The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

By now signs of Valentine’s is very much felt already. You hear it, see it and feel that love is indeed in the air. And in every celebration of love, food is a common ground to share precious moments together.

Last week, I was invited by Shangri-La Plaza mall to take a peek at their preparations for Valentine’s. We had a food crawl involving six different food establishments, serving a variety of cuisines and flavors. I was literally crawling after this gastronomic event that spanned almost 4 hours! My co-foodies who joined it must’ve have been too stuffed as well.

For our final stop, and by this time we were really slow already with all the food in our system, we traversed the newer East Wing. Here we found ourselves chilling again, but this time with a warm cup of our choice Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) drink. Here at the 26th Bistro by CBTL expect an upgraded dining experience with a full course menu. They carefully selected cuisines from all over the world, like what we had, my girl friend’s favorite, Thai Shrimp Pomelo Salad. I took home a half portion too of their California Cobb Salad, a plate filled with a string of wonderful sorts. It had grilled chicken breast, eggs, corn, tomatoes, mozzarella and avocado mixed with romaine lettuce in a rich homemade ranch dressing.

This branch of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) does not have any indoor seating on the ground floor, but it does have al fresco seating that is great at night, as well as a spacious second floor with a lot of seats and outlets for those busy with work or studies.

As for me, I just settled into a seat with a large cup of Mexican Hot Chocolate. I previously tried the latté version, and the one without coffee is a lot creamier, but also milder. When I tried other kinds of Mexican hot chocolate, they usually had a strong spicy taste and aroma that I liked because of the cinnamon. CBTL’s does not have that strong flavor I seek, but it still stands on its own as a tasty, creamy drink.

I like staying here especially on a weekday when there are only few people. Their sounds are okay and you’ll get to be focused on what you need to do. Almost perfect for working; would there have been power outlets, it would be perfect! Staffs are also very friendly.

I love that this store is well lit and spacious. The breakfast corned beef deal is so worth it! Php260 for eggs, salad, corned beef, muffin with butter, and tea. I also asked for milk on the side for my tea.

I've met up with my friend cause I'm collecting donations for a medical mission by the end of the month. While waiting, grabbed a sandwich for late lunch. I ordered Grilled Chicken Pesto sandwich (Php235) and Latte (regular-Php140). I wish the chicken was chopped into strips so it wouldn't fall off easily. But it was hefty and tasted good.

Another quick review for their latest offering - Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake. I’m fond of both caramel and chocolate so I was really excited to try this. The cake base taste is just okay. The salted caramel chocolate icing lacked a bit of texture. Yes, it was creamy but only on the first few bites. You'll barely notice it once you get used to it.

It's 7:07am and I'm alone here at CBTL Shang. I have a Swirl card so I was able to get the wifi password however it's not accepting the password, as per ate she will just reset their router.

This is my fave CBTL, it's not that crowded as Starbucks and I really love their playlist and course with that view from the second floor.

I'm eating their Blueberry Cheesecake which I find odd yung cream niya lasang eggpie for me and drinking double hot chocolate. Okay na sana kaso ang tagal ireset nung router.

Their ice blended drinks may be more expensive than their main competitor but what I like about CBTL is their genuine passion for their craft and the opportunity they give to their Brew Your Best Community members and loyal customers. This particular branch have outdoor seating and comfy lounge type area in their second floor. I always order their fattening but delicious double chocolate ice blended but this time i got it for FREE because last Thursday they celebrated National Coffee Day by giving away complimentary coffee based drinks to Brew members and loyal clients. A saving of 195pesos! I ordered a Sardine Pandesal to go with my drink. It was bit hard already because it was left exposed while they prepared my drink.

Free wifi for CBTL Swirl cardholders. The second floor was quite that time because it was a weekday late afternoon. So nice place to lounge and relax. The area was kept clean. Recommended.

I love their takeout cup with stopper/stirrer. 🏼

Got my usually cafe latte and spicy tuna pandesal.

Finally tried their cookies and cream milkshake ice-blended and it was meh... As usual, it's all powder, there were a few super small chunks of cookies, like literally 3-4 lang. It wasn't as exciting as I expected it to be.

Stayed her while waiting for my friends. Ordered my usual café latte

Craving for this slice of heaven! Triple Decker Cheesecake this decadent baby is devilishly good! It is so moist, not that sweet and it has that creamy cheesecake texture na hindi nakakaumay 🏻

I adore coffee but I'm not one to drink it often because I want the caffeine to still have kick whenever I need to pull off an all-nighter.

I'm glad that CBTL has a wide selection of non-caffeinated drinks. I usually get the Double Chocolate Ice Blended Drink because chocolates really perk me up. I also have the option of adding a shot of Espresso to my chocolate drink If I wanted some kick.

I usually stray away from this branch though during a movie premiere (usually Thursdays), because it's always packed! Since this is the coffee shop that is nearest to cinemas, movie goers flock to this branch for a quick coffee break or a light snack.

Other solid CBTL favorites are: Spicy Tuna Linguine, White Chocolate Dream Ice Blended Drink, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Moroccan Mint Tea, and Eggs Benedict.

The music is a hit and miss though - a tad inconsistent and sometimes loud. The service is exceptional, as with most CBTL branches.

Cheers
Mickey

Matcha green tea ice blended forever

I looove CBTL but the service in this branch was too damn slow huhu

I love their matcha latte and blueberry cheesecake! Good service and ambiance 🏻

Iced Latte! 🏻

Sorry for the crappy photo (as usual). Been busy playing games on my phone. Lol

Latte after our dinner at Watami. Mom ordered turtle pie. It taste so gooooood!

3 stars for the slow service tho.

late brekky with the bf last week.

my first time here and i liked the second floor area. it was quiet and conducive for studying and small meetings.

baristas were a bit slow. tables were not cleaned immediately.

i love my cafe late. i just added php50 on my all day breakfast. caesar salad was also okay. serving was just right but could've been more serving. haha. breakfast plate i got in it were sausages, bread, eggs and prunes.

they need to add more charging stations pls!

will come back.

While waiting for the opening hours of the mall, I need to grab a drink and be perky.

Ordered a regular latte and I love the balanced taste of the latte. The only downside, the foam is not that good. but that can be improved

Customer service is remarkable as she immediately remembered my name while handing out my drink.

I just don't like that I have to climb the stairs for dining inside. #tamadproblems