Who isn't jealous of all the Japan travel photos people have been posting all over social media for the past weeks? All the photos of cherry blossoms, the picturesque Mt. Fuji, konbini hauls, and, yes, the cups of coffee are worsening our travel itch.
Thankfully, since the opening of MITSUKOSHI BGC, the frustrations of getting Japan-quality matcha and coffee have lessened by the miles and by currency. One of the establishments that recently opened in the mall is Key Coffee Kissaten, a Hi-Fi cafe (more on this later) that doesn't just serve cups of coffee, but also hearty meals with jazz music playing in the background.
What You Need to Know About Key Coffee's Mitsukoshi BGC Branch
Kissaten, such as Key Coffee, are distinct from the usual minimalist cafés because of their unmistakable visuals—it's what you get when you combine a speakeasy bar and a coffee shop. When you enter Key Coffee Kissaten, you'll instantly notice its warm vintage aesthetic with its brick walls, dark wooden tables, velvet seats, dimly lit interiors, and the important element of jazz music.
Key Coffee Kissaten is categorized as a "Hi-Fi café," because in these types of cafés, the audio experience plays an important role in the overall café experience. The café is equipped with a turntable and hi-fi audio equipment that plays the tunes while you're trying out their signature coffee dishes, drinks, desserts, and cocktails.
The cuisine the restaurant serves is more East-meets-West—specifically Japanese cuisine with Western influences. If you've never been to Key Coffee Kissaten, you can start with their bestsellers as an introduction.
Bestselling Drinks and Dishes at Key Coffee Kissaten in MITSUKOSHI BGC
The café is known for its signature Sagada Honey Lavender Latte (P170/hot, P180/iced), an espresso-based drink sweetened with locally sourced honey from the province of Sagada and made eye-catching with a topping of lavender flowers. If you like your coffee on the sweeter (but not cloyingly sweet) side, you can go for the café's other bestselling signature Shoyu Popcorn Cappuccino (P170/hot, P180/iced) drink which has espresso hot, frothed milk, and shoyu salted caramel (yup, as in soy sauce caramel!)—plus actual popcorn on top.
When it comes to meals you'll want to order, you should definitely try the Crab Ikura Udon (P540) and the Chasu Mortadella Pizza (P590). The pasta uses fresh homemade udon coated in crab fat sauce; it's made more filling with the added crab meat and more umami with ikura or salmon caviar. As for the latter, this Neapolitan pizza perfectly embodies the East-meets-West theme (it might remind you of chashu in ramen!) as it's topped with pork belly, tomato mascarpone, fried capers, and bonito flakes.
As opposed to the heftiness of pasta and pizza, you can opt for something lighter from Key Coffee Kissaten's dessert selection and bakery. There's the Matcha Strawberry Cake Roll (P380) that's colorful as it is flavorful with the greens of matcha and vibrant reds of strawberries. This cake roll has matcha sponge cake and a center of matcha ganache and vanilla diplomat, and when plated, it's topped with strawberry slices and garnished with mint.
There are several more interesting Japanese dishes with a Western twist that's on the Key Coffee Kissaten menu. The cafe also offers all-day breakfast, salads (not for vegans, just in case you're wondering!), and katsu sandwiches you can discover for yourself when you visit their first-ever flagship store in the country. If you have a coffee station at home, don't forget to take home a bag of the Key Coffee brand coffee beans!
Key Coffee Kissaten is at G/F MITSUKOSHI BGC, Bonifacio Global City. For more information, check out Key Coffee Philippines' Facebook page.
This story originally appeared on Spot.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Yummy.ph editors.
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