Under the Tree Book Cafe 나무아래

Annyeonghaseyo 안녕하세요!

I spent the weekend enjoying the cool weather in Baguio & found one other thing to love about city...

Under the Tree Book Cafe

Yes, my dear friends, it's the Under the Tree Book Cafe. 

Who would have thought that amidst the hustle and bustle of a bus station there'd be a gem? Well, there is. You just have to look up. Literally. The coffee shop is located up on the second floor of a Geney's Ramyeon House, that's right beside Andok's. That part of the city is really busy so I was pleasantly surprised to have found cute & cozy Korean cafe there.

The cafe's counter & one of the baristas who happens to be Korean. ^^

As the name suggests, it is a book cafe so you can expect to see a lot of books and some magazines. The books are mostly Korean, but there are some English materials too. 

Some Korean novels

I was told that the cafe owner & staff are Christians. :)

One common thing I've noticed about independent Korean cafes is their wall of sticky notes. You sure can expect that from this coffee shop too. Lots and lots of sticky notes!

Hundreds of sticky notes!

Someone with OCD would've freaked out by the sight of the differently shaped & colored notes on the wall, but I actually find it quite charming. I think it gives character to the place and makes it more inviting. It doesn't hurt that it makes a cool photo op background too. ;)

Since my siblings & I just had dinner prior to going to the cafe, we opted to just have some drinks.

Right: Iced Mocha - Php 75.00
Middle: Iced Hazelnut Latte - Php 70.00
Right: Iced Chocolate Latte - Php 70.00

My Iced Hazelnut Latte

It was a bit stuffy that evening so the three of us had cold drinks. I ordered an Iced Hazelnut Latte & tried my siblings' drinks as well. I can be a Starbucks snob sometimes, but Under the Tree Book Cafe's coffee was actually quite good! The only complain I have is that it tastes milkier than the latte I'm used to, but other than that I give it a thumbs up. I also love the fact that nothing's over a hundred pesos on their drink menu (if I'm not mistaken). :) I'm definitely adding Under the Tree to my list of fav cafes!

Under the Tree Book Cafe 나무아래 (Na-mu-a-rae)

#26 Baden Powell Inn,
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City

*It's very near SM Baguio but can be difficult to spot. Look for this sign:

Business Hours:

Monday - Saturday: 10:00 am to 9:00 pm
Sunday: 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm

The Iscreamist

I'm back for a quick post about a place I've been wanting to try out for the longest time...The Iscreamist!

While a lot of people are in Boracary celebrating LaBoracay, I was having a LaBoringDay here in Manila. Weh. Excuse my poor sense of humor. Haha! April's been a busy month for me (and my family), so we didn't have any solid plans for the summer. Plus, my sister's school year didn't end up until the third week of April.

So yesterday was pretty random. My sister & I went to my church ministry's sportsfest from morning til afternoon, then decided to head on where our feet will take us. Since we were already in Katipunan, we thought of finally trying out The Iscreamist!

Photo taken from their Facebook page

The place was packed, as expected. The entire place could only accommodate 15 people, so we had to wait quite a bit to get a table. Turnover was actually quite fast since while you're channeling your inner child in amazement, people who are waiting for a table are watching you. It was awkward. Hahaha! We only stayed for about 15-20 minutes tops.

There were only a few choices on the menu. I decided to go for the Dragon's Breath, since that's what everyone's has been raving about.

4 pcs of S'mores with Liquid Nitrogen - Php 65.00
2 pcs of Macarons with Liquid Nitrogen - Php 75.00

Look at those cups! Notice how frozen they are!

Our order was served on a slate, cups of liquid nitrogen in the middle then s'mores & macarons on sticks around it.

We were told to wait for seven seconds before we started dipping, and after that, we dipped away! All you have to do is get a s'more or macaron on a stick and dip it into the liquid nitrogen. A few seconds later, take it out of the cup, and tada! There it is frozen and covered in smoke! I'm already a 20-something year old but I have to admit that I found it amusing! 

Taste-wise, the s'mores and macarons were just okay, but what made it really special was the whole experience of dipping it into a cup of liquid nitrogen. They also serve (some uniquely flavored) nitrogen ice cream for Php 150.00 per order, but we didn't try those out so I can't really say much about it yet.

"Panakot"/a word of caution from The Iscreamist--Hahaha!

Overall, I recommend The Iscreamist if you want to try out something new, exciting and amusing. :) Things on the menu are affordable and unique. Again, I'd like to reiterate that place is very small and it's very likely that there'd be a queue.

The Iscreamist

46 D Magiting St. Teacher's Village,

East Diliman, Quezon City

Business Hours:

Monday - Sunday

1:00 pm - 10:00 pm (last seating at 9:45 pm)

*The Iscreamist can only accommodate 15 diners at a time--seating is on first-come, first-served basis.