Have a taste of the Antipodean lifestyle in Makati
It is said time and again that food brings people together. And at Antipodean Coffee, this is most certainly true and even more. This new joint at the heart of Salcedo Village is set to become one melting pot filled with hearty food, delectable drinks, and bustling culture. Perched along the busy street of Valero, Antipodean Cafe houses a well-designed space including an alfresco area that readily sets a calming, neighborhood mood.
Located at Citadines Salcedo, the cafe also functions as the hotel’s restaurant. With an early opening at 5:30 a.m., Antipodean Coffee caters to hotel guests who’d like to order house specialties via room service. With the current quarantine classification, the restaurant closes at 8 p.m., which later will be extended to 11 p.m.
As one enters, Antipodean Coffee’s spacious open layout immediately exudes a laid back feel with several low green velvet couches and coffee tables dominating the space. A drinks bar and coffee post are stationed at opposite ends, providing much room for socializing. “For me, the space with the two levels—upstairs dining room, downstairs kitchen-dining room, reminded me of a Tokyo underground bar or Tokyo underground sushi restaurant. And this was the concept from day one,” tells Alun Evans, founder of Antipodean Coffee.
The accordion glass doors against the white textured walls have modern design elements that hint on what’s to come in the menu. From continental all-day breakfast dishes to Korean, Indonesian, and Filipino cuisine, Antipodean Coffee surely provides a familiar tasting palette infused with international flavors.
Highlights from the breakfast menu include Big Breakfast (toast, mushroom, scrambled egg, hash brown and choice of bacon, chicken, pork, or beef sausage), Banana Pancake with Butterscotch, Eggs Marlborough with Smoked Salmon, Nasi Goreng, and Blueberry Bagel with Berry Mascarpone and Strawberry. For other mains, have a feast with Mike Moore’s Kiwi Lamb Burger, Pad Thai Chicken Green Curry, Moroccan Beef Kebab with Golden Couscous, and Sweet Paprika Chicken with Chickpeas Salad, and Vietnamese Beef Fried Noodle.
The variety in the menu speaks volumes of the Antipodean lifestyle the cafe brings to the Philippine food scene. “The whole brand is built around the lifestyle of being a New Zealander or Australian,” Alun continues. “You know, we’re quite laid back. We try to make the best use of the things that we see around us. For instance, you know that these plants on the table, they were just clearing it out on the road outside. They were just pulling it out. You see something like that, this is kind of the Kiwi way. Why are you throwing it out? You plant it in water. It’s a water-based plant.”
As for the extensive drinks list, Antipodean Coffee carries a mix of fresh juices and teas including Green Smoothie (apple, spinach, rocket, ginger, banana), Jeremy Coney (apple, celery, carrot, mint leaf), Slice of Heaven (carrot, apple, ginger, pear), Balinese Orange Juice, Antipodean Meraputih Tea, and Elder Flower Soda. For cocktails, house specials are Mr. Grey Martini (also called Espresso Martini), White Passion Fruit Sangria, Classic Mojito, and the Midori Mihori Vodka with Double Shot Espresso. Bottles of red and white wines are also available.
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“We are not pretentious, that’s number one. We welcome anyone. We treat everybody’s the same, whether you’re a multi-millionaire or whether you are someone who just walks in with a P500 in your pocket, that’s all you can spare. No differentiation between people. It’s a New Zealand thing, because New Zealand is a very multicultural country,” ends Alun.
Antipodean Cafe is located at Citadines Salcedo Makati, 148 Valero St., Salcedo Village, Makati City. For more on the cafe, visit their website at www.antipodeancoffee.com or follow their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.