In Ortigas, There is Highlands Coffee

In Ortigas, I am always on the look-out for a great breakfast place.  Being the morning person that I am, I usually walk around the nearby streets in search for a quiet, relaxing and chill place to have a hearty breakfast by my lonesome self.  Remembering that a new coffee shop had just opened at the corner of F. Ortigas (Emerald Avenue) and Garnet Road, I decided to finally check it out. 

Highlands Coffee is at the ground floor of Eton Emerald Lofts.  It recently opened and just went on full store operations, 24 hours a day - Monday to Saturday and until 9PM on Sunday, and has been serving hot and cold drip Vietnamese coffee to Ortigas residents since March.

I was greeted by a series of “sincere” good mornings by the staff (eye contact and all smiles) and was assisted furthermore by the cashier Jobelle.  I asked her what their best sellers were since it was my first time and I’m not really a fan of expensive coffee.  

Then she suggested that I should definitely try their iced Café Sua Da and their Rosemary Chicken sandwich.  I found out that the Café Sua Da’s elements are Vietnamese dark roast coffee beans which are individually brewed inside a small French drip filter (Phin) over ice and thick sweetened condensed milk (I researched further via: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_iced_coffee).  It sounded very interesting and when they served it to me I understood why this was one of their best sellers.  

Their Rosemary Chicken Sandwich is also one of their best sellers and highly recommended by the staff.  The sandwich was freshly prepared and it was literally packed right in front my eyes.  It was not refrigerated nor heated in a microwave or toasted in a grill or oven although they do have an open faced fridge which contained most of the sandwiches, salads and pasta and a separate display of sweets and snacks.  Food and drinks were served to me and a tall glass of water was also served together with my order.  

Moving on, one will also notice that the place is pretty modern:  It has nice coffee shop equipment, LED TV displays and most of the tables has its own Android tablet for customers’ use for browsing the internet.  WIFI is free (Free 1 hour use per receipt and password was printed on the receipt) and the connection was around 1-2 mbps.  Their music was relaxing and really complimented the ambiance of the place – no Tagalog songs or Tagalog radio stations in this joint.  Most of the customers when I was there were mostly residents of Ortigas (Filipinos and Foreigners), who enjoyed chatting with their companions and or just enjoying their order while browsing the internet.  The supervisor was also very accommodating when I introduced myself and asked for more information about the café.  The place was peaceful and comfortable inside.    

Lastly, before leaving the café, I heard them greet a new customer by the person’s name.

It was exactly the place I was looking for to spend some quiet time on a weekend. #goodvibes   

Check out Highlands Coffee along F. Ortigas (Emerald Avenue) and Garnet Avenue in Eton Emerald Lofts.  Like their Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/HighlandsCoffeePhilippines?fref=ts and follow them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HC_Phils.  All photos are taken using the author’s iPhone 5.