After hours of shopping at the Big Outlet Sale at the Megatent, we were famished. We wanted to eat somewhere special for our friend, Mary’s birthday so we deferred to our foodie friend/budding food critic, Graey. She suggested Enderun’s Restaurant 101, but it was closed. That’s how we ended up in Cafe Juanita.
Reservations is a must. When we got there all tables were taken or reserved, but we told them we were willing to wait. We went to the “karinderya” beside it, and sweated it out in the heat a bit while waiting – but totally worth it!
The exterior of the restaurant is very deceiving. I would never have guessed that there was wonderful bohemian resto/heaven for foodies in this corner lot in Kapitolyo. When you cross its threshold, it’s like you are transported to a different world.
*Note: For some weird reason, none of us girls had a camera that day (GASP!) so I ended up taking pictures with my Blackberry, but the images would not have done justice to such an unforgettable experience of sight, sound and taste! So I had to borrow some.
Shabby-chic, eclectic, antique-filled interiors of Cafe Juanita. Note: the items are for sale. Some even have price tags on them. Image: ourawesomeplanet.com
My lovely friends were nice enough to order mains that I would be able to share with them. I was actually just planning to eat soup because my braces had just been adjusted. I was elated to have real food because I’ve been subsisting on instant noodles and vienna sausage for 2 days!
The salty Crispy Phai Phai (Php 168) was perfectly paired with this super yummy spicy vinegar. I love salty food so you can imagine how much I loved this dish. Image: foodtrippings.com
I split French Onion Soup (Php 120) with one of my friends. This is just half a serving portion. It was pretty good. Not as thick as the usual onion soup but very flavorful. This was good for me because I don’t like heavy soup
The Gambas (Php 188) were good, the shrimps were not overdone and it was very Garlicky!
The Deep Fried Lapu-Lapu in Tamarind Sauce (P499.00) was good for 4. It was fresh, crispy outside and tender on the inside and the sauce was different but absolutely amazing! The amount of sauce was not proportional to the amount of fish, but it was easy enough to ask for more since the waiters were very gracious and accommodating.
This was the closest pic I got off the net of the Two-Way Pork Adobo (Php 396). I think they’ve improved this recipe because the dish we got was a little different. We got uber tender slices of pork instead of ribs, the adobo flakes were not a giant mass, but small crispy yummy flakes floating around the dish and there was loads of garlic and sauce! It was good for 4, and we all loved it!
Image: flickrIs it bad that we love garlic so much that we had this meal with Garlic Fried Rice (Php 69)? It was great! Not too oily and very garlicky. =P We paired our meal with white wine. I can’t remember the exact brand of Semillon Chardonnay (Php 1050), but was perfect with the almost all-seafood meal. We let our friend, Kay pick. She used to be a bartender, so she knows her spirits!
When we told them it was our friend’s birthday, they gave us complimentary cake, their signature Sticky Toffee Pudding (Php 89). The waiters came into the room, with the birthday candle lit up and the entire restaurant started singing “Happy Birthday!” What a wonderful surprise! The other customers were so game and clapping as they were singing. It was so much fun!!
Image: flickr
CAFE JUANITA
- #2 United St. cor. West Capitol Drive, Barrio Kapitolyo, Pasig City, Philippines
- +632 – 632 – 0357
- Open:
- Su, M, T, W, Th, F, Sa: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Su, M, T, W, Th, Sa: 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm
- F: 5:30 pm – 12:00 mn
P.S.
For those of you who find it hard to get to Kapitolyo, there’s a new Cafe Juanita branch at the Fort:
- Unit WS-2 Burgos Circle, Forbestown Center, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
- +632 403-1952
- 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
The two way pork adobo looks good.
You should go to sentro, take some pics, and eat (in that order). No wonder I get so fat in Manila.
Just thinking of pancake house and sentro’s boneless crispy pata and the pinoy osso buco is making look for food.