My friends and I have been planning to eat at one of the few, if not only, Korean Restaurants in Kalibo for a very long time now and it has always been a source of frustration for us. We’ve tried once before but this establishment has been strict about their clientele which is a far cry from all the fun/welcoming Korean places in Manila, who frankly don’t give a shit about who you are.
One Great only accepts a certain number of customers per dining period (lunch and dinner) because they have limited seating. They are also fully booked almost every day because they prioritize reservations from their Korean customers coming in/out on flights directly to/from South Korea.
So we are usually in a bind when we try to come here since we are either late to the party or the place is already brimming. Once again, we failed to get in despite us insisting that there were still a lot of empty tables (but were apparently reserved) so Urie got her Samangco ice cream and we just hightailed it out of there followed by a cloud of disappointment.
We looked for somewhere else to eat and nothing was really working for us until we saw Miggy’s Place. Miggy’s is also located in the Kalibo International compound near the domestic terminal. It’s basically an airport staple. My family and I used to come here for my dad’s company Christmas Party or on the odd days we picked up a relative.
Rae was disheartened but we were determined to make the best of the situation. So ordered our fill, we did and in doing so, forgot to ask what the serving sizes were. Turns out, each order is good for at least 2 people so we definitely had a lot on our plates (pun intended).
We got our starters – fries and some salad (a little sparse on the photo because we had a ate some) – and of course, milkshakes! And I know we’ve been trying to live healthier lives but we’re sad and butthurt so why the hell not?
We also ordered nachos, 2 kinds of pastas, some kind German sausage sandwich and some jap chae.
The spicy Korean glass noodles were our consolation prize for not getting into One Great. It was delicious and the heat was tolerable for me. Both pastas were also good – one is pictured above while I didn’t get a chance to take a photo of own!
Once we’ve finished devouring our feast of a lunch, we split up since I had to meet up with my parents at an appliance emporium. We’ve been pressed for a new refrigerator for a while now and my mother has finally caved. I’m tagging along because I wanted to weigh-in in the decision making.
After fridge shopping with the parentals, I went straight to this new place called Nineteenth St. Café in downtown Kalibo. Situated at GQ Plaza’s ground floor and just across Pastrana Park, its location is basically prime real estate. During this visit, Nineteenth St. was at a soft opening and has been open for only a couple weeks.
It was quiet when we visited but I believe business has been rather good for them. You can tell because they actually ran out of bread for their paninis. Since we’ve just had lunch, we only ordered dessert and some hot beverages as a “nightcap” in the middle of the afternoon.
We ordered an assortment of the cakes and the drinks to get a lay of the land. A slice of red velvet, triple chocolate, and Belgian chocolate cakes and some iced salted caramel latte and raspberry mocha for the girls and a hot cuppa of cafe latte for myself.
Overall, I’m happy with the addition of this new cafe here in Kalibo. Some might be miffed with the prices but this is basic cafe fare anywhere in Manila or other cities so I’m perfectly fine with them. The interiors are clean and simple. I think the only problem would be the air conditioned area is small and won’t be able to accommodate a lot of people.
Today ended with promises of meeting again soon – which is a LIE! I find this funny because I’m in that stage in life where I need to focus on my career and adulting and that is exactly the same with my own friends so we end up not meeting at all because we are too busy with whatever. Regardless, we’ve always been the LDR kind of friends since we were pretty spread-out across 3 different cities during college. Our friendship shall always prevail!
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life by misadventure. 