When my dear K told me he is coming back to the Philippines and we will have two weeks of holiday checking different places, I asked him if we could travel to Iloilo, too, because both of us haven't been there yet. In our early stages of planning this holiday, we tried looking for affordable places to stay at and decided to stay at the Urban Inn in La Paz.
Reading blogs, magazine articles as well as asking questions to different people from Iloilo, I learned about Madge Cafe, thanks to an article published in FOOD Magazine. Before K traveled to the Philippines from his native land of England, he asked if I am already decided on Urban Inn, and I told him I am more than 100% decided on Urban Inn mainly because of this.
On our first morning in Iloilo, we went out to find this cafe, but most of the locals didn't seem to know the place, until one vendor at the La Paz Market told us the directions going there. Tucked inside the market is one awesome gem that quickly captured our hearts.
On our first morning in Iloilo, we went out to find this cafe, but most of the locals didn't seem to know the place, until one vendor at the La Paz Market told us the directions going there. Tucked inside the market is one awesome gem that quickly captured our hearts.
I went for the mild coffee with milk and I also ordered a pack of their puto.
A cup of coffee cost us only p20 each. The taste? Well, I can say it has its own flavor - somewhat in between brewed and instant coffee. Each table has a container of white and muscovado sugar, and adding muscovado sugar in my cup, it made my coffee much better.
Drinking a hot cup of coffee at Madge Cafe has been our morning ritual in the three days that we stayed in Iloilo. Aside from the good coffee, K and I were both amazed because the second and third time we entered the cafe, they need not ask what our order would be... they already knew what we wanted. With so many people coming in to get their morning coffee fix, it was so amazing for them to remember our coffee preference.
Drinking a hot cup of coffee at Madge Cafe has been our morning ritual in the three days that we stayed in Iloilo. Aside from the good coffee, K and I were both amazed because the second and third time we entered the cafe, they need not ask what our order would be... they already knew what we wanted. With so many people coming in to get their morning coffee fix, it was so amazing for them to remember our coffee preference.
The place was noisy, yes, but it's the kind of noise that we welcomed; even if we weren't able to understand what the people were talking about, we loved the feel of the place, and it made us really enjoy our stay in Iloilo. Actually, both of us loved our stay in Iloilo that we are now planning to travel back there next year, and yes, we would stay at the Urban Inn again, so we can open our day having coffee at Madge Cafe.
I may have known about the place before coming here, but the discovery of tasting something new was one of the reasons why I love traveling. Truly, one can buy all the magazines and books, read all travel blogs, and watch all travel shows, but nothing compares to experiencing it first hand.
*** Jenn ***
This post is my entry for Pinoy Travel Bloggers' Blog Carnival for July 2011 with the theme "Awesome Food Experience While Traveling In The Philippines" hosted by Anton Diaz. 
