On my recent trip home to Dumaguete, I decided to try out this new cafe that my cousins’ opened that they’ve been raving about on my Facebook. The location is in a quiet area of the city, though not far away from the busy places as it’s near what you would call the downtown area of the city. It’s about a street away from the Rizal Boulevard, a popular location for both locals and tourists alike. Another thing my cousin mentioned about their cafe is that it serves healthy food, which is a good place to visit for those health-enthusiasts in Dumaguete City. A gym is coincidentally located in the same building.
The cafe is small, quaint, and doesn’t look like it can accommodate a lot of people, not that I mind since it’s still new, and I prefer there to be less people so you know that the waiters can serve you quicker. Me and my aunt arrived there for lunch so they had more or less just newly opened. We arrived with no one there, and I was able to greet my cousin who proceeded to show us the health food available.
Below are pictures of the menu, though sadly, not so well taken. I apologize.
Me and my aunt decided to half all the meals so we can each try a lot more things. We ordered a Cheesy Burger (Php65), Spring Mandarin Salad (Php50) and Mojos (Php50) then we each ordered a drink, me ordering a Black Forest Ice Cold Shake and my aunt ordering the Banana Ice Cold Shake (Php55 each). Coming from the city where most meals are more-or-less expensive, with healthier meals tending to cost a higher price, I’d honestly say that these meals are worth the price.
I really loved the Cheesy Burger that I had. As you can see on the picture below, it’s not really a burger, but more of a sandwich. It has a lot of lettuce, a burger patty, cheese, and tomatoes on it. It was really good. The Spring Mandarin Salad was also good. The touch of oranges added to the salad gave it a uniquely sweet flavor. There were also small chicken bits included which really gave the salad a different taste. I’m not someone who is really fond of salads, so it came as a surprise that this salad’s taste really appealed to me. The Mojos were also something different. I expected it to be a little like the crispy kind, but these were a bit softer, so you had to munch on them to get the taste. It was only later on that I realized that it was probably not crispy because it wasn’t put submerged into oil that long, which is not really healthy. So yes, health is really taken into consideration.
After that, we also had our delicious drinks. My Black Forest drink had some coffee, for those who are looking for something like iced coffee on a hot day like that day. It was delicious, not too sweet, but not like bland coffee. My aunt had her Banana shake which she found to be good as well.
Black Forest Ice Cold Shake (Php55)
Personally, I think MEL’s Cafe has a promising future as there are more and more health enthusiasts emerging, even in the provinces. Also, if not only aiming for the health aspect of the food, there is also the simply delicious side of the food, and the prices at which such luxuries come. The next time I go home to the province, I want to be able to go back and have the food there once again.
Do tell me if you have ever the opportunity to go there and have the delicious food. Tell me what you personally think of the food.
MEL’s Cafe
Location: 2nd floor, UTH Bldg, Sta. Catalina Street (Near Matiao Gasul), Dumaguete City, Philippines, 6200
Open: Mon – Sat, 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Check out their Facebook page here.