Hollys Coffee Experience I

I am a self confessed coffee addict. Ask any of my friends and they would all agree.Nowadays I can get by without any dinner as long as I have had my coffee boost.I can substitute one meal for even just one venti cafe latte. :p  As I have mentioned this is  my journey to discovering new things and new places so I am always in constant motion to find the best tasting food, best ambiance, well basically the best that life has to offer. I am happy to say that I am not alone in this journey because my friends are constantly feeding me information on new places and food to try. So the other day a friend of mine invited me to try out this new coffee place that opened at SM Southmall in Las Pinas city. Of course, there's no need for further coaxing for me, the minute she said coffee everything else kinda faded in the background.hehehe.


I was so excited for the day to end so I can make a beeline to this new place. It was not hard to find because it is situated beside Racks, at the food street area at the back of the mall. Quite the opposite side of Starbucks (my third place :) ). Anyway since it was their first day of opening ( I think they call it "soft" opening) the store was not full of people. It's either most of the guests were already gone or most people have not heard of them yet.


When I got inside the coffee shop the first thing I noticed was that it was a lot spacier compared to Starbucks.

It was also cold (probably because there were only a few people inside) and I was greeted by a friendly crew as I walked in. I also noticed the quaint "cupboard" at the left side. It sort of added to the homey atmosphere of the place.So I made a beeline to my friends and sat down with them, Since they were there first the first thing I asked was "Is their coffee good?". Ate Charlene (she was the one who invited me) said that she really liked it, now just a little background on her, she's a very good pastry baker and has a big appreciation for good coffee like me, so when she said it was good it was good enough as a review for me :).


But of course I had to taste it for myself so I asked them what they got and what would they recommend. She accompanied me to the counter and I was welcomed by a friendly (and cute!lol) crew. I looked over at their menu and checked the prices. My eyes zeroed in on their mint flavored drinks. Now some of my friends really find it weird that I like mint on my coffee or tea. Well on tea it may not taste so weird but one friend told me once when she tasted Peppermint mocha by Starbucks (my all time fave drink there) she felt like she just brushed her teeth and then immediately drank coffee.Lol. Well no matter what they say it works for me. I love the minty after taste it leaves on my mouth. Anyhow, going back, I started to order their Mint Choco Cafe Mocha but then the crew and ate Char told me all mint drinks were not available yet. I was a bit disappointed  but hey I'd cut them some slack this time since they have just opened up. hahaha.

So I asked ate what would she recommend, she then asked me back on what i felt like drinking. I told her i wanted something dark (because I love dark chocolate...). She then recommended Real Belgian Cafe Mocha. She said to me " You want it Dark talaga ha!You'll see" I took it as a challenge so I went ahead and ordered their large drink (Picture above is the large size). I looked over the pastry section and noticed they do have quite a selection of waffles, sandwiches and cake. But I was not in the mood to eat anything sweet at that time so I decided not to order anything else. But I did take a mental note of some that I would like try for next time.


While waiting for my order I was already making mental comparisons with my favorite coffee place. Ate Charlene also gave me a background on the place, She said that it's a Korean coffee shop. So that was already a plus point to my appeal because as far as I know Koreans have a great appreciation for good food. I also looked around more closely and noticed that the place was really comfortable and the chairs, even the ones without the foam, are pretty much OK with my tush. :)


After a few minutes my coffee came. Either I was so busy chatting about or the barista had a soft voice but I did not hear him call out my name though the place was pretty quiet. A point to observe next time. A place can have the best tasting food but for me if service leaves less to be desired, there's pretty much a big chance that I would not come back. Anyway one of the baristas brought it over to me when he noticed my drink was still there so I guess i would let it pass.hehehe.


As i held that coffee cup in anticipation, with Ate Charlene and Nely hovering over me waiting for my reaction, I could feel my coffee sense tingling. What's coffee sense you say? I don't know either. Hahaha! I just wanted to say I was excited in a flowery way. Lol. 


kapeng barako. I replaced the cover and then took my first sip.....and then I knew I was a GONER!!! MAN this coffee is good!!! Really good!!! If you are familiar with Starbucks dark mocha flavor , you can use that as a reference point to imagine how it tastes like. This drink had a thicker texture compared to the one from Starbucks. I think by far from all the coffee shops I've been to, their coffee had the thickest texture. For the level of bitterness this one can really jolt you awake! Probably for the people who don't like bitter coffee what I said would not encourage them to try this drink, but I tell you, this is one drink you would like. It has that certain level of kick-ass-jolt-you-awake bitter taste but just had the right amount of sweetness to counter the bitter taste but still give you the "jolt-you-awake" effect. Catch my drift? :)


I would recommend though that you stir the coffee a bit though before drinking it to even out the taste. Because for me (take note I really prefer bitter coffee so it was okay with me) the first sip was pure bitter ground coffee. I kept telling my friends that I love my coffee and that I can honestly say (if my heart won't give out first due to caffeine overload) I can have 5 or more of it. Hahaha. The best part about it is in between taking your sips of coffee, somehow the taste lingers in your mouth. It's like even when you're talking the coffee is still in your mouth. No kidding! It's a first for me!I am definitely coming back to this place. Now remember that I said they had a wide selection of pastries, I did not get one but I thought after tasting this flavor It would go well with a sweet cake. Because the sweetness of the cake would complement the bitter taste of the coffee. So I made a mental note again to do that next time.


I know it would be too early to say that I might have found my new "third place" but just this one order of coffee definitely peaked my interest to try their other concoctions. I AM DEFINITELY coming back! :) So watch out for my upcoming reviews on their other drinks and on their pastries. For all coffee lovers out there, this place is really worth a visit!!!! :) Till next time!