Off The Eaten Track PH Blog

I love to discover cafes and restaurants that are usually under the famous bloggers' and influencers' radars. It is an ultimate gratification whenever I encounter some place that I and others have never seen and heard before, much less been to. Plus, there's always a charm in discovering those relatively unknown places, which have the potential of becoming the next darling of most foodies. While Hatch Coffee has become a rising star in Baguio City, only a few outside of it has known this place, which makes it more appealing to me. As of this writing, Hatch Coffee has been open in only a few months, yet it has already drawn loyal patrons and curious vacationers alike. It is located in a residential area, so thank goodness for the signs that led to it. If it weren't for them, we would have spent longer hours going around Manzanillo village on Eastern Road looking for it. We encountered a closed black gate, surrounded by the tall shrubs and climbing vines.

The list of the food hubs in Metro Manila is growing, and so is my curiosity to know more about them. I live in the outskirts, and the places that I'm interested to visit lie far away from my comfort zone. But no matter how far it would take me, I want to satisfy this curiosity as much as possible. :) Before my visit to Wild Indigo Kitchen & Cafe, I had never been to Banawe. In fact, I am not really a North person. To me, Quezon City will always be a network of labyrinthine streets and alleys, a dense and convoluted urban jungle that whoever's uninitiated sets foot upon it is guaranteed to get lost and perplexed. But that won't even stop me from indulging my love for eating and my penchant for discovering (potentially) great places to have a grub and a drink. Oh yes, I would still let my guard up whenever I am in Quezon City (for instance, whenever there's a blogger event I am invited to), but I won't let this paranoia spoil the fun in discovering resta

  Banawe seems to have a couple of interesting newcomers on the local food scene! I am still not over from our eventful visit at Wild Indigo Kitchen & Cafe because their food is good (and IG-worthy) and the ambiance is chill but fun. I highly recommend this place, and while I want to visit it again, otherwise there's another new food find in the area that caught my attention ever since I first spotted it on my Facebook feed -- Dim Ka Phe. Dim Ka Phe is one of Banawe's little-known newest gems, having opened just a few months back. Getting to know about Dim Ka Phe, my first impression of this is that it was most likely a Vietnamese coffee shop. But when we got to pay a casual visit a few days ago, I found out that it was actually a Chinese restaurant. Upon reading that, you might dismiss Dim Ka Phe as another stereotypical Chinese restaurant in this sense. But it's actually a delightful hodgepodge of a Chinese restaurant, a coffee shop and a board game cafe. In fa

If you look at your ₱20 bill, you'd wonder if you can still buy a decent, filling and delicious meal with that amount. Well, yes, you still can! And if you don't believe me, go and find the answer itself in Antipolo, Rizal! Chops Yang Chow Fried Rice is ready to dispel your doubts with its yummy and budget-friendly meals. This humble stall along Martinez Street is pretty new -- it opened sometime in 2018 -- and it has already been attracting hungry patrons in search for a quick and delicious chow. It's rather an off-the-(b)eaten track place, but not too far away from the main road (which is Olivares Street, the road towards Antipolo Cathedral). The yang chow fried rice -- or more correctly, the Yangzhou fried rice -- is one of the Chinese dishes whose popularity has spread throughout the world. It is a total meal in itself, with protein and veggies thrown in. No Chinese meal would be complete without it. But here at Chops Yang Chow Fried Rice, you can ha