六十四：UCC Park Cafe

UCC Park Cafe has been near my work place for like 3 years already but it was just last year that I've tried eating there. I've heard food is good but is very expensive.

I've also heard that the cafe is actually from Japan and so the food is a fusion of Japanese and Western cuisines but is most famous for their coffee.

Based on my research, UCC stands for Ueshima Coffee Company and is actually a coffee manufacturer from Japan.

I like Japanese foods so I was sure I'd like the food there.

The first time that I decided to eat there was an epic failure. It happened when I was with a friend late night. We watched a musical event and I suggested we eat at UCC Park Cafe.

At first I thought I was lucky as my friend is a fan of the cafe and likes eating there with his colleagues at work and so we drove off to Taguig City where he lives and where there is a branch of UCC Park Cafe. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember the exact location and so we had to scour the place from Bonifacio High Street to McKinley. My feet got sore from walking and he had to pay twice for parking fees.

After about an hour searching, he remembered the location and when we got there, it was already close....

Unagi Rice Meal 409Php

My next attempt was a success. I was with another friend and she also likes Japanese cuisine. We were at Eastwood City and decided we want to eat Japanese food and so we went to UCC Park Cafe at the 1800 building. 

Typically, UCC's establishments are just coffee houses which serves mainly coffee, tea, cakes, pastries and the dishes are mostly for breakfast. UCC Park Cafe offers more dishes than the typical UCC Cafe.

Grilled Unagi on top of rice.

As expected, the prices are steep. The price ranges from 200+ to almost 400 pesos for a dish. 

They have a wide range of available dishes but of course most are Japanese such as ramen, curry and omurice dishes. They also serve Western dishes such as pastas, sausages and sandwiches and Filipino dishes such as our Si-Logs (sinangag at itlog/fried rice and egg) and the ever famous chicken adobo.

TanTan Men 399Php

Most of the time, when I eat at a Japanese restaurant, I would order ramen (Japanese noodles) because I believe it's the most Japanese dish in my opinion other than sushi.

TanTan Mian 399Php

That night I ordered their Tan tan men (399Php) or Tan Tan Mian in Chinese which is according to their menu is inspired by the Chinese Sichuan noodles which explains the Mian meaning noodles in Mandarin.

It's a spicy noodle dish with a Tonkotsu broth base with sesame paste topped with minced pork, scallions and eggs. The sesame paste gives it the creamy consistency and a nutty taste. It was very tasty and a bit spicy though I think the sesame paste is too overpowering. It's a bit too nutty for my taste but it is still delicious. 

UCC drinks (119Php)

My friend on the other hand ordered the Unagi Rice Plate (409Php). She is addicted to unagi which is grilled eel with a sweet soy sauce marinade. Unagi for me tastes like a very tender fish and is very delicious.

Pearl Milk Coffee 119Php

For our drinks, we tried their pearl drinks namely the Pearl Milk Tea and Pearl Milk Coffee. UCC is very famous for their coffee as they actually started as a coffee shop hence their name UCC Cafe but since we were going to eat warm dishes, we decided to have cold drinks and because the price of our dish is expensive already, adding coffee will be out of our budget.

Pearl Milk Tea 119Php

My friend ordered the Pearl Milk Tea and I tried the Pearl Milk Coffee (119Php each). The Milk Tea is very tasty. The balance between the tea and milk is just right. It wasn't too milky nor does the tea taste too strong. The Milk Coffee was served pousse cafe style (layered) where the milk settles at the bottom and the coffee floating on top.

I like coffee and the milk coffee was good. The coffee isn't too strong. Like the milk tea, it's just the right combination of coffee and milk. The pearls at the bottom also has the right chewiness, not too chewy nor too soft.

Japanese dinner at UCC Park Cafe Eastwood City

Overall, I liked the experience except for the fact that the food is too expensive. I would eat there again to try other food especially the coffee and pastries.

UCC Park Cafe in Eastwood is located at the ground floor of the 1800 building just in front of McDonald's.