN-7:30PM (Sun)

Delivery: In House Delivery just messaged them via Fb Messenger m.me/butfirstcoffeeateneoavenaga

via Foodpanda and Grab Food

#NCDfoodtrip #nagacitydeck

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Cafes in Naga: Single Ancestry

Naga City - We thought we already know everything about coffee, but we don't. Single Ancestry enjoins all coffee lovers with the sole purpose of elevating the coffee and café standards in Naga. Coffee is a serious business in our city and our homegrown brands outnumber the internationally or nationally franchised coffee shops. For me, we Naguenos know how to somehow patronize what is really our own. It's actually interesting to find out why Naguenos love cafes and being in the academe, a research / study is always the best answer to that. Perhaps for the time being I would just like to explore more about our mushrooming cafes around the city and deal with research later on haha. So little time (with a full time day job) for so many coffee shops.

Single Ancestry is located at the newest Petron Complex along Magsaysay Avenue together with other brands like AJL Chicken Bacolod, Coldshack, San Mig Cafe Avenue, Air Space Restaurant and a pharmacy to date. This cafe celebrates the origin of coffee and any other products they serve with stories significant to the contribution of the growing local economy.
 

Wall art may be old but it was last year when restaurants especially cafes brought in the concept of calligraphy and doodle in stores. The concept is that, from time to time, art works will vary and will somehow give an entire new look and feel for customers. Even menu boards became "changeable", doing away with the usual signboard that lasts for a few years. Just to name a few, Que Pasa Naga and Don Rodolfo's Cafe has showcased local artists and their love for art. It is with much pride that we value the talents of our fellow Nagueños and Bicolanos too.

Talking about wall art, Single Ancestry is also a haven of wall art. Three local talents brushed their way in completing the walls of Single Ancestry, Yvette, Harley and another artist (sorry I forgot the name =( )

Wall Art by Yvette Ducut. Photo from Single Ancestry FB

The whole place is relatively spacious with a high ceiling. Semi-industrial type interior with light bulbs complementing the wall art gives an open and free feeling to customers. Bricked-wall up until the eye level on the sides and wall art above the head level. Chairs are a bit heavy because it's made of water pipes painted in black and hard wood.

The walls are probably complete with art already. The time I took this, there was still a white wall.

They also have a stack of goodies for sale near the door.

Let's lay down the food and drinks on the table, but please don't expect too much, I have only tried a few of their drinks and food. The top of my list is the STARBURST Tea. For me, it's the BEST TEA in the city. I'm not exaggerating but it really is. 

Photo below is the starburst. Just by opening the container, the aromatic smell can fill the space at a certain distance. The smell is not too strong, but it tickles your senses, it's fruity and flowery but it's tea that you won't get in a bag. Just by looking again at this photo, I can still smell how good it is. 

Starburst comes in hot or cold. 

Everything is proportioned well from the water to the tea to achieve its optimum taste. 

Coffee is their specialty. Many says that the best coffee should not have any artificial sugar in it. Quality coffee from quality baristas who has already earned so much prestige and training from their past experiences. 

They have a good Matcha too. 

Art on your coffee here in Single Ancestry is ordinarily exquisite. When exquisite latte art becomes ordinary, it only means one thing, the baristas are really good at it. 

They also serve cakes and pastries, pasta and a whole lot of other dishes which I've been seeing on their Facebook page. I heard they serve good nachos too. I was not really satisfied with the pasta that we ordered (photo below), I hope the other pastas are. 

Beer in a cafe. Yes, beer! But not your ordinary kind of beer. Single Ancestry offers the Nipa Brew to us Naguenos which is an all natural and locally manufactured craft beer in the Philippines. From When In Manila, "Beers are brewed by a team of young, innovative, and passionate individuals with background in biology, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering, among other facets of science that are necessary to achieve the perfect beer formula, from creating an unadulterated recipe to coming up with attractive packaging." True to Nipa Brew's expertise and passion, it's one of the BEST beers I have ever tasted. Though any craft product will require a little extra from our pockets, this is one good product for the road. As the beer runs down through your throat, you'll know why it is priced the way it is. Together with Bicol Bloggers, we were able to try the Tropic Haze, which I learned that it is the flagship beer of Nipa Brew. If my memory serves me right, one bottle is around P250 give or take. Craft beer's shelf life is shorter than the usual commercialized beer, basically because it's all natural and that is pretty much understandable. 

My review is obviously limited, but I loved the Starburst, the Matcha and the craft beer. Hope this helps as a birds eye view for your next cafe destination when you're in Naga. If you have tasted any of their offerings, please share to us your recommendations too on the comments below. 

More power Single Ancestry! Dios Mabalos!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/singleancestry/

Petron, Magsaysay Avenue, Naga City

Multi Cuisine

Serves Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Email: singleancestry@gmail.com

Instagram: @singleancestry

Contact No.: 0920 735 1379

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Cafes in Naga City: Cafe '91

Naga City - I guess we shall never stop having new cafes here in our city. I have written many reviews and I'm running out of words to uniquely describe each new coffee shop. But as long as there is something unique in the cafe, then there will be no difficulty as to how we can showcase them. Since we cannot control the growth of cafes, we need to look for their uniqueness and show to everyone how they differ and how they are competitive to one another. The more options there are, the happier the customers are.

Here's one cafe in Naga exploring on the cranky and creative side of drinks and food. More like events and persons becoming names of drinks and food. Just like the Birthday Frappe or Debutante Frappe. But let's start first as to where this cafe is located.

Cafe '91 is located at Glam Theme Boutique (GTB), right in front of Tapsi Terminal along Magsaysay Avenue  now located at the second floor of Avenue Square since February 2017. Technically, GTB is the first boutique with an in-house cafe in Naga City. This cafe will never go wrong as to its location since it's right in the gastronomic and entertainment strip of Naga. The concept of GTB is basically SHOP, DINE and CHILL. The boutique is not entirely for ladies, they also have apparels for men as well as kids. Accessories of all sorts from well known and trusted online sellers in Naga comprises the shop. HERE's a blog post featuring Glam Theme Boutique.

Menu of Cafe '91 starts with The Eats like: Nachos, Fries, The Carbonara, The Red Pasta, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, S'more Sandwich, Rocky Road Brownies. Price ranges from  P35 to P109. The Nachos and Fries which are best sellers, come with black beans. So, if you're not fond of them, you can always tell them not to include black beans in your order. 

For Frappes, Cafe 91 offers: Birthday Frappe, Boozy Banana, Mango Yogurt, S'mores Frappe, Brownies Frappe, Coffe and Donut Frappe, Snickers Frappe, Happy Birthday Frappe and the Debutante Frappe. Price ranges from P99 to P149.

They also have lemonades such as Blueberry, Strawberry, Green Apple and Fruit Punch for only P79.

Flavored soda is only at P89 with choices like Blueberry, Strawberry and Green Apple. 

What I really enjoy in this cafe is the opportunity to do multi-tasking lol. I know the ladies can support me on this, window shopping is already therapeutic, shopping in a very affordable boutique is a medicine for the budget conscious plus having presented the food of Cafe '91? It's just pure satisfaction guaranteed. At least ladies, your partners will never get bored waiting for you to choose your clothes because they can order a drink or food, right?

Now here are some of the actual offerings of Cafe '91

Snickers Frappe and S'mores Sandwich

The Red Pasta

Your choice of lemonade and The Carbonara or any other combination

One of my faves, S'mores Frappe

Another favorite too for the non-coffee based drink, Mango Yogurt Frappe

Birthday Frappe perfect for the birthday celebrant or just when you feel like a vanilla based frappe.

Nachos, Grilled Cheese Sandwich and The Carbonara. 

For best taste, consume the Grilled Cheese sandwich while still warm.

Flavored soda are now in glasses instead of plastic ones

The Anatomy of the Specialty Frappes

The Happy Birthday Frappe, an overloaded frappe with all the sweetness of chocolates and special biscuits

My top recommended food will be the S'mores Frappe, Snickers Frappe, Mango Yogurt Frappe, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, The Red Pasta and also the fries. It's really amazing how the owner just adds up something new on the menu as the days pass by. Personally, the menu seems to fit the personalities of our teenagers and the young at heart. So there, if you haven't visited this shop, Cafe '91 is so easy to find along Magsaysay Avenue and tell us your feedback and your favorites too.

Cafe '91 at Glam Theme Boutique
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/cafe91ph/
Instagram: @cafe91ph
DSI Building, Magsaysay Avenue
In front of Tapsi Terminal
Store Hours: 12 nn to 12 am

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Cafes in Naga: Dice Boardgame Cafe

Naga City - Another cafe! Yes! Another one in Magsaysay Avenue! Naga's orbit of coffee shops is becoming huge as new concepts and different passions collide among businessmen. Games of some sort like chess boards or snakes and ladders etc.  are common in a number of coffee shops in Naga. These are an added entertainment value on the establishment aside from the main feature which can be a specialty dish or the concept of the place. There's a new cafe in the city which focused on this extra entertainment value where people of all ages can play, enjoy and eat to their heart's content.

Board Game Capital of Naga. Dice BoardGame Cafe is of no doubt the Board Game capital in Naga City. The owners, who are a circle of friends, realized on putting up the first place in Naga for board game fanatics. Playing board games has been their stress reliever and the collection grew and grew as they discover games of various themes. They got inspired of a cafe in Manila of the same kind and decided to have their own version here in Naga. The long stretch of games are based on so many aspects that will require logical and analytical thinking, hand and eye coordination, precision, strategic alliances, money matters and many more. Different characters, different communities, movie based or even series based (Game of Thrones caught my attention), with characters so creative and unthinkable, adorable and warrior-like and the list can go on and on. All these descriptions about the board games are never enough as there are around 80 AND COUNTING sourced locally and abroad.

An opportunity to play board games we may never be able to purchase in our lifetime. First, the rack of board games at Dice will give us the opportunity to play games we never thought existed. From the packaging, they have the impression that all these board games are really expensive and it's not a joke if you lose a piece or two. You will be open to a new world of games when you visit this cafe. Secondly, Dice is giving us the opportunity to play with games where most of us didn't ever prioritize to purchase for our families. With this opportunity, we should be thankful that Dice is sharing the fun and joy that they too experienced.  And mind you, these are all hard earned board games that's why we too should handle them with care. 

Don't rock the boat! So be careful where to put your penguins!

Traditional board games will help us do more human interaction which we lack nowadays when dining out in restaurants. It's a common scenario when customers use their smartphones and tablets as if having their own worlds even though they are all seated in one table. Here at Dice, the traditional way of playing board games will boost relationships between family or friends. Any game that is tangible and interactive in a face to face manner is still therapeutic than by just tapping on tablets and playing online.

This game requires concentration. Trust me, don't let the size of it fool you for it requires brain exercise.

One board game per table policy. While there are numerous board games to choose from, only one game per table is allowed. Having this kind of policy will somehow lengthen the lifespan of the board games. The tables at Dice is also ideal for only one game.

While waiting for your food, you can start choosing your board game or toy. You can also ask for recommendations from any of the crew. Plus, they will also give you a little introduction about the game and show you how it's going to be played. There are games that require more time that you can continue during your next visit. At least you'll get to try Dice's food again and you'll have more reasons to go back since there are so many games to choose from and I heard they are still adding more. 


Notice where are food were placed while waiting for the the orders to be complete? Yup, there's a rack so that the pieces of the board games won't get spoiled and wet. Of course you want to play freely right? Trust me you  need space, especially when the excitement level of the game rises, you'll never know where your hands might be going haha. 

Now about the food. Dice offers starters, burgers, pasta, dessert and drinks. For STARTERS, there are Potato Wedges, Potato Tokens, Fries Overload, Nachos, Calamares, Cheese Balls, Fish and Chips, Ham and Cheese Roll and Chicken Tenders. Price ranges from P110 to P180.

We got to try the Potato Tokens which is somehow Mojos-inspired of Shakeys and the Cheese Balls which I have to say can be a must-order every time you're at Dice. No wonder that the Cheese Balls is one of their best sellers.

Chicken Tenders

10 pieces of cheese balls per serving and the sauce is so delicious!

BURGERS are from P180 to P220. Choose from Classic, Triple Bacon, Triple Chili Cheese and Hawaiian Bacon Burger. The burgers are paired with Potato Wedges and can be good for sharing for the not so heavy eaters.

The most interesting burger they have for me personally is the Triple Bacon and Triple Chili Burger. Who doesn't love Bacon right? These two have a special bacon jam and spread which I think (I may be wrong) I haven't seen in any other restaurants here in Naga. The patty also has bacon bits in it. When I usually hear Hawaiian Burgers, I usually remember my favorite Amazing Aloha from Jollibee back when I was still in high school. Then suddenly there was a slight change in taste. From that time on, I have been searching for the best Hawaiian Burger there is in town. The Hawaiian Bacon Burger of Dice may be a bit close to that but I hope next time it will be juicier. Don't get me wrong though, the patties are really flavorful.

Triple Bacon

Hawaiian Bacon Burger

All of the PASTA available is priced at P150. Pretty good serving size which can also be for sharing and their best seller is the Tomato-Pesto. They also have Creamy Carbonara and Tuna Pesto Pasta.

Tuna Pesto Pasta

Dessert starts at P80 to P120. Choose from Single/Double Waffle with Ice Cream, Ice Cream Sundae and Affogato

Single Waffle with Ice Cream

Hot Drinks start from P45 to P90. Cold Drinks start at P 40  to P105 while Milk Shakes are at P150. Specialty coffees will soon be available at Dice. Will just update you about it once available.

Chocolate Milkshake

Vanilla Milkshake

I liked their Caramel Macchiato because it's not too sweet

"Happy games kind of noise" is a standard at Dice. Talking about games as an extra entertainment value in other cafes, we sometimes get annoyed when we hear customers laughing out loud because of the board games that they are playing. Here at Dice, noise brought about the games is a standard. You will never get annoyed since it's a guarantee that your group will enjoy the games and laugh out loud. 

Dice is definitely not the alone time kind of cafe. We have many cafes here in Naga catering to that side of the world and Dice caters to people who wants to spend time with other people. Make sure you come with your friends, colleagues as well as with your families. 

I can see some Dice Boardgame Cafe Game Night in the future. I bet this will really be fun! Visit Dice at Magsaysay Avenue, they are open from 2pm to 11pm and tell me what you think. They also have a second floor to accommodate customers, but because Dice is getting famous, there are many customers who are willing to wait and you should too. Game face on!

Mabalos Ann, Hubert, Fraulyn and the rest of you guys for the amazing time at Dice! More power!

DICE Boardgame Cafe
#29 Magsaysay Avenue
Store Hours: 2:00 pm to 11:00 pm
(Beside South Hills Bar & Resto)
Facebook Page: DICE Boardgame Cafe
Instagram: @diceboardgamecafe

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