Hand drip coffee at UCC Petron - the first and only in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Who knew my favorite coffee place also serves ramen?

UCC surprises me day after day.

My favorites remain the same. From Day 1 when UCC opened its first branch in 2000, I order Seafood Salad on MWFs, and Chicken Teriyaki Salad on TTHSs. On Sundays, my Indulge Day, I order both (plus maybe a Chicken Longganisa Breakfast or Hamburg Curry Rice on the side). Of course, my meals always end with a cup of coffee. Sometimes two. It used to be House Blend with plenty cream and crystal sugar, then UCC Blended with same amount of cream but less sugar. Now I find my harmony in a cup of rich and smooth, strong and roasty hot Sumiyaki. No sugar, only cream, because life is already sweet.

And it becomes sweeter because UCC continuously brings in new techniques and whips up new dishes to make my every day more delicious than yesterday.

Like the Hand Drip technique they now use at their Petron Dasmarinas branch. It is the very first (and the very only!) place you can enjoy “pour over” coffee in the country. The barista smiles sweetly as she pours hot water over the coffee grinds, probably knowing already how very pleased I will be when I take the first sip of my first ever cup of Hand Drip Sumiyaki. I tell you, it isn’t a good coffee smile. It is more like a great coffee ear-to-ear grin.

And then the Tonkotsu Ramen. I know it is special because such milky broth can only be achieved by boiling crushed pork bones for hours and hours, giving the soup incredible complex flavors and creamy consistency. It clings to every strand of the springy noodles, every slice of tender char-siu and every inch of the most perfect Japanese style toro-toro egg. And it also clings to my lips, making them all yummy and sticky.100% collagen goodness in every slurp.

The Tan Tan Mien is a completely different experience. With all the richness of the Tonkotsu broth plus a generous infusion of Szechuan chili and creamy sesame, it is for those of you who enjoy heavy nutty drama.

I live for heavy nutty drama.

For a lighter, modern Japanese-Western treat, the Char-siu Curry Soup Spaghetti is my favorite. It sounds a mouthful and all over the place. What?! There’s char-siu, there’s curry, there’s soup and there’s spaghetti??? But you see, once you mix together the melt-in-your-mouth slices of char-siu, the oozing-with-gooeyness Japanese egg, dunk them into the curry cream soup and slurp it all up with the bed of spaghetti swimming underneath, the flavors just come together beautifully. You get a bit of sweet, a bit of salty, a bit of heat, a bit of creamy…gets me into one of my crazy cosplay moods!

And I’ll never get over these two very creative spaghetti inventions — Lengua Spaghetti and Callos Spaghetti. UCC takes a go at Spanish-Filipino and does an ultra outstanding job. The lengua is super tender and packed with rich beefy umami. Paired with mushrooms, green olives and sprinkled with crispy, garlicky bits (I’ll have extra serving of the garlic bits, thank you!), I recommend the Lengua Spaghetti to those looking for a mighty meaty treat.

All the best parts of the cow, a good deal of chorizo, chickpeas and sweet red peppers make up the Callos Spaghetti. It’s soft and gelatinous, unique and flavorful like no other pasta dish can ever be. I give it a splashing of Tabasco to make things even more exciting.

And look what they did to spruce up an otherwise boring French toast. They cut up a big hole in the middle, filled it up with scrambled eggs, topped it with crumbled naked longganisa and called it Longganisa French Toast Basket. How genius! You can create your own using Spanish sardines, or ham and cheese. Your basket, your choice. I likey very much.

I end my meal with Kori Kohi, another fun and delicious UCC thing. I pour milk into a glass full of frozen coffee cubes and watch the ice melt slowly but surely into a delicious iced coffee drink. Yum.

I really didn’t want to order any dessert, but oh, the smell of Strawberry Waffles! Help me God.

The Tonkotsu Ramen and Tan Tan Mian are available only at UCC Park Café ExpressPetron Gas Station and UCC Park Café Eastwood Mall. All other dishes featured are available at all UCC Vienna Café Branches (Tomas Morato, Connecticut, The Podium, SM Mall of Asia, SM North, Rustan’s Makati, Greenbelt 5, Corinthian Hills), Café Terrace Branches (Paseo Center, Bonifacio Global City, Rockwell Center, Westgate Alabang, Robinsons Place Manila, Trinoma, Resorts World), and UCC Park Café Branches (Glorietta 3, Eastwood Mall, Burgos Circle).