Clashing Over Kuppa

It was quiet in the otherwise busy business district of Taguig. Understandably so—it was Sunday. Offices were closed and so were most restaurants. What was our business being in Bonifacio Global City on a non-business day? The Mind Museum. But before that, we had to have lunch (brains don't work on an empty stomach and we expect scientific info overload at The Mind Museum). We picked Kuppa Roastery & Cafe from the handful that were open for business.

Kuppa Roastery & Cafe

CommerCenter Bldg.

31st St. corner 4th Ave.

Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

(02) 623 5120

Operating hours

Sun-Thu 7AM-11PM

Fri-Sat 7AM-12MN

From the outside, Kuppa looks like a coffee shop. It is a coffee shop: Kuppa has coffee, tea, breakfast, cakes, and pastries. But it's a coffee shop that also offers salad, soup, pizza, entrée, sandwich, pasta, and gelato. If not for the writings on their glass walls announcing their menu, I would have dismissed it as just another café.

We ordered pasta (Arrabiata and Puttanesca), pizza (Prosciutto Cotto e Funghi), and cold drinks (Genmaicha Matcha Iri and Paradiso Melange fruit tisane). The pasta portions were good for one. The Arrabiata, according to their menu, is "the 'angry' pasta flavored with tomato, chili, garlic." Puttanesca has anchovies, capers, olives, tomato, and garlic. The twelve-inch pizza is topped with cooked ham and mushrooms. Genmaicha Matcha Iri is green tea. Paradiso Melange fruit tisane (herbal tea) is an infusion of apples, hibiscus, strawberry, and kiwi.

Arrabiata (left) and Puttanesca (right)

Prosciutto Cotto e Funghi

Genmaicha Matcha Iri (left) and Paradiso Melange fruit tisane (right)

How was the food?
He said: The Arrabiata tastes really plain and somehow tastes like sardines.
She said: No way! It's absolutely good. Nothing like I have tried before. And it's spicy. I like that it's spicy, though not as "angry" as the menu claims it to be.
He said: Puttanesca...mmm...anchovies! Capers! Olives! Tomato! And garlic! Mmm...mmm...mmm!
She said: I find their Puttanesca very salty.
He said: The pizza is all right. Nothing fancy.
She said: I like it. Maybe because of the mushrooms. I love mushrooms on pizza.

How were the drinks?
He said: My Genmaicha tastes like seaweeds. Tsk tsk.
She said (after taking a sip of Genmaicha): Tastes like green tea to me!
She said: My fruit tisane tastes weird. Let me pour a shot of sugared water on it... Now that's better. Good drink.
He said (after taking a sip of tisane): Juice.

What did we think of the prices?
This is one thing we agreed on: expensive!



How Kuppa cost us a whole lotta moolah:
Prosciutto Cotto e Funghi Php290
Puttanesca Php230
Arrabiata Php190
Genmaicha Matcha Iri Php100
Paradiso Melange fruit tisane Php130
+8% service charge

Dahican, the Playground of Skimboarders

Three days up the mountain was more than enough. It was time to get back to level ground. From summit to sea, we brought ourselves to Dahican Beach in Mati, Davao Oriental, 170-something kilometers southeast of Davao City. It's a 2.5-hour van ride from Davao City to Mati. And from Mati proper, an 8-kilometer motorcycle ride to Dahican Beach.

We bought some supplies at the Mati Public Market before heading to the beach. We would be camping at Amihan sa Dahican, home of a group of skimboarders and surfers called the Amihan Boys. They are mentored by George "Jun" Plaza.

Dahican Beach

Amihan sa Dahican

The Amihan boys would skim all day if they could. But all day is not possible, there are chores to do in the morning before they can catch the waves. Their day starts as early as 5AM and chores include cleaning the beach, cooking, and washing the dishes, among others. Of course those who are studying have to attend classes and can only go skim and surf on weekends or when school's out.

The Amihan boys would skim all day if they could

Everyone is welcome at Amihan sa Dahican. Sir Jun Plaza let us camp for free. Unless you bring your own food, the only place you can get a meal is at a nearby resort. Amihan sa Dahican only has softdrinks and junk food for sale.

We brought food, but were still unprepared and had to shamefacedly ask to borrow their pots and utensils. The Amihan boys were kind enough to lend us what we needed, but it would have been better if we had a cookset and burner so as not to invade their kitchen and delay their cooking. They, too, have to cook for the team.

If you don't know how to cook, you can ask one of the Amihan boys to cook for you. A tip would be most welcome. They'll be happy to have some extra money as baon in school.

Toilet / Kitchen / Dining area

Camping area

Seven kilometers of beach

Dahican Beach is a long stretch of clean sandy beach. During amihan, from November to April, skimboarding and surfing are the activities of the season. Other months, the sea is calm and perfect for beach bums. Amihan sa Dahican also has a kayak and Sir Jun Plaza or one of the Amihan boys can take you along for a ride. They can also take you dolphin watching (June to August) or see the pawikans (sea turtles).

Clockwise from bottom left: Sir Jun Plaza and an Amihan boy on a kayak, Bayogyog Aporbo on a skimboard, Langlang Aporbo on a surfboard, and Mustachio on his butt.

We were there on a November weekend and the Amihan boys were all over the water catching the waves. It was awesome to see them on and off (doing stunts) their boards. Some of the Amihan boys have won competitions here and abroad.

 

These old bones aren't made for surfing. I have accepted that reality and so just stayed with Mustachia on the shallow part, avoiding the skimboarders' paths while trying not to get pummeled by the waves (very difficult to do). When we did get pummeled and rolled under the surf, we held on to our shorts (lest the waves take them off) and shut our traps to keep from swallowing sea water.

How this summit-to-sea-break broke Mustachio's budget:
Van to Mati, Davao Oriental Php 220
Provisions for lunch and dinner for two persons Php 338
Motorcycle to Dahican Php 50
Surfing instructor and board rental Php 400
Tips Php 140
Motorcycle to Mati Php 25
Bus to Davao City Php 272

Wisdom from the Road #4

On windows and sunbeams

Know the position of the sun when riding a bus.

Can't tell east from west, left from right?

Do you step inside the bus doing mental geometry of where the sun rises,
pick a seat based on the answer to this geometric puzzle, then find out that your answer is wrong?
Let this guide help you come up with the right answer every time.

For more lessons from the road, please visit Go Learn.