Antiteasis: Books & Brews

Don't miss the sign board at the right side of the road!

To cap off the Quezon City food trip last October, we went to Antiteasis: Books & Brews for a round of tea and/or smoothies. We also went to Barkin' Blends and The Burger Project. I got so full from our previous stops, so I did not order anything from the coffee shop. I was able to taste my friends' orders of tea and lemon square with small sips and bites.

Antiteasis is this quaint and homey coffee shop located in Unit C, 154 Maginhawa Street. Brewing hours are from 1:30-11:00 P.M. The place offers cheap drinks and food such as French pressed coffee at Php 65, apple basil smoothie at Php 90, cream cheese bagel at Php 90, and mini donuts at Php 12, to name a few. My favorite parts of this little place are the books and board games that customers can enjoy. The place had wooden boxes for make-shift tables, while customers had to sit on the floor (pillows optional) to complete the chill vibe. If one wanted to enjoy his/her tea or coffee al fresco style, there were also tables and chairs available outside. We played a round of Cards Against Humanity there and had a relaxing time just lazing around.

Chillin' like villains

Food: 7/10

The drinks and the food were a-O.K. for me. It's relatively cheap because it's not like the big-ass commercial coffee shops out there.

Teas were served in these little ceramic pots.

Ambiance: 9/10

I liked the place! Had it been in Cebu, I think that it would be my go-to place whenever I need a quiet place to just sit down, breathe, and reflect. It's a great place for journaling your thoughts, for reading books, and even for a swell time with friends with the different board games available.

Ahhh, would you look at this shelfie!!!

Service: 7/10

The barista seemed as laid-back as the place itself. She was sweet when asked about their comfort room, provided our orders promptly, and was surfing the internet in between serving customers.

Until the next adventure,

Dena

The Burger Project

Just keep walking to the end of the main Maginhawa eat street.
 Watch out for this sign at the right side of the road.

The Burger Project is one of the many hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the famous Maginhawa Street in Quezon City. With its variety of patties, buns, and toppings to choose from, the possibilities of creating your perfect burger seems endless! You have the freedom to choose up to three different patties to match a variety of buns and toppings. Check out this link for the menu.

My foodtrip mates :)

My friends and I went to try it for ourselves. There were four of us who went there and our burger projects were as varied as our personalities. Here are our special burger creations, ladies and gentlemen:

My Mainstream Burger

If this is any indicator of one's personality, you can say that I am the kind who doesn't dive into the unknown right away. I find comfort in the familiar, taking small bites of the unfamiliar (in this case, my companions' burgers) before I take the whole burger for myself. Too much psych interpretation right here. Haha.

Food: 8/10

The ingredients used in our burgers were fresh and good. The taste depended on the compatibility of the ingredients chosen. We can't blame them for that now, can we? I paid Php 180 for my "Mainstream Burger" that consisted of buns, beef patty, lettuce, onion rings, cheese, mustard, and catsup (yeah, yeah, just your usual burger. Now you know why I named it that way.) I think the food was reasonably priced.

Ambiance: 7/10

As expected from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, the place was relatively tiny. It would be best to visit the place on weekdays in the afternoon, where most people are either at work or in school. Otherwise, the place will be filled to its capacity. I liked the interior design of the place as it gave this urban, concrete, and sleek look.

The interior designer thought this through- just look at the details of this wall.

Service: 8/10

After writing down the order, there was a waiting time of 20-30 minutes. They warned us beforehand saying; "We make your burgers fresh and newly-cooked. Please give us some time to do it." or something to that effect. No complaints regarding that since the interiors of the place, especially the pictures of mouth-watering burger creations kept our eyes busy while waiting.

They make your burger based on this checklist.

Create your own burger at The Burger Project soon and let your taste buds savor your burger creation!

Until the next adventure,

Dena

I Woof You at Barkin' Blends Cafe

Last October, I went to Manila to attend the Philippine Conference on Community Health 2014. My passion to take the road less traveled was yet again fueled by the said conference. However, this is not what this post is all about (perhaps I'll write about it in another blog post but not today). 

Anyway, while I was in Manila, I grabbed the opportunity to meet up with some close friends from college. We did the usual activities: traveling, eating, talking, and taking photos together. This is the first of my recollections from that trip. Haha, forgive me, I realized that med school isn't the main thing that's consuming my time but my chronic procrastination.

Here we go~

We went to a cafe called Barkin' Blends in Katipunan. The name of the place is pretty self-explanatory but for the benefit of those who have not heard about it, it's a milk tea place across Ateneo with resident dogs available for cuddling and petting. Its exact address is at 91 Rosa Alvero Street, J&R Concon Centre, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines; see the map below:

Barkin' Blends has a dog zone where the customers can interact (and cuddle!) with different breeds of dogs such as a Shih Tzu, Golden Retrievers, a pug, a Beagle,a  Sharpei, and a Siberian Husky. There were many dogs on the list but not all of them were "on duty". Hey, a dog's gotta have his dog-tired days too. *insert pity laugh for bad pun here* 

Fiona Babe, looking adorable in her kimono

Sleepy heads.

The dogs have their major in cuteness, minor in cuddling! 

In order to stay in the dog zone for at most two hours, we had to pay Php 180 (fee includes one drink of choice). While staying in the dog zone, customers have to follow some rules to maintain sanitation of the place and to prevent any untoward incidents that may harm the dogs or the people. There is also a humans only zone in the cafe where one can enjoy drinks and "pupcakes", minus the playtime with canine friends.

The dogs in Barkin' Blends were all sweet, cuddly and lovable. If our school had a dog cafe such as Barkin' Blends right across it, exams won't be as frustrating as they are now. Well, this is perhaps an overstatement but you get the point.

I never knew that I was a dog-lover until I had a dog this year (Arya Snow, our mixed breed Shih Tzu-Poodle-Japanese Spitz). It pains me to think about other dogs without loving homes to take care of them. This Christmas season, will you please do a small favor for our little doggy and kitty friends? Follow the instructions of the photo below.

Click photo and zoom in if the letters are too small for reading

Arya Snow for #PurinaLendAPaw

Until the next adventure,

Dena

My love for sleep must have rubbed off on these dogs.