Last week Ajay, Audrey, Marc, Junnjun and I all went to Cafe Bob’s to have our caffeine fix and some sweets.

Since I won a few bucks at the casino that night, I bought the coffee, then Ajay treated us some sweets.

Bob’s has been household name in Bacolod. It has been known for its restaurant at the North Drive (fronting the Riverside Hospital). The restaurant is known for its baby back ribs, sate babe, and its uber-yummy hamburger.

And just recently, Bob’s has ventured into something that Bacoleños has been wanting for: a Coffee Shop. Long before Starbucks entered the scene in the City of Smiles, there’s Kuppa Coffee Shop, Coffee Station, and the latest among them: Cafe Bob’s.

Cafe Bob’s is loosely patterned after the international coffee chains, serving gourmet coffee and mouth watering pastries and desserts.

I am more familiar of the Cafe Bob’s in Robinson’s Place Bacolod, but it was my first time to try having my caffeine fix at their main coffee shop along Lacson Street.

On first look, one would notice the font style and font color of the signage. It is the same as with the Starbucks’.

Their line of coffee is good. I wouldn’t be surprised why there are a lot of locals and tourists that frequent this place.

Their desserts are yummy too. I love their Pavlova and Sans rival. The Green Tea Cheesecake is just OK. Nothing extraordinary for me.

But what is really good with Cafe Bob’s is that Good food, and great tasting coffee doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, our coffees all come under PHP100 each.

Unlike here in manila where PHP100 is not even enough for a basic Cafe au Lait. Oh, did I say that they also have FREE WiFi access?

For my first meal of the day, I ordered pastrami panini and Hot chocolate topped with mashmallows.

The sandwich is just perfect. The soft panini is stuffed with pastrami crunchy lettuce leaves and mayo dressing. The hot chocolate is OK too. Not too sweet and not too hot to burn your tongue.

The overall ambiance of the cafe is good too. And its location is just right. It is just beside the shopping mall, but I guess far enough from the noise of the mall rats.

And what’s good with Coffee Works in Cagayan de Oro is that while they serve a good cup of coffee sandwiches and pasta, the price tag is just reasonable. Their products are much cheaper compared to signature coffee brands that are preferred by some.

As the name implies, Cafe de Lipa offers Batangas Coffee or more popularly known among the Filipinos as Kapeng Barako.

When we went there, they were still on their soft opening phase. So it was not unusualy to see their red walls bare, and a few more adjustments that need to be improved.

But talk about the food and drinks, everything on the menu is superb. I ordered a cold dark chocolate drink. It was good. You can actually feel some chocolate bit bits while taking a sip.

The sweets samplers platter we ordered is also good.

What is good with Cafe de Lipa is that they offer a good dose of caffeine fix without even making a scratch on your wallet. Everything is reasonably priced.

And more than just a cup of coffee, another good thing with Cafe de Lipa is that it supports the local coffee industry by sourcing fresh coffee beans that only comes from Batangas. Their coffee is 100% local and farmed by Filipinos.

The restaurant’s interior is well lighted and has large spaces in between tables. The place is perfect for intimate dinners.

Bar21′s claim to fame is its delicious steaming hot Batchoy. A lot of people in Bacolod raves at its batchoy.

But when I went back to Bacolod last week, I opted not to order bachoy. Instead Audrey and I ordered Hamburger with fries on its sides and ice cream.

As expected, foods were great. The fries were crispy fried and not like your typical fast food fries.

Burger is good. the patties are oh-so-juicy and has fresh lettuce in it.

The Ice cream drizzled with caramel syrup and topped with maraschino cheery is fantastic. Perfect to combat the sweltering heat of the sun.

Bar21 Restaurant is located at Lacson corner 21st Street Bacolod City. Telephone numbers (+63 34) 4334096 / (+63 34) 435-3852

Pietro Kafee is probably one of the very few coffee shops in Bacolod that offers Lavazza Coffee, one of the prime coffee brands in Europe.

Aside from coffee one of my favorite here it their pizza. Their menu allows you to be creative and imaginative. They do not have fixed pizza flavors, but a do-it-yourself pizza. And it was really fun creating it.

What I love in their pizza is its crust. It is obviously hand made. Unlike regular pizza which has a soft crust, Pietro Kafee pizza crust is thin and crispy.

Don’t worry about the price. It won’t scratch your pocket as menu offerings here are reasonably priced.