Last Sunday, I went to SM North EDSA with Gus and his good friend, Bruce. We checked out some stores before heading to The Block to eat. Earlier that week, Gus and I stumbled upon this seemingly fair-priced coffee shop on the top floor so we decided to give it a shot. I can't remember the name of the shop because I really wasn't paying attention to it. What caught our eye was that they had a kaya toast and brewed coffee combo for just P75. Uh-huh, a treat! The only kaya toast combo we've ever had the pleasure of tasting was that from Kopi Roti's and it certainly wasn't less than a hundred, so this definitely surprised us. I ordered one combo, just to taste.
Unfortunately, it wasn't as I expected. My kaya toast was made of thin, brown slices of bread, with thin blocks of butter and kaya jam in between, Kopi Roti's version of the famous treat. Theirs was more like, a sandwich. Two slices of Gardenia bread with melted butter (not softened) that seeped through the bread and into the wax wrapper. The kaya jam wasn't as flavorful too but it was okay, if you haven't tried any other kaya toast in the past. Had I known it was as thick as a regular sandwich, I probably would've gotten a real sandwich. It was sloppy but hey, maybe their other products are worth trying.
Expectation
(The photo is not mine. I got it off the internet.)
Reality
The boys, on the other hand, decided to eat at this other place we discovered the same time we saw the coffee shop: The Soya Bar. Gus told Bruce about it on our way to get my toast and they decided to eat there. They had their own version of milk tea with, you guessed right! Soy milk. :D
Bruce got soya milk tea and hot taho. Gus tried their Spicy Tuna Pasta and got an original soya milk tea (no pearls) for us to share. I also wanted some cold taho but the lady said they were out. Their soya milk tea was actually good. We got the best of both worlds: soya milk for Gus and milk tea for meeeee! Their pearls were bad though. They weren't chewy at all. It felt like biting through soft rocks (weird analogy). Soft on the outside, hard on the core. Their pasta wasn't something I'd try again, too. The tuna tasted different (I'm pretty sure it came from a can but it didn't taste like canned tuna nor did it taste like fresh tuna.) The red sauce itself was a bit off too. It didn't taste garlicky at all. The worst thing, though, was their service. The cashier/order taker was so confused. She didn't know how to deal with the customers. She wasn't sure whose order was for who. She didn't have change. She was a bit of a mess. It's a good thing their main product line was good. Their soya milk tea was something I'd definitely go back for. :)
Yummy Alternative: Soya Milk Tea
2 out of 5 for Caffino
3 out of 5 for Soya Bar: The soya milk tea was definitely good.
Soya Bar
The Block, SM North EDSA
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines
Contact details courtesy of: http://www.munchpunch.com/9916/soya-bar-sm-the-block
