Despedida For Ofie

pasta & pizza

It was a get-together I thought would never happen. Schedules have been very hectic nowadays with my friends that looking for a perfect date to meet up seems like searching a needle in a haystack. With them having different rest days made the effort painstakingly more difficult to  accomplish; and that is finding a date that everyone would agree to or that would fit to their busy work schedules. Since I'm not bounded by any office-related work these days, I didn't mind doing all the so-called 'housework'. I would normally post an invite on Facebook and tag them on it. Right after, they would give me feedback if my proposed dates would work for them or not. I remember posting a total of three invites for them to work on. I initially planned for us to have our get-together at a plush restaurant in Corinthian Hills but later on decided to recommend Cab Cafe, a very casual (more like laid-back) restaurant in Kapitolyo, Pasig that serves good comfort food at reasonable prices.

@ j.co

This get-together also serves as a despedida for our friend Ofie who already flown to Riyadh earlier this month of March to work. It was really an answered prayer on her part and we wanted it to be a little bit special for her that is why I cajoled my friends to celebrate it at this restaurant. I've been to Cab Cafe before and I really enjoyed the food that I had and I'm sure my friends would have good experience with the food, as well. However, we almost didn't make it to Cab Cafe. Jhen was having second thoughts going there, worried about the food might be costly and would be way above what her budget would allow. I offered alternatives in SM Megamall in that way we could all possibly try J.CO Donuts & Coffee, the famed donuts and coffee shop import from Indonesia. We agreed through text that we will discuss this option with the rest of the gang once we meet up later that evening in Robinsons Galleria. What I didn't anticipated was that Karen Anne, (who would also be with us for the despedida dinner for Ofie) was also in SM Megamall on that very same day of our get together. She apparently met up with her beau, Rhey, there at the mall. She called me up and asked me to meet up with her there. I agreed. Once I saw her with her beau, I told her of the impending changes for our get-together and the probability of doing it instead at the very mall were standing in right now. Karen intimated that she would like to push through with what was agreed upon. That's is why we still ended up with Cab Cafe that evening.

Karen got curious when I told her about J.CO so we decided to take a peek. It was really more like a peek really since we just stayed there so Karen could utilize one of the power outlets there to charge her Blackberry Torch phone. But we had to order something, so its just three donuts (Choconuttey, Alcapone and Forest Glam) for each of us (Rhey refused to touch his share, however). An Iced Cappuccino Caramello for my drink. Karen had the Hot Tiramisu. The donuts were not too sweet and quite doughy. Mine and Karen's unanimous favorite was the Alcapone. A beauty to behold, the donut was covered with specks of almonds. A divine interplay on the tongue brought by the crunch from the almonds, pillowy soft dough and sugary sweet confection. I would love to go back to enjoy the full J.CO experience.

inside cab cafe

cakes & pastries

table setting

It was quite busy that night at Cab Cafe, but not crowded and we easily nabbed seats good for all of us. To roll call; it was Ofie, Jhen, Darlene, me and Karen Anne in attendance. I naturally gravitate towards the display case of desserts and sweets. It was a sight to behold. The bridge of my nose almost touch the glass as I ogled at the Cream Cheese Turtle Pie, Sinful Fudge Cake and the Canonigo, a meringue type dessert topped with custard. All of which I should have ordered on hindsight but only settled for one dessert at the end of our meal. I tell you all about it later.

choco peanut butter pie frappe

sausage platter

deli pinoy spaghetti

fettuccine w/ ham & cream

I'm such a sucker for dessert drinks so I had the Choco Peanut Butter Pie Frappe (P125.00). A nice concoction of cold chocolate drink laced with peanut butter. This one is good! One of the better frappe out there. We also had the Country Sausage Platter (P170.00) as appetizer. The sausage platter was such a hit on our table. It was polished empty in no time. Served with sliced ciabatta bread, a perfect companion to the meaty goodness of the sausage.

Ofie initially wanted to order the Linguinne Con Tonno if I'm not mistaken, a type of tuna pasta. However, our waitstaff informed us it is not available. He highly recommended to her the Deli Pinoy Spaghetti (P155.00) Its an aglio olio pasta served with itlog na maalat (salted egg), smoked bangus and tomatoes. The pasta was really salty due to the presence of itlog na maalat and the bangus. But the flavor was excellent, and I liked the shimmer the oil lent to the spaghetti strands.

Jhen ordered the Fettuccine With Ham & Cream (P165.00). Karen find this pasta too creamy to her liking. But I liked the extra creaminess of it. A little too much sauce on a creamy white pasta would always be better than having it too dry. All pasta dishes were served with sliced foccacia breads.

roast beef sandwich burger

angus beef steak

sticky finger ribs

breakfast platter

Jhen was not kidding when she said she's hungry, because she ordered another item. This time in a form of a Roast Beef Sandwich (P190.00) as stated on the menu. But it should have been called Roast Beef Burger, for the very obvious reason. The hefty size of the buns were no match to the scanty roast beef sandwiched in between. A more generous portion of those roast beef slices would be most welcome in the future. 

My order of the Angus Burger Steak (P205.00) was pretty much decent. I just find the sides of French fries too out of tune with the rice. Buttered vegetables or mashed potatoes would be much more appropriate. Darlene's order of Sticky Finger Ribs (P200.00) has a very chewy meat texture, according to Karen. But the fatty part makes up for the slight toughness of the meat.

Karen's order of the Breakfast Plate (P160.00) was pretty much okay, too. It has sausages similar to the ones they offered on the sausage platter, foccacia bread slices and a turnover egg omelet with loads of vegetables spilling out of it. Its like an egg and vegetables calzone gone wild. The vegetables were fresh. I especially loved the broccoli. Still has that slight crunch.

ham and mushroom pizza

carrot cake

But my hands down favorite (and I'm sure my friends' choice, too) would be the Pizza With Ham & Mushroom. I normally choose thick crust pizza over the thin ones but this one was really good. The pizza dough was soft that biting into it gave a pleasurable feel provided by the bread and its toppings as opposed to other thin crust pizza that I've tried that has the texture of Skyflakes crackers. Putting droplets of the Tabasco sauce on top would amplify its addictive factor. I warn you, though, to eat their pizza while its hot because it wasn't as delicious after it sits for a while, with all of the heat had gone out of it. 


After we polished off our plates with all of the savory food, my friends didn't show any indication that they would order any desserts. So I took it upon myself for one last indulgence and order myself a cake. There was so many to choose from, so much choices but I zeroed in on just one. A slice of their beautifully adorned Carrot Cake. Normally, I would have gone wild banshee ordering as many as three or four desserts, since there's so many desserts options on Cab Cafe's display case that night. But my sense of propriety told me that one is enough for now. Anyway, by that time, I'm beginning to feel the full weight of the food I consumed so far. The Carrot Cake was a good choice. Moist, sweet and creamy. An added point was the fact that its a drop dead gorgeous cake slice, too.

ofie, jhen & darlene

darlene

jhen & ofie (photo courtesy of jhen)

karen anne (photo courtesy of jhen)

karen anne & ofie

Ofie went straight from Divisoria to Cab Cafe where she bought a simple black abaya (a robe-like dress worn by women in Islamic countries) since she would need it in Riyadh. While we wait for our orders, we gave Ofie our mementos for her. Karen and I gave her compartmentalized-type handbags in different shades of pink (Ofie's favorite color, apparently mine, as well he-he!) while Jhen bought her a headset for her iPhone. Hope Ofie did find our gifts handy for her travel abroad.

group pic

ofie w/ jhen's gift (photo courtesy of jhen)

cab cafe in kapitolyo, pasig

Again, to our dear friend Ofie, keep safe and always ask for God's guidance in everything that you do and He'll be there for you every step of the way to your success. And we're always here for you. All you got to do is to go online and say "Holla!" :) And to Cab Cafe, I'm sure going to be back to try most of your cakes and desserts the next time around. Can't wait!

18 East Capitol Drive

Kapitolyo, Pasig City