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.
