UCC Café Terrace: A Dinner Date with Shobe

During Christmas day, my lil sis and I went to Trinoma for some sister bonding and Christmas shopping. This rarely happens since my shobe (little sister) easily gets tired whenever we endlessly roam around the mall. So you can just imagine how happy I was! (Yes, we have a weird relationship. The achie pushes herself to the snobby shobe.)

After a few hours of buying cute things at Landmark and toys (for my godchild) at Toys"R"Us, it was finally time to eat dinner. This is usually the dreaded moment for my shobe. I can walk around the mall for hours just looking and deciding where to eat. However, my lil sis is my exact opposite. She wants to eat right away. With both our stomachs growling already, I just decided to take her to UCC Café Terrace at the mall's lobby level.

I am not a stranger to UCC. In fact, I have already dined in their Terrace, Vienna and Park cafés. However, it's been a long time since I've last graced their Japanese-Western themed restaurant nor have eaten their Asian fusion dishes. (I was not a food blogger back then though, so no reviews for my previous UCC experiences.)

UCC's themed café and restaurants do not only take pride in having a sophisticated and cozy ambiance, or in serving good food. They are even better known for their coffees which are freshly brewed using a siphon coffee maker.

And while I was busy snapping some shots around the café, my sister had already placed an order. She got a rice plate of Chicken Teriyaki Roll (P339) which came with a vegetable salad siding.

My lil sis loves the chicken roll, she says it tasted great especially with the Teriyaki sauce drizzled over the sliced pieces. I took a bite too, and liked the dish as well. It was tasty and really savory, perfect for Christmas. The salad on the side was good too. The vegetables were fresh and the vinaigrette created a perfect harmony of flavors.

My food choice for that night was Salmon Shrimp Omurice (P399) -- a large plate with salmon cubes, shrimp pieces, and a scambled egg-coated curry rice swimming in thick cream.

My order looked filling and it really is. My tummy was not only pleased with the generous portion size, but also with the taste. The salmon was nicely cooked, and it complemented the rest of the ingredients really well. The cream was also very flavorful and brings the whole dish together. However when I already finished all the scrambled egg, cream, salmon and shrimp, the curry rice became a pain to eat. Although it has a curry flavor, it wasn't satisfying enough on its own.

Along with our entrées, we also had drinks. My lil sis had tonsilitis just recenly so she only ordered a glass of Lemon Iced Tea (P129), something to soothe her throat. The tea was freshly made as it came in a hot brewer and was poured by our server into a glass of ice and lemon.

I on the other hand, had to get my dose of caffeine so I ordered coffee. My choice of beverage wasn't any regular coffee though. UCC has a new Japanese coffee drink called Kori Kohi (P195) which uses iced coffee cubes and milk.

My Kori Coffee was first served with a tall glass containing iced coffee cubes, as well as a seperate jar of fresh milk. It was nice pouring the milk all over the coffee cubes as you get to see them melting, turning the white milk into a creamy beige, then to a beautiful caramel brown. The Kori Coffee was also very refreshing and energizing. It's strong coffee but creamier. Just a warning though, the longer you let the drink sit, the more bitter it would taste.

THE VERDICT

This visit to UCC Café Terrace made me crave for more of the restaurant's dishes especially their breakfast menu, pasta offerings and desserts. I have to admit that I find their prices high (especially for a fresh graduate like me), but I guess it is worth shelling out for if you want a consistently great tasting Japanese-Western food and a lovely cup of caffeine from Ueshima Coffee Co.

By the way, if you are interested in dining at any UCC café soon, you might want to check out this good UCC deal at CashCashPinoy. It's a set which includes an order each of Chicken Teriyaki Salad, Bacon, Mushroom & Sausage Spaghetti, Fish Fillet Curry with Rice, Macadamia Sans Rival, Chocolate Ganache and a choice of coffee or soda. I already bought a voucher and I can't wait to have a UCC feast soon.

Taste - 4.5/5
Ambiance - 4.5/5
Service - 4.5/5
Price - 3/5
Overall Value - 4/5

UCC Café Terrace, Trinoma
Lobby Level Trinoma, North Ave. cor. EDSA
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(02) 900-6518
Official Website (Japan)