A Cup of Coffee to Share…

I have this very distinct taste about my coffee. I want my coffee to taste coffee in my mouth not any type of sweetener. I don’t go for any commercial coffee that serves sugar drink with pinch of coffee if you know what I mean. The balance of earthy taste from the coffee bean and its eccentric aroma is what I’m looking for. As I always say to my friends and colleagues, “a coffee drink will never be a coffee drink without the basic ingredient in it which is the coffee not sugar or cream”.

A taste of staple coffee slowly drip filtered on ice while the sweetened milk awaits to embrace the bitterness.

One thing that my co-workers know about me is that I love COFFEE. I know it is bad to drink too much but I have as much 10 cups per night. Because of that I even got a Blood Coffee award or should I say Coffee Smelling Piss Prince <aromatic… eww! Hahaha> I always need to start my shift with a cup and the day will just flow as it is. I always tell my friends, especially Lissa, my buddy, about how coffee makes my nerves calm too. Yup! You read it right, it makes me calm. I don’t know, do I have things all in wrong way about coffee? Should I get myself tested?

I think you already know where this article is going to. Yes, it’s listing down coffee drinks on top of my list.

Topping all is just coffee or coffee with sugar.  What else should I be listing on top but the very basic coffee mix. I like it brewed and a little bit darker. Varieties of brewed coffee I like are the following: Kape Alamid or Kopi Luwak or commonly known as the civet coffee, Kape Barako or commonly known as Baraco coffe a member of the Coffea Liberica,Vietnamese Espresso, Italian Dark Roast, Yukon Organic blend, and Sumatra Dark Roast. You can have a bag of ground beans and prepare it with either your coffee maker at home or any coffee drip filter. You can get your Kape Alamid from certified coffee brewers like Alamid Café Express in Bonifacio Global Heights for Php 295.00 a cup or visit any Alamid Coffee shops around Tagaytay. Kape Barako is best to drink in cold breezy morning of Tagaytay and Batangas as you drink it with the locals. You can get abount ¼ kilo ground Baraco beans in ShopWise stores for a cheaper price <Yey! Kape all you want!>. Some of the brewed coffees on my list were gifts from my friends Ria, Paul, and others which have their distinct tastes and aroma.

Seconding on my top spot is the Vietnamese iced dark roast coffee on sweetened milk which called Cà Phê Sữa Dá or Cà Phê Nâu Dá (in English its iced brown coffee also similar with Café Cubano or cafecito). What best about this staple coffee drink is its simplicity in preparation and the balance of sweetness, creaminess, and bitterness of dark roast coffee. Also, this drink is something you can find anywhere in Vietnam from the coffee shops, restaurants, and along the hawkers or street vendors. Another think I like about Cà Phê Sữa Dá is the presentation. Coffee Highlands, one of the most popular coffee shops in Ho Chi Minh serves their Cà Phê Sữa Dá in a clear glass with 2-3 spoonful of condensed milk on ice and a coffee drip filter that allows the ground dark roast coffee’s flavour mixed with hot water and it slowly drips and combines to the other ingredient. Another thing why you would like this coffee drink is because of the cost. It is priced at ₫20,000-30,000. <funny thing about their money with a symbol ₫, it is called Dong hehehe. It was used since May 3, 1978 which was formerly known as Hào then it was Xu.>. You might say that this is too expensive for a coffee drink but it’s not. Try to convert.

Next on my top lists is the Caramel Macchiato, which I always get from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) as hot with ice on the side. Why do I order that way? And why not have it iced instead? I can give you 2 reasons. First is due to the taste. I don’t want my coffee to taste blunt due to melted ice. Second reason is you are getting ½ parts more than what you paid for <Isn’t it wise? LOLz>. You can go with the regular 2 shots or spike it up if wanted stronger coffee blend. You can have with breve in replacement of your regular milk too. Just ask it over the counter, if they don’t have breve then you can ask for half and half.

Another café latte type drink that I indulge was Starbucks’ Asian Dulce Latte which I wanted venti size with additional shots. You know how Starbucks make their coffee.  Asian Dulce Latte stayed for over month which start last May of 2013. It is another type of Caramel Macchiato but without the caramel. It was a switch from Caramel to an Asian Dulce, a mixture of milk or cream and sweetener.

I will end my list as of the moment and will give you additional if I got some new stuff coming. I’ll be in Macau and Hong Kong this September with friends and hopefully I can have new coffee blend specifically brewed from those countries. Maybe I can have some cups from Terra Coffee House, or Margaret’s Café e Nata, or CuppaCoffee.

I’ll you know ‘till next time. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, just let me know and I’m hoping to give you what you are looking for. Ciao for now!

The Hidden Jewel of the North – It’s Always Nice to go Back Home…

“There might have been multiple crossroads you have walked by, multiple pavements you have passed by, multiple places you have gone by, but there is always a place you have most of the memories left behind which you always want to as your safe exile.” – Yu Kaito

I have been to lots of places but there is always one place I remember most of my childhood and its Bolinao, Pangasinan. As a Bolinaonon, I speak the dialect (Binobolinao) and still embody the culture, which made me write about my hometown, to give insights of what’s at stake when you visit Bolinao, Pangasinan. You know what is best from Philippines – food and beaches, which both you can have along shores of this little municipality at the tip of Pangasinan.

A beacon of light at the tip of Bolinao to guide fishermen and ships that voyage the vast South China Sea.

The hospitable municipality of Bolinao, Pangasinan or the “Hidden Jewel of the North” is known by its historical Saint James the Great Parish Church (now challenging to where the first mass happened in the Philippines instead of Limasawa) which was built around 1609 by the Agustinians, it’s delicacies like binungey or bamboo rice cake and padas or vermiculated spinefoot sauce or clear bagoong isda, fresh marine products ranging from cudincudin or sea urchins or uni in Japanese to sungayan or unicorn fish <I miss this grilled Sungayan… yum yum yum>, scenic rock formations, and beaches. The grandeur of the rock formations and clear waters suits a very tropical atmosphere. Aside from the variety of sand colours from salt and pepper, orange, yellow, and white; the amusing enchanted cave and the beacons or lighthouses are also on the must see list.

Travel: To Bolinao is a private or bus ride from Manila around 5-7 hours to north. It may be a long ride but a worthy one. The fare is around Php 400-500 from Cubao or Pasay to the Bolinao’s Poblacion and vice versa. Tricycle rides are available near the area to drive you wherever you might want to go around Bolinao.

Below are my lists of places to go as far as I could remember and will revisit soon:

Saint James the Great Parish Church – one of the oldest churches in the Philippines and Pangasinan. This Agustinian church stand along the main road of Concordia Poblacion. This shows a strong the Catholicism heritage in the province. Just in front of the church’s gate are the souvenirs and binungeys for you to try.

Bolinao Wet Market – a place I always remember where my mama or lola and I went to get some fresh produce and marine products. Here you can get a freshly caught sungayan which is very delicious after grilling.

Breakwater and El Pescador Resorts and Hotel – a short turn going to Germinal toward the sea lays a beautiful view of the vast South China Sea. You can hangout and stay at the El Pescador Resorts and Hotel and ask your sungayan to be grilled.

Guiguiwanen Channel, Subor, Cape Bolinao Lighthouse, Our Lady Fatima Hills, UP Marine Science Institute, Cueba ni Palos – this is one of the oldest beach resorts we have in Bolinao. You just need to pay for the nipa huts or cottages at a very affordable price. You might want to climb the Our Lady of Fatima Hill and pray in the chapel before you continue climbing to the Cape Bolinao Lighthouse, one of the oldest beacons we have in Pangasinan, another is in Patar. You can also go down and ask from UP Marine Science Institute to join on their trips to Silaqui Islands where giant clams were bred. From the UP Marine Science Institute building along the sea shore walk towards west and you will see the Subor or spring in English where fishes swims across the sweet water towards brackish then salty. Cueba ni Palos or Palos’ Cave is an amazing adventure. There is a legend about the cave with three entrances, which was used by Palos as a panic to keep him safe during the war. One of the entrances goes to his room and the others go to the intruder’s death place.

Pantalan, Dewey White Beach, & Balin Buaya – see the port of Bolinao and the islands separate from the mainland with the vast view of white sand and ocean, pass through a rumoured sprouting volcano, the salt factory, colourful apay or straw mats made of a family of anahaw (a round-leaf fountain palm) leaf or what local calls silag and the local weavers, maguey ropes andsinamay weavers, and the local community or the fishing village.

Long Beach and Governor’s Road Beaches – additional beaches you can explore around Bolinao where sand were white and people were so nice.

Balingasay Beach – this is a haven for local bars and fishing village along the trench of a river approaching the ocean. I remember my mom telling stories about how brackish the waters of this area and how strong the current where they used to training the swimmers’ speed as an athlete. This is where you can find the salt and pepper colour of sand where you can as well enjoy the sunset view.

Patar White Beach, Enchanted Cave, Patar Lighthouse, Rock View Beach – more beach, amazing cold waters inside a cave, another beacon of light, and the amazing Rock View Beach showing off the various rock formations. 

Breathing taking dusk time view of Bolinao’s Rock Formations.

There’s a lot more Bolinao can offer from food to adventure to soaking yourself on its beautiful beaches. If you would like to get some details on Bolinao Travel Guide, I will be creating a different link for you to look at or you can email me directly to give you some recommendations.

You can now follow me in twitter @travelingwithyu.

Related articles

• Why YU TRAVEL? (travelingwithyu.wordpress.com)
• Our Bolinao Adventure (annekralovna.wordpress.com)

Why YU Travel?

I was once inspired by a girlfriend – “the money you earned from working is not just the money you spend for your day to day living. You work hard and harder so at the end of the day you will give yourself some treat.” It kicked in which made me decide that I will give myself the treat of first-hand experience of sceneries seen through still pictures which I have been enjoying to look at and study as a photo enthusiast too. Every part of its frame, vibrant colours, the hue, and its magnificence caught my very eye like a magic brush painting them in very intricate details with each strokes of life. Those scenic captured eagerly relaxing your mind and spirit just by a sense is more than meets the eye, thus, encouraged me to tour them and capture their beauty as well.

I have gone to numerous places which led me in writing my coffee table magazine focused on places I’ve travelled. And yes, the gift I have for myself is indeed travelling. I love the nature and its master piece. I love everything this world has to offer. So I dare myself with adventures too.

All these travel that I will be doing I will let you experience it with me. I will try to come up with articles that you can get tips from. Tips may start from where to go, what to ride, what food to eat, a must see, a must do, and the likes. I would love to hear your questions, suggestions, comments, follows, and likes.

On the next travel post, I will write about Bolinao, Pangasinan.