I am normally opposed to eating in pricey restaurants that serve Pinoy food because my mom is an excellent cook and if I want great food, all I have to do is go home. There are restos that serve traditional Pinoy food or fusion that I tried and liked but I won’t go back to them unless I must.

But I will surely go back to Cafe Juanita because I want to. And I will even bring my mom the next time I go there. She might still learn a thing or two. Like learn what a mapapaleche-ka-sa-sarap na leche flan tastes like.

Last, last Saturday, Joko brought us to Cafe Juanita for lunch. When I first saw it, I thought we were going to eat in a carinderia. Nothing spectacular about the exteriors of this resto in Kapitolyo, Pasig.

See? Unimpressive.

But I was pleasantly suprised from all the eclectic artsy-fartsy decorations/merchandise inside.

And when I saw the menu, I wanted to try everything! Two reasons: 1, they have Asian favorites like Chagio (Vietnamese spring rolls) and 2, I was already very hungry. We ordered Joko’s recommendations first because we trust her superstandard taste.

Of course we had our favorite combination of chicharong bulaklak and sinigang. We actually had 2 orders of chicharon. Takaw! Galit sa kolesterol na barkada!

Chicharong Bulaklak (very crispy and oh so good with the sinigang as in deadma na sa vinegar!)

Fresh Corned Beef Sinigang with Chorizo (masarap, even if I didn’t taste the chorizo much but I guess we are to blame because we asked a more sour soup)

Two-Way Adobo (seriously one of the best adobos I’ve ever tasted, the pork was tender and the adobo flakes as crispy as the chicharong bulaklak!)

Diniguan (topped with chicharon and mangga, the diniguan’s delicious but the puto that came with it was bleh)

We also ordered Vegetable Kare-kare but pictures from Carla’s cam aren’t uploaded yet. Why only vegetable kare-kare? I suggested we curb our redmeat intake. (Hahahah, feeling healthy :p) But anyway, if you want a nice picture of Cafe Juanita’s kare-kare, check out Anton’s blog. =)

Leche Flan (booyah! the note on the take out container says it– Mapapa-leche ka sa sarap! facebook friends, check this)

But really, dito ako napa-leche! sa sarap. I thought Joko was just exaggerating when she said she can finish 3 three Sticky Toffee Puddings in one sitting. But after eating this ambrosial delight (kinakaya mo ang description ko? hahaha) I thought, I can finish 5. I would still love it even without the ice cream.

That’s me attacking the food.

Other things about Cafe Juanita… service was excellent: fast and attentive. We waited for only 10 minutes for our food to arrive. Our waiter, Mike, is what all waiters should aim to be. Courteous, enthusiastic and ready for picture taking. We have a picture with him, but like the kare-kare pic, it’s not uploaded yet. :p

Here’s one cute kwento about Waiter Mike

Waiter Mike: Ma’am, what’s your drink?
Joko: Naku, si Iya, Coke ‘yan! Adik sa Coke ‘yan eh!
Me: Nope. Buco shake gusto ko ngayon.
Waiter Mike: Pepsi products po meron kami.
*after getting drink orders of the girls*
Waiter Mike: Repeat ko lang po order nila….. and buco shake.
Me: Errrrrr wait, naco-confuse ako.
Waiter Mike: Pepsi na lang, ma’am. May kare-kare kayo, mas bagay Pepsi dun.

O di’ba? In fairness. May opinion! Love it! And yep, I changed my order to Pepsi.

Price. Hmmm… our bill was P2,500. We were 4. We ordered a lot. Pang-anim na tao. Btw, thanks to Joko for bringing us there and taking care of half the bill. :p (I will share one of my future 5 Sticky Toffee Puddings with you.)

That’s me. Bundat and satisfied.

I havehaveHAVE to go to their Sunday buffet.

Let’s go? Watch me finish 5 Sticky Toffee Puddings?

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Thanks, Miki for the fab photos!

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Cafe Juanita, Pasig
2 United St. cor. West Capitol Drive, Barrio Kapitolyo
Pasig City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(02) 632-0357

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listening to: V Factory – Love Struck