Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Dessert lovers don’t have to travel far from their dinner to a dessert place because Cab Cafe along Kapitolyo in Pasig City offers both, with no compromise.
From the same family who built and manage Bob’s Restaurant and Cafe Bob’s in Bacolod City, food entrepreneur Mark Magalona opened Cab Cafe in Manila to give diners both a satisfying meal and dessert in one place.
While the Cab Cafe is still far from reaching Bob’s Restaurants 50 years in the business, Cab Cafe threatens to equal, maybe even surpass, the success of Bob’s – by bringing the well-loved dishes of Bob’s and at the same time creating its own identity.
Cab Cafe is more known for its desserts (rightfully so), but aside from these, it serves delectable savory meals, fresh coffee concoctions, and locally-crafted beers.
At the foodie meet-up organized by online restaurant guide Zomato, we were served, by the owner himself, Cab Cafe’s best-selling appetizers, main dishes, desserts, and drinks.
The Country Sausage Platter looked plain, but I held back my judgment — and I was right to do so. The homemade sausages had the right amount of saltiness, smokiness, and flavor. The sausage cocktails are the right size for it to be considered a finger food. It didn’t have the usual sausage casing or skin, so it didn’t have a bite.
A dish should not only rouse your taste buds, but also awaken your sense of smell. Cab Cafe’s Deli Pinoy Spaghetti (P185) did just that. The pasta’s abundant bits of smoked bangus or milkfish was a party for the senses. It tasted light with its pasta sauce made of fresh tomatoes, vinegar, and fish sauce. The sliced salted egg topping sealed the deal.
With that combination of Italian and Filipino food, it will not come as a surprise that Cab Cafe’s Alfredo Deluxe Pizza (P385) tasted best eaten with this spaghetti.
The pizza didn’t scrimp on prime ingredients of cream sauce, ham, and mushroom. The way Cab Cafe makes its pizzas are not the type with gooey, bubbling cheese, but its generous topping of parmesan cheese more than makes up for it.
Cab Cafe brought to Manila Bob’s Restaurant’s bestseller, the Satay Babe. Unlike most satay meals, the Satay Babe (P185) didn’t have an overpowering taste of spice. The peanut-based sauce of the two sticks of pork barbeque was paired with a cup of java rice and atsara.
The meat was admittedly a bit tough, but the complex flavor of the dish was enough for me to enjoy it.
Now, on to the highlight of the meal: Cab Cafe’s delectable desserts.
If there is one dessert you have to try at Cab Cafe, it’s the Mango Pavlova.
The layers of whipped cream and crisp and chewy meringue hide chunks of sweet and tangy ripe mangoes.
Surprisingly, it tasted light despite the layers of whipped cream, meringue, and slivers of almonds.
I asked the waiter why they don’t add mangoes as toppings to the pavlova. He said it would make the dessert soggy and lose its chewy texture.
We were also served slices of blueberry cheesecake. What set it apart from other cheesecakes was that it actually tasted like cheese. It was more on the savory side rather than a cloyingly sweet dessert.
As perfect partner of the dessert, Cab Cafe also offers coffee. Its coffee beans are delivered fresh every two weeks.
It also serves Bog’s Brew beers, local beers sourced from Negros Island. Mind you, these beers could level those of our massively produced beers and it contains alcoholic content of at least 4%.
It has to be mentioned that Cab Cafe has a vast parking space, compared to the lack of parking of its nearby restaurants in the Kapitolyo area.
This way to Cab Cafe: 18E Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig City. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily.
You can follow CNN Philippines on Zomato: www.zomato.com/CNNPhilippines/foodjourney
