Batangas | A Taste of Kapeng Barako @ Cafeño

You might be wondering why my first photo is of tamales instead of Batangas' kapeng barako? Sorry for that peeps! After tasting the kapeng barako from Cafeño Coffee House and finding out that it's good and tasted just like the kapeng barako I used to drink back home, I drank it all I forgot to take a photo of it (just a single shot, by the way). :P Anyway, I came to know Cafeño Coffee House when I'm searching for a place to eat in San Juan, Batangas. It was for our family vacation in Laiya, San Juan last July, when my brother took a vacation from his work as an OFW. And it was my first time going out with family without spending a single cent for it, *happiness*! ^_^ 

After enjoying the pool (more than the beach) in Blue Coral Beach Resort, we opted to look for a place to eat in the San Juan town proper. Although my brother is an OFW, I find it unreasonable to spend so much on food (we took buffet dinner the previous night and we didn't enjoy the food that much, they're not big eaters anyway) at the resort. So the following day, we left just before lunchtime and headed to Cafeño. 

Cafeño is a cozy coffee house located in a century-old Spanish house in the town proper of San Juan, Batangas (just before the town hall, if you're coming from Lipa City). Aside from coffee (coffee house eh), Cafeño also offers rice meals and snack varieties as well as homemade ice cream. For our lunch, we ordered creamy roast pork (135PhP/order), beef ala cubana (130PhP), chicken-pork adobo flakes (130PhP), tamales (60PhP), Batangas tapa (145PhP), tulingan strips (140PhP), pork humba (145PhP), barako float (90PhP), and barako ice cream (50PhP/scoop).

While waiting for our orders to arrive, I took photos of the coffee house and saw these unique table designs -- old sewing machines used as coffee tables. Unique, right?

After more or less 15 minutes of waiting, our orders arrived. My personal order was the fried tulingan (small tuna variety) strips, the steamed then fried tulingan strips for a more flavorful taste. It comes with garlic fried rice, fried eggplant and a shot of kapeng barako...perfect combo, promise! (That's why I forgot to take photo of the coffee...hehe!) However, the serving is just enough for one person, not good for sharing and so I find it a bit expensive, too. By the way, I don't know if they're brewing kapeng barako the traditional way, the way I'm used to seeing it brewed back home (by boiling the water, kapeng barako and brown sugar all at the same time), but it definitely tasted like the one I'm used to, the original kapeng barako I grew up with. ☺

After we finished them all, we're all happy and full; for a cheaper cost, much cheaper had we took our lunch at Blue Coral Beach Resort. ;) If you happen to go to Laiya, try Cafeño. And don't forget to try their kapeng barako and tamales, they're a must-try (if you're fond of native delicacies, that is)! ^_^

~ oo00oo ~

#9 Corner Gen. Luna and Rizal Sts.,

San Juan, Batangas

(just across Petron Station)