Dining Snippets: Tweedle Book Café x Sweet Degrees PH x Onboard Game + Gastro Pub
TWEEDLE BOOK CAFÉ
My idea of unwinding is being completely engrossed in a book in the company of a cozy coffee shop; however, library-cafés don’t really appeal to me since I don’t have enough time to stay too long to finish a book from cover to cover, and the food selection would just be limited to sandwiches and pastries. I’d rather bring my own piece of literature and head to the nearest Starbucks.
DUCK DUCK DUCK (P1500)
Tweedle Book Café seems to be an exception to this as I can’t turn my curiosity away from its bizarre menu that’s completely far from your usual coffee shop fare. I was drawn to its Duck Duck Duck dish as it promised a combination of duck sisig rice, a generous row of smoked duck breast, and foie gras. The price tag seems a bit steep but it’s big enough for sharing. It’s too rich to be shared between two people; so I suggest pairing it up with lighter dishes with 3 or 4 people.
PINOY BREAKFAST (P180)
Give your wallet a break by opting for the value for money Pinoy Breakfast. This classic Filipino breakfast of longganisa, salted egg, and tomatoes takes on a pasta version. The pasta’s quite oily, but the sweet and salty longganisa bits were immensely delicious!
GENMAICHA LATTE (P100)
My poison of choice for that afternoon retreat would be the Genmaicha Latte. I’m a matcha fan but this cup was way too raw, strong, and legit for my liking. I guess my palate’s still not ready for the virgin type of matcha. I’ll stick to matcha desserts and Starbucks’ Green Tea Latte for the moment.
Apart from its interesting food selection, watch out for its quirky interiors such as this ceiling design (Special yay to Tolkien and Austen being featured)!
Tweedle Book Café
106B Scout Gandia, Sacred Heart, Diliman, QC
Date of Visit: February 13, 2016 with Lily Chua
SWEET DEGREES PH
Ever since its buzzed about article on Spot.ph (which you can’t help but drool over), I decided to stop by the Incubator space in F7 on the way home from lunch one Saturday.
SEA SALT CARAMEL (P120)
The small kiosk run by budding entrepreneurs pride on using the indulgent and ever-tempting Carmen’s Best in its cold treats! The concept is simple, as it uses the crunchy mantou as receptacles for the delicious scoops of ice cream royalty. It’s not exactly rocket science as it’s an age-old fact that mantou’s are perfectly paired with sweet things such as condensed milk. It could have been perfect; however, the mantou I was served with distinctly tasted of old oil.
Sweet Degrees PH
F7 Rallos, Scout Rallos Street cor Tomas Morato Avenue, Laging Handa, QC
Date of Visit: February 20, 2016
ONBOARD GAME + GASTRO PUB
My first boardgame cafe experience was in Onboard Game + Gastro Pub. True, I’ve dropped by Café Publico a number of times already; however, I never even attempted to look at its game selection. Accompanied by my good friends, Lisa and Jolly, we set out to see what the fun behind boardgame cafes is really about.
MUSHROOM PESTO CROQUETTES (P220)
Since there wasn’t enough room on our table, we decided to focus on eating first. The Mushroom Pesto Croquettes were fried potato balls generously stuffed with mozzarella cheese and pesto. This delicious appetizer is quite heavy though as each ball is drizzled with garlic mayonnaise and topped with creamy mushrooms.
ALIGUE CALAMARI RICE (P240)
My choice for the main dish would be the Aligue Calamari Rice. The calamari pieces had the right amount of crunchy batter and were tenderly cooked. However, the aligue was disappointingly just a mere faint coating of the rice. This dish is good enough to be shared though because the bowl seemed to be packed with more than two cups of rice!
We ended up playing four games that night; and had a laugh every second of it. When we were eating, we glared at the tables howling with laughter; however, once we were deep into playing the games themselves, the noise becomes part of the experience. There was a novelty in learning about new games as well; as helpful gamemasters are eager to help and assist. Best to come when you don’t have any plans afterwards so that you can make the most out of it!
Onboard Game + Gastro Pub
Level 1, Circuit Lane, Circuit Makati, A.P. Reyes Street, Makati City
Date of Visit: February 26, 2016 with Jolly Aganon and Lisa Manila
