Sunday, 2PM Specials

There is a chocolate cake I go crazy about. The type that makes you drool even at the slightest thought of it. It was by no means a Sunday, but I was up to hunt for Sunday 2PM Cafe*.... Yeah! You read it right.

Sunday 2pm is how that Korean coffee shop is named. Sheltered at the ground floor of Sarrosa Hotel this coffee shop looks pink and dainty. I wouldn't have gone had it not been for the persistent and insistent invitation of another blogging friend** whose affair with cafés can drive you nuts. But I did go and it was all worth the ride to F. Cabahug St., (a street I would usually avoid going to as there is only one jeepney (03-A) that passes through it). It was a visit I will remember Cebu for because of a sinful delight. Must I go into further details?...

Of course. It may not be our first to hear about cakes being called "devil" or "sin", but, their Chocolate Sin Cake is "the one to reckon with". I didn't let audacity drive me to the point of asking their attendant if the owner did the baking but I was already letting myself sink into the luring sweet other-worldly dimension. The kind of world where nothing else matters except that subtle sweetness and bitterness blending in harmony as the creamy dark chocolate melts in the mouth and bursts into a glorious "hmmmm" spelled in the walls of  imagination. It is so transporting such that a loud distraction is necessary to snap you out from the quiet.

Chocolate Sin Cake.... Spellbinding!

(tinkles and loud conversation..!)
I hate to take you back to reality but the sin cake is not their only food. They do have a wide selection of "snackables" to choose from: toasts, flavored and blended drinks, hot and cold coffee mixes, panini, and many more. All those either handwritten or cut and pasted on a worn out, ordinary "notebook". Seriously? How outdated can you get? But ain't the "old" and "simple" the latest new and posh?

(left) a page of the Slam book Menu | (center) "THE cake" and a Taro Blend | (right) library, post-its, interior

Obviously, these type of cafés proliferate lately. In the list of good Korean contributions to Philippine trends, this is certainly one of it. Filipinos go back to the shop for many reasons: for the library of books, laze on comfortable and raw interiors, to catch local gossips and stories from post-its, spelling and grammar patrolling. I go back to Sunday 2PM to sketch and scribble... and sin (embarassed). Darn! That Chocolate Sin Cake's put a spell on me!

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* the name is taken from the owner's (Sean Yoo) favorite day and time of the week. Details from here.
** photos here are courtesy of Laagholic.

Sunday 2PM Cafe
Sarrosa International Hotel and Residential Suites
F. Cabahug St. Cor. Pres. Quirino
Ayala Access road, Mabolo
Cebu City, Philippines 6000








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Money in Coffee Vending

If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much. - Jim Rohn

Jumpstart the year with a great plan in mind. 
If you haven't yet, get started with this.

3 Earning Options:

1. Own a Coffee Vending Machine 

Own one of these machines and set it up at an identified busy area (e.g. terminals, market, schools, etc.). While you are working during the day, it sells coffee by itself. Collection of your earnings can be done at your most convenient time. Contact Us for details on how to own one.

Model: DG-700

Machine Specifications:

2 Flavor Canisters (coffee and hot chocolate)

- Cleaning Mechanism

- Adjustible Flavor and Water Concentration

- Inventory Tracking Mechanism

- 50 to 55 cup loading capacity

Model: DG-808

Machine Specifications:

3 Flavor Canisters (Coffee, Hot Choco, and any other flavors like Caramel Macchiato)

- Cleaning Mechanism

- Adjustible Flavor and Water Concentration

- Inventory Tracking Mechanism

- 55 to 100 cup loading capacity

  

2. Concession

If you have a food stall, a convenience store, or any operating business shops that you think will need additional coffee-drinking people traffic, share a space for a Coffee Vending Machine. Earn from a percentage based on gross sales for the day. Contact Us for details.

3. Sell for us.

Sell the machines on our behalf and earn. Contact Us for details.

“Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
― Warren Buffett

Life's Sweet Little Things

When SLT (Sweet Little Things) opened its first shop at J Block, corner Apitong and Escario St. in the last quarter of 2011, more Cebuanos began growing curiosity for cupcakes. Who wouldn't?

SLT Lemon Poppyseed. Photo from here.

Usually, people go to this part of Cebu for Sprockets Coffee + Milk Tea Cafe (one cool restaurant) or go for a sumptuous lunch or dinner in Red House Taiwan Shabu Shabu. Oftentimes, while either waiting for the order to be served or even as soon as finishing a meal, impulse take customers into the tiny glass, see-through SLT shop. It sits right between the two bigger restaurants and from outside, you can already notice the shop attendant moving around, checking on the cupcakes display, or fixing the chairs and table arrangement. One can't help but walk in out of curiosity.

As soon as you are inside the shop, you will notice their wide array of cupcake flavors labeled clearly for proper identification. Unlike the usual cupcakes we find in ordinary bakeshops, these on the other hand are very eye-catching. Some are adorned and topped with colorful frosting while others, in fact, have real fruit slices. Each cupcake is priced neatly at Php 58. The more you buy the higher the discounts go. A half a dozen (Php 298) in a "pasalubong" box will slash a few pesos from your total bill. The boxed delights make good Christmas presents for friends and loved ones.

Just for today, however, I and a "laagholic" decided to skip the icing and go with the real cream topped cold coffee drinks. For a price between 100-150 pesos, you can already sip through the regular-sized, ice-blended java chip or chocolate cream coffee.

Let that curiosity take you to SLT today.

Sweet Little Things Branches:

J Block Building
Apitong Street corner Escario Street
Cebu City 6000

2/F SM CITY
Northwing (fronting CyberZone)
Cebu City

Contact Number: 09228608600



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2Story Delight

Formerly Noriter, now 2 Story Kitchen, this coffee bar and restaurant seems to be unrelenting when it comes to persisting to survive and succeed.

A few months ago, while driving along Sta. Catalina St., I noticed that AVON office was already closed, however, its adjacent space looked like there were construction works going on. It was interesting because the once plain concrete walls of the building are now accentuated with wooden elements.

 

Just last week, I had the chance to pass by the area again and this time, it looked like the construction was complete. I shrugged the fact that just across it, Noriter, once flocked by customers, was already closed. It was disappointing but we were getting used to shops opening then calling it quits a year or two after.

 
I, my sister, and my nephew decided to walk into the new shop and something struck me too familiar, too quickly. She couldn't be a twin, so I asked, "Weren't you the cashier of Noriter?" which she answered, "Yes". It was also then that I realized that the old location was shut because the owner had other plans for the building. I tried seeking for information about the re-branding but she knew too little about it. She did, however, share that the owner of the restaurant is Korean and is also the person behind the artistic interior design. You can't help but notice the owners fondness of collecting artifacts from very old posters and drawings to interesting toys. All play the part of adding to the warm but playful ambiance. The mint green color kind of pulls the childish mood in you.

When we were about to order, the cashier cut our thoughts by offering that we go up to the 2nd floor to find a spot and then decide what items to buy. We understood her insistence to usher us upstairs because the store indeed had something more to showcase. Colorful string curtains hung to hide the cozy wooden cubicles which served as students and friends' effective hangout. Some cubes have tables in the center equipped with a buzzer to get waitresses' attention when making an order. Beyond the 2nd story enclosure, is a veranda designed for smoking customers. We didn't stay long upstairs because our 1 year old companion loiters just about everywhere, including the stairs.

 Food was surprisingly good too. I couldn't get over their avocado shake that was not only affordable but done with the right sweetness and consistency. My sister ordered a winter melon shake and we shared the vegetarian pizza (P170) and American style burger (P155) which came with a handful of french fries. I think I may have gobbled the food too fast that I regret not having taken a picture of it before it completely disappeared from the plate.

Is it worth a repeat? Definitely!

2 Story Kitchen
Sta. Catalina Street, 6200 Dumaguete City
09156451995

Cafe Noriter (Cebu)
One Acacia Unit 10&11,
Arch Bishop Reyes Ave
6000 Cebu City

Opens Everyday: 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Phone    0927 364 7138
Email    karma789@nate.com

More reviews here:

Proudly Dumaguete
TripAdvisor

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