Brewpoint Mactan

For years, Mactan Island has been getting the short end of the stick.  While Cebu has been getting a bulk of the region's development, Mactan in particular languished.  The Island does not have a single cinema with the closure of Gaisano Mactan's cineplex.  For a while there good coffee was nowhere to be found on Mactan, unless you count McDonald's brewed coffee (which is too acidic for me).

Enter Brewpoint.  One of the three coffeeshops I know in the island, and the only one worth being tagged as a coffeeshop and not having to contend with Caucasian habitues looking for a good time.  Having a tagline like "Making Mactan Island better one cup at a time" might seem lofty, but all it takes is a visit to know that they're working on it.

First disappointment was their lack of food.  I first found out about Brewpoint from Facebook where there were shots of pasta and cakes.  When we got there, I was told that they still are not serving food at the moment.  We came back after a quick lunch at Dimsum Break and got these for dessert:

I had the Mint Mocha, and the wifey's first comment was, "Where's the whipped cream?"

The whipped cream less concoction was good, however it could have really used the whipped cream not just for the aesthetics, but for added taste.

The wifey and the kid shared the Chocolate Cookie Blast:

This one, was yummy. :) It was really rich and the flavor stays with you hours after you've left.  

You should really try their champagne rose cake:

The kid really liked this one.  We also did. Champagne rose is one of a kind, and it was good. To-die-for even.

But probably the best thing about Brewpoint is that they provide you with a cozy place to hang around especially on a lazy and HOT Saturday afternoon.  It was this hot outside:

But inside it was really comfortable.  So much so that it was a perfect for some mother-and-daughter tete-a-tete.

I heard that they also have Wi-fi, but I was laptop-less during the visit so I couldn't check.

Brewpoint is at the ground floor of the GMC Arcade, two doors down from Dimsum and two doors up Rose Pharmacy.  GMC Arcade is across the old PUJ Terminal.

This post was written by A.

REDiscovering RED Ribbon

Back when I was still with my old company, the money was not really that flowing and we had to scrimp on dining out.  Red Ribbon was usually a treat that we'd reserve for Sunday lunch (and almost always the Sunday after payday).

We used to take the baby and hie off to Country Mall to enjoy an hour or two eating whatever Red Ribbon had cooked for us.  Char.  And I say it's a treat because it cost us a day's worth of wages to eat there.  That Red Ribbon routine came to a halt when we moved to Lapu-Lapu City.  Other than that, I really don't know why we stopped eating there even if we spend almost every weekend at SM or Ayala, which both have Red Ribbon branches, given that a meal there costs lower than the meals we have at other places.

Fast forward a couple of years later and we found ourselves in line for a Red Ribbon meal.  And so, it was time we REDiscovered RED Ribbon.

Red Ribbon now has cake shakes.  And it's perfect for the summer heat.  I got  the Chocolate version:

It really could have used some added flavor, but it was ICE COLD and that's all that mattered to my parched throat.  

Of course, we just have to order their chicken lollipop...

...which was -- and always will be -- a favorite of ours.  The kids (our three-year-old imp and our niece) shared the plateful of their good-old spaghetti that came with the chicken.

And since it has been roughly two years since we ate at Red Ribbon, we tried out two things on their meals menu that was new to us. One was this Chicken and mushroom dish (for me):

and their tocino meal (for the wife):

Of course, what's Red Ribbon without cake? So we ordered a slice of Tiramisu Cake with one of the meals. Delectable.

All in all, the meals and the drinks for two parched adults and two equally parched kids, were satisfying.  And they totaled LESS than PHP500.  Not bad.  I think we'd eat at Red Ribbon more from now on.

This post was written by A.