I was so full from lunch at Ramen Nagi but I will always have a pocket of space left in my tummy for coffee and dessert. Well, it was supposed to be coffee only until I saw something that left me breathless.
I was eager to try Mentoré because I’ve read they had all kinds of brewing methods popular in Japan and most 3rd wave coffee places.
As soon as I entered the place my eyes were drawn to the right of the cake display.
My eyes zoomed in to the impossibly tall apple crumb pie. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pie that high.
Their bar counter was filled with coffee equipment. UCC pioneered the syphon maker on the left.
The tall water drip coffee maker was impressive. I’ve never seen this before.
Two to three years ago you won’t see a single pour over coffee maker in Manila. Now it’s in so many restaurants and it makes me happy.
In the background is an espresso machine and in the foreground are a couple of Bodum French presses which is my preferred way of making coffee.
We sat at the seating area outside.
This page in their menu is my favorite and it taught me a lot about coffee brewing. Brewing strength is the lightest with the syphon and it increases with the strongest being the espresso machine. No wonder I always found the syphon coffee of UCC too light for my taste. I wanted to order a decaf water drip but it wasn’t available so I had it made using a French press instead.
I have to try the orange cappuccino the next time I go back!
My cousin loved the ube macapuno cake which she said had just the right amount of sweetness.
It was quite a big piece so she took home the other half.
Look at the gorgeous apple pie!!! I took a bite, froze and put down the fork. Hello? The apple was so cold it was almost frozen. I had it wrapped to enjoy it at home. I wasn’t giving up on this beauty.
The next day I took the pie out of the refrigerator and enjoyed the thick, crunchy chunks of apples liberally laced with cinnamon and brown sugar. Look at the thin, barely there bottom crust? Well it’s super duper good and almost like a cookie specially the thick edge. The crust of this apple pie is even better than the one of Sugarhouse which I base all crusts upon. This pie is now in my top 3 favorite apple pies!!! I hope the quality doesn’t change. I also hope the next time I have it in the restaurant it won’t be frozen.
See the cute timer on top of the French press? It signals the optimum brewing time of four minutes. I just wish they left the French press on our table so I can serve myself when the timer went off. They actually brought out the French press after four minutes.
I really liked my Mentore House Blend Decaf while Sharon enjoyed her Sumiyaki coffee. I will definitely be back!!!
Mentoré Coffee + Bar by UCC
SM Aura Premier
2nd Level, SM Aura Premier
McKinley Parkway corner 26th St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Metro Manila, Philippines
Shoot First Eat Later 