4 Korean-Inspired Cafes in Manila and Ortigas, Philippines

My idea of the perfect lazy day is to spend it in a cute cafe. The coffee and the food don't have to be particularly spectacular - for a lazy day at a cafe, I find the ambiance to be of utmost importance instead: somewhere relaxing, with pretty interiors and good music (a cute barista wouldn't hurt either).

In spite of our hectic Seoul-all-you-can itinerary the last time we went to South Korea, we managed to find time to visit Jukjeon Cafe Street and Hongdae and explore a few quaint cafes, which I loved. I love Korean cafes. They're like Kpop idols - cute, sometimes quirky, and usually pretty. If it weren't impractical I would be happy to fly to Seoul for a long weekend and do nothing else but go cafe-hopping.

Seems I'm not the only one who's grown fond of Korean cafes, because currently there are four cafes in Manila that all have the cool Korean cafe vibe. Two are conveniently near my place which is perfect, and the other two are a bit of a drive but definitely worth it! Check them out under the cut, and maybe with some background music care of f(x) and EXO's D.O.? Enjoy!

Current favorite Kpop song. Squishy Do Kyungsoo FTW!

Christmas in Manila, Philippines

I was inspired by the photos the couple behind Everywhere We Shoot! took for their project with the Samsung Galaxy Camera, so I decided to take a walk around my neighborhood in Ortigas Center one night to take a few photos, and do the same thing before I went shopping at Power Plant one Sunday morning.

The Christmas season is a splendid time to visit the Philippines - the weather isn't too hot (though the past few days have been scorching while the nights aren't as bad, thankfully) and you are reminded of the holidays everywhere you go. It's impossible not to get into the Christmas spirit in the Philippines.

Travel Tip: Fly to the Philippines at affordable prices! Find the cheapest airfare flights online with sites like FlightHub.

If spending Christmas by the beach is more your thing - well, with our 7,000+ islands, we have that in the Philippines too! I haven't got any pictures of "Christmas in the Sand" though (my parents require me to be home during the holidays and the only traveling I do around Christmas is from Manila to my hometown in Batangas), but here's a song to get you in a sun, surf, sand, and Santa mood. Merry Christmas everyone!

(Also, more pictures under the cut!)

Colbie Caillat - Christmas in the Sand

A Little Bit of Seoul in Manila: Subspace Coffee House, Ortigas Center, Philippines

I live in Ortigas Center, an urban jungle in all its grey and concrete glory: cold, emotionless office buildings, snooty high-rise condos, and a Starbucks in just about every corner. So I was immensely thankful when my Korean drama-loving friends Mabs, Ris, and Ica tipped me off about a one-of-a-kind, cozy and cute coffee shop just a few streets away from where I lived that served good food AND played KPop (a guilty pleasure of mine, and we are all allowed one, so you mustn't judge!).

So now Subspace Coffee House is a favorite hang-out. They had movie nights in February and will have them again in April. They also offer a free upgrade on your drink every Monday (that's today!) so head on over there to try their drinks - my favorite is the Dark Chocolate Mint, but they have some other unique blends too like the Purple Potato Latte and the Peanut Butter Latte.

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures! Plus a KPop video to close this out by KPop royalty Big Bang - Gawker says it's the perfect pop song, so they must be doing something right! (Is Gawker often sarcastic though? I don't know, but whatever - it's a really addicting song, I've had it on repeat on my iPod for weeks.)

Salmon & Egg Turnover + Dark Chocolate Mint

Subspace Coffee House
Unit 103, GF Grand Emerald Tower
F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center
1606 Pasig, Philippines

Facebook Page

http://www.subspacecoffee.tumblr.com

Snapshots: A Late Lunch, Subspace Coffeehouse, Ortigas

Salmon and Egg Turnover + Dark Chocolate Mint = Saturday Afternoon Treat. Plus, they're playing a SHINee playlist here at Subspace, and since they just came back with a new music video, here's some new KPop to match this post. Happy Saturday! :)

Snapshots: Subspace Coffee, Ortigas Center, Philippines

After Cafe Noriter, I'm posting about Subspace next. Soon!

Snapshots: A Little Bit of Seoul in Manila - A Preview

It's been nearly a year since my awesome trip to Seoul with friends, and there is still a lot left to post about it - I will get to that, some time in the coming weeks hopefully. But until then, here's a preview to the next few posts you'll see up here, about two Korean-inspired cafes in Manila - plus a cute KPop video for your travel playlists, or if you're ever dreaming of Seoul and need some inspiration!

Snapshots: Kimchi in the City - Minato, Ortigas Center

I was sifting through my travel pictures and realized that I haven't posted any of the shots I've taken of food. From Filipino street food to some really delicious-looking desserts and a whole bunch of other stuff, I have quite a handful of food shots that I probably ought to include in this blog. After all, traveling isn't nearly as fun without the food adventures. So I'm starting my "Food Trips" category with this picture, which I took a few weeks back.

My last trip outside of Manila was to Cebu last January, and ever since,I've spent all of my weekends in the city. With such a situation I've learned a rather important lesson - when you can't go on trips, go on food trips! (Okay, that was kind of lame, but I can't think of anything else to write at the moment. Hehe). One Saturday a few weekends back, I went with two friends to a Korean restaurant in the Ortigas area called Minato, which was recommended by another friend. I've recently become fascinated with Korean culture (okay, to be perfectly honest, it's not exactly Korean culture, but Korean Pop culture, or KPop. To people I know, they'll probably think it's a bit uncharacteristic of me, but you must understand - they've got so many pretty boys out there, I couldn't help it! And they all sing and dance so well too! *sigh*) and my two friends, Mabelle and Edell, have been into Korean stuff since we were in college, so we were bound to end up trying out Korean food. I'll devote a full post to our Korean food trip soon, but for now, suffice to say that we had a pretty delicious meal that night - the kimchi in that picture didn't stand a chance (the kimchi pancake in the background was pretty damn good too, and it was free!).

...And now I'm craving for some japchae. Damn.