Coffee Shop Review: Goldfish Cafe Bontoc, Philippines

Our driver, dead to the world, lay stretched on the front seat, which he pushed back to make his sleep more comfortable. I entered the van in a dream-like state that was the aftermath of a 12-hour travel and sleep deprivation. I took my place just behind the driver’s seat and notwithstanding the fact that the space had been reduced due to the reclined seat in front of me, I was still prepared to catch some zzs. Few minutes after I closed my peepers Gerald pulled open the door, followed by Rhoda, their demeanor verbalized, they too want some shut-eye. As I made space for them, Ram appeared and announced that we could wait for our guide in a nearby cafe. We would take a long hike he said, it’d be best if we stuff ourselves for the task. Gerald favored sleep over food so he passed. The rest of us obediently took Ram’s advice. Thank god I didn’t pull a Gerald lest I would have missed the pancake that was so good it still haunts me to this day. I had it at Goldfish Cafe in Bontoc, Mountain Province.

Goldfish cafe is the only establishment that I saw in Poblacion that took the effort to look interesting. For one, it is painted in orange. Though I wasn’t too impressed with the interiors (to be honest I was rather confused by it), the place is clean and has enough seats to accommodate our group. It was a Saturday, but the cafe didn’t have many customers. Interior wise I liked the lamps and the framed photos that depict the Igorot culture on the walls.

Rhoda, who was suffering from tonsillitis ordered Iced Latte. She allowed me a sip and I found it surprisingly good. It has a creamy texture and though it was a bit bitter, the taste ends in a sweet note.

Because I was somewhere between the states of dream and reality I ordered Brewed Coffee. I’m not sure if the lack of sleep affected my sense of taste, or the coffee was just too bitter to my liking.

Alchris had Vanilla Milkshake, which according to him was nothing special.

But the food is a different story. The French Toast With Chocolate Syrup and a generous sprinkle of cinnammon powder was good. The bread was soft and sweet. It was Alchris’s order and according to him, it was only good in the first few bites. He finds it too sweet that he soon developed a dislike to its taste.

When I’m sleep deprived my sense of taste becomes dull, which is why I consider Goldfish Pancake as something special. It was so good I was jolt back to life. The batter was soft and thick, the side parts were a bit crunchy, and the inside part is creamy. I Without so much as a blink I declare that it is the best pancake I have ever tasted in my entire life.