Dumaguete Cafe - Kweba Cafe

 This newly-opened cafe named "Kweba" has quite a unique theme. "Kweba" is a Filipino word which means "cave." The elements of the coffee shop also align to caves, the interior has a very organic look in terracotta colors, outside is a mural art of hieroglyphics done by local artist Gerabelle Rae.

We ordered coffee and silog meals and some pastries for dessert. Overall we had a pleasant experience and would come back to try the other items in their menu.

The cafe is located at the ground floor of OK Pension House, Dumaguete City.

Abaca Baking Company

One January day, I found myself checking out one of the branches of Abaca Baking Company, a coffee shop with impressive branding and style. I went to the Banilad branch at Crossroads. As much as I love coffee and places that serve them, I don't get to go to a lot of the new trending ones because I don't like traveling to big cities in the country. I like to stay in the Duma area and neighboring towns.
One thing I look out for when I first go inside a coffee place is the feeling I get when I first step inside. If there's this nice coffee aroma, that's a good sign. This one in particular looked promising from the outside. The black and white signage, minimalist black-framed windows and a peek at what's inside. Some yummy pastries parading on the counter. I go in and yes, the smell of coffee greets me and didn't disappoint.
There are a number of abstract art displayed on the walls, main color theme is black and white with elements of ink illustrations, doodles or drawings. It's seen on the pastry liners and paper cups and paper bags. Also cannot be missed on the metal stools and merchandise packaging.
The door of their toilet is black with a charming white doodle of a sleeping fox which I totally love. Tables and chairs are nicely done and naturally distressed (they don't look shiny and new which is great). The white/tan wooden tables were my favorite. They actually made the entire experience better for me, plus seeing the black window beside it. Instagram worthy? YAZ! And I will commend the staff, they have a lot of staff to attend to your needs, are happy and cheerful and really, just looking all happy to serve!
But all this eye candy does not come cheap. Food comes at an expense, steeper than the usual meal. But safe to say, it's also good. I came with a full stomach so that helped me order less. I only had dessert and coffee. But I'm sure you'll love it here especially if you get to taste more of the items in their menu. They have a number of choices not just for coffee and pastry but for heavier meals and snacks. They have twenty branches all across Cebu so you'll never miss it!

Alimyon Kapehan

There is a nice place to have coffee with a view. Alimyon is different in that the place has a different feel than most coffee shops in the city.

First of all, it sits on top of a hill so it takes some time to reach there. It's usually accessible by car or habal-habal ride from the main road. The path going to Alimyon is the same one going to Lake Balinsasaw and Azalea Casitas. Alimyon is just a few minutes past Azalea in San Jose, Negros Oriental.

When you reach the place, you need to go up some steps but you can see the hut from the road.

They serve a basic selection of coffee and some silog meals and a few Filipino dishes at affordable prices. We went here during a weekday so it was not at all crowded.

I guess most people come here for the view, for the somewhat unique experience and for the photo ops.

View from the left side

Decorative pieces only

Native coffee

Coffee Groove

There is a nice little coffee shop in the quaint streets of Valencia called Coffee Groove. My friend and I went there out of curiosity after passing by and seeing it one time on the way to their house. I love everything about it but the best reason would be how peaceful it is to be there. You can sit and look at the simple life in Valencia as you sip coffee and enjoy some pastry.

The exterior was a nice maroon color with simple elements painted in white. Really nice touch of simplicity.

Sunday with Sandy and Jeff

Today, I went out with good friends from Cebu. They've been assigned for work in Dumaguete for a couple of days or weeks. Cafe Antonio is closed on Sundays so we went to The Bean Connection instead.

the things i do before i eat

I take my phone and snap a picture of the food on my table. I think this is starting to look like the first few shots of another photo series.

Artistic Frustrations

I secretly want to be a "jack of all trades and a master of all" but nobody's that good. I, for one, want to dance like Chris Brown and Heather Morris. I want to be a good photojournalist. I want to be a very good graphic designer. I want to be a genius crafter. I want to be a traditional artist (by that i mean sketch and paint).

So, here i was finally trying out watercolor painting. I browsed tutorial videos online, got some cheap supplies (didn't really wanna spend so much considering i didn't know if i can even paint at all). I tried a few still life paintings. Not a big deal. But i can't help but be so jealous of those super talented watercolor artists. I really like watercolor art because of how colors blend in with each other.

So one more thing i learned about me, I can only do very simple watercolor art.

(Photos below shot with Pentax KX, Kodak Ultramax 400)

When I Think Of Cupcakes

when i think of cupcakes, i actually think of those pretty ones i see in tumblr or flickr or those on DC cupcakes. You know, those colorful icings, creative and cute adorable toppings and sprinkles that make you want to just display them at home and stare at them forever (and never eat them).

there's a cupcake shop that opened in town recently, and i got excited at first but after finally seeing how their cupcakes looked like, i got disappointed. yes, they did look like them but not the kinds i imagined. but hey, it also comes cheaper so i guess for their price, it's just ok.

i like their coffee though, but i don't like how they use disposable stuff like cups and forks.