Welcome to the lovely Z Hostel! It’s a newly opened hostel in Makati, with a trendy hip vibe and inviting atmosphere.
Their rooms, their crowd and their staff… I feel like I’m living a life in luxury!
But I’m not here to try their rooms and catch the zzzz. If I’m not thinking about sleep, food is in my mind. That’s why, I set out and tried Z Hostel Cafe’s new menu.
*A more detailed article on Z Hostel room offerings are in here: Z Hostel Philippines: The Place, The People, The Perfect Vibe
The Cafe
The cafe is quite charming. I had expected a modernized composition, given that the clients are mostly foreigners — but the Z Hostel Cafe is a mix of rustic, homey Filipino elements. There’s a traditional banig adornment mounted on the wall, capiz lamps hanging from the ceilings and wood furnishings all over the cafe. It’s kinda nice how they incorporated Philippines into the cafe’s design. I think its a great way to introduce our foreign friends our Filipino vibe and culture.
The upper part of the cafe looks cozy as well, with dim lighting, suited for late night talks and sharing stories. And I do love the quote printed on the wall.. “The ability to rise is in all of us.”
They have a moveable beer pong table slash uh, normal table available for events. Yeeeep! You can book the place for your company events and gigs. Awesome right?
The New Menu
I was told that before, the cafe was just place in the hostel for guests to dine and take their breakfast (as included in their room package). Now it serves all kinds of dishes, and has been transformed into a full blown cafe.
Currently, the cafe is exclusively serving Filipino cuisine. I totally like this idea. When you are a tourist, one of the things that spells adventure is trying the local food! Travel would not be complete without taking in that local cuisine. I think that food can give you insights about the culture and history of a place / country.
The first food I tried from the cafe is the Sisig, a dish made from chopped pig parts, seasoned in pepper and kalamansi. Spicy!
A feast wouldn’t be complete without the Bagnet, pieces of deep fried crispy pork belly, which is very very very putok batok (prepare for high cholesterol content!!! ) that is served with KBL (Kamatis, Bagoong and Lasona) and a concoction of vinegar/soysauce on the side. I specially like the pairing and couldn’t get enough of the KBL!
They also served us with two kinds of adobo, chicken and pork. It comes with buttered garlic rice and another favourite, a salsa of tomatoes, salted egg and green mango. The pork adobo is a best seller of the Cafe.
The cafe also serves Sinigang, a Filipino soup distinguishable by its sour taste.
They have plenty of selection for drinks, but what got my attention is these test tube darlings. Red and white wine on test tube bottles! I was told they were outsourced, nevertheless, its my first time to see wine packaged in small tubes… and so far, I’ve only seen them on Z Hostel.
The cafe also offers their own blend of coffee, strong if taken black, but I’m a sweet coffee person so that’s coffee + muscovado for me… sweet but still good coffee!
Z Hostel is located at Don Pedro Street in Makati if you ever want to visit. The cafe is at the right side just after you enter the glass doors. It’s a good thing now that there’s a proper hostel in town that exclusively offers our own Filipino dishes for tourists to try!
Z HOSTEL
5660 Don Pedro St., Brgy. Poblacion, Makati City
www.zhostel.com
www.facebook.com/zhostelph
www.instagram.com/zhostelph
