Aomori – Cafe Boutique

A business meeting led me to the discovery of Aomori Cafe Boutique. Tucked away in Northeast Square along Connecticut street is this little bakeshop/store/restaurant/coffee shop. I’m not sure what it is either.

I’m not sure if Aomori knows what exactly it is. I think its concept needs a little focus, cuz it tries to be a little of everything which blurs its identity. I will attempt to blog about it with photos so you see what I’m talking about. When I first walked in, all the shelves of Japanese goodies caught my eye. The shelf in the far back houses what looks like fine china. On one side, there’s a display counter for bread, pastries and macarons. You see the kitchen all the way in the back and there are plush velvet seats in the center. I was confused. I thought I was in the wrong place until I asked the girl if it was a restaurant. She clarified and said they served food and showed me a menu which convinced me to sit down.

After I got over my initial confusion. I began to appreciate where I was. When you learn to ignore the row of shelves, it feels less like a convenience store and more like a restaurant. The atmosphere at Aomori is quaint, ambient-lit, and quiet. The seats are comfortable and the laid back atmosphere makes for a relaxed dining experience. Their menu is not so large that it overwhelms, which is great. There’s a little bit of something for everyone.

I ordered a Lychee Iced Tea with Nata sinkers. Refreshing and perfect for the summer. Asked them to mix this for me with less the amount of sugar.

The bread is good. The spread that came with it, I wasn’t a fan. It was sweet and fruity.

Herbed Chicken – Recommended by the waitstaff as one of the popular items on the menu, my dining companion ordered this. He said he the taste was good but he wasn’t that big of a fan of the cream which made it rich and heavy. He also said it was a wee bit on the salty side. He liked the chicken itself and the rice pilaf. I didn’t get to try it so I can’t confirm or contradict his opinion. Although I will say he finished the dish so that means it couldn’t have been too salty/creamy.

Beef Salpicao – I love Salpicao and the minute I see it offered at a restaurant, 9/10 times I will order it. It’s to the point that my family teases me about it. Needless to say, I’ve had good and bad Salpicao countless times at different restaurants and I consider myself an authority on it. Haha. (yeah right) This one isn’t bad. The portion is generous, the beef is tender and they aren’t shy with the garlic (big plus). The one thing I didn’t like about this is that the distinct taste of Knorr seasoning was quite evident in the dish. I don’t know if it was Knorr or soy sauce but something to that equivalent. After the first few bites, I got used to it and ate it all with gusto but still. The initial wave of Knorr did not sit well with my taste buds.

The rice is another thing I have to mention, it’s 18-grain or whatever that means. I was hesitant at first, but upon trying it, it didn’t taste any different from regular rice, at least to me. Though of course the texture and look is nowhere like regular rice. They said it was healthy so what the heck, I ate it all. 🙂

For dessert, I treated myself to a Coffee Jelly. All you coffee jelly lovers (I am one of them), this is really good. Better than Starbucks, obviously. A bit sweet at first sip so make sure you mix properly prior to drinking because all the sweetness is concentrated at the bottom.

I was treated to lunch so I don’t know our exact bill but I think it was around Php700++ for all of this food. Not bad at all cuz the portions are large. I want to go back and take my mom with me. I think she’d like it.

Aomori Cafe Boutique

Northeast Square, Connecticut Street, Greenhills
(Go downstairs, I think this would be considered Lower Ground Floor)
7241952
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aomori-Cafe-Boutique/267274266626201