Friday, October 28, 2016

First Bite: Kandle Cafe

I have been hearing a lot of good reviews about Kandle Café. I must admit, I was so curious and dying to visit the adorable café. But two words discourage me from going... Quezon City. As a self proclaimed resident of the South (self proclaimed because my friends refuse to believe that Fort Bonifacio is "south") I hardly visit that part of Quezon City. But a very tempting food crawl invite to Tomas Morato made me brave Manila traffic to join the well planned food trip. And of course, one of the stops was Kandle Café.

Hello, Kandle Café!
This is probably one of the few restaurants with ample parking space. We didn't have a hard time parking at all. 
We were greeted by a homey facade and an adorable porch with Kandle Café on it. 
As we moved closer to the dining area, I noticed the beautiful lush landscape beside the al fresco area. It was very charming and that sight made it clear to me why this place was named one of the best (affordable) date places in Quezon City.
The food we were about to try have been chosen by the owners but we were given the chance to choose our drinks. I went with Hot Mocha (PHP145) while R chose Matcha Milkshake (PHP160). 
While waiting for our drinks, we watched one of the baristas make some cute bear latte art. Apparently, you can choose what latte art you want on your drink. They didn't ask me though what I want on mine. 
We were so mesmerized by the barista's skills (while some were mesmerized by something, rather, someone else) that we didn't notice the milkshakes being prepared. Each milkshake gets dashed with extra powder of the flavor they chose. 
I asked if they could sprinkle a bit more so that I could take some action shots. And what was supposed to be sprinkle turned to a dollop. I then realized that this could be the perfect excuse to get extra powder! 
The milkshake was pretty good. It has nice matcha taste and its taste profile was close to the famous siren's matcha frappuccino. 
I liked my hot mocha too as it was thick and had a nice blend of chocolate, milk and espresso. It wasn't overly sweet nor bitter. 
Soon, the dishes were served one by one. 
The Kimchi Tortilla (PHP175) may look plain from the outside but it is a beaut in the inside with its colorful filling. The soft tortilla is stuffed with homemade beef brisket, mixed greens and kimchi cream cheese sauce. I enjoyed the various textures in one bite. The flavors of the ingredients also went well together. 
The Lentil Soup (PHP150) was pretty good too. It had nice consistency as it was in between being watery and creamy. I also liked the light curry flavor. 
The Mr. Egoy and Ms. Eggy Pasta (PHP240) or squid ink pasta sautéed in smoked bacon, onion and light cream sauce topped with a 63 degree poached egg was my least favorite of the bunch. It was bland compared to the first two dishes I sampled. Then again, I think this dish would have been fine if I sampled this before the other two dishes. Nonetheless, I liked the smoked bacon bits. 
There was a bit of delay for us to try the  Kandle Burger (PHP250) as the first one served to us was undercooked. But it was worth the wait as what was served to us was a piece of heaven
A single bite of the succulent thick beef patty stuffed with cheesy red pesto and drizzled with red and green char sauce while being enveloped by the smooth egg yolk could be described as a harmonious dance inside my mouth. It became a livelier dance when I got a taste of the sautéed onions, tomatoes and greens. 
We were also given Lemon Tart CookieDark Chocolate Chip Cookie and a slice of decadent Praline cake to try. Though all were pretty good, I didn't get to fully appreciate it as my drink was too sweet for it. And my heart and tummy was hoping to try the matcha cake. 
Overall though, it was a pleasant stop and I will definitely be back to try that green cake! 
Kandle Cafe is located at 113 Mother Ignacia Avenue, South Triangle, Tomas Morato, Quezon City. 

Kandle Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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