Afternoon Break at Coffee Madness and Prima Pizzeria

I only spend one weekend for leisure and relaxation and that's only every Sunday. Either I go swimming to the beach or I go hiking up in the mountain, at least, I still spend my free time rejuvenating. Another way of coping up with my new job description in a new working environment, dealing with new people in the workplace is through filling up my stomach and eating it out. Admittedly speaking, I spend most of my weeknights satisfying my palate and satisfying my hunger-center hypothalamus. So, one afternoon while waiting for the Novena Mass in San Roque Church, Lilo-an, I asked a co-teacher and Lyvette, an inspiring food blogger, to join me in my gastronomic quest in Lilo-an.

Coffee Madness. It was referred to me by an elementary teacher whose invitation was never realized because of our different working schedule. Since I still have an ample amount of time, I grabbed the remaining 3-hours to visit the place before my next appointment. The 15-minute ride from Britech College led us to a garden entrance with a signboard at the gate: Coffee Madness. 

The green, wide facade with a swing, a swimming pool and a space which looked like a function area greeted us. We headed directly to the swimming pool. I was checking the place and some other amenities before sitting down for an afternoon snack; and, after learning that people can go swimming the entire day for a hundred-peso fee with a 300-peso fee for tables and chairs without any corkage fee plus free usage of electricity, I thought it is a good deal.

I then asked the two ladies with me to finally walk to the cafe. The open space of the cafe with yellow and red lanterns are attractive enough to complement with the hardwood tables and crate chairs. The garden-themed cafe is a perfect chill-out place for a serene afternoon break. 

"Cool ambiance"

There were already diners in the cafe when we arrived. The place was getting busy and I assumed that it could get busier as the clock strikes 5 in the afternoon. Asking the two girls to find us a seat, I then went directly to the counter. They had a great selection of coffee and snacks - from hot to cold coffee and iced tea up to cookies and some other desserts.

I was having a hard time choosing so I asked the attendant what she could recommend to me and its bestseller. However, at that time,it didn't fit my appetite so I finally decided to have a Non-Coffee Blend of Strawberry Cookie. As for the girls, I asked for a Tiramisu Latte and Home-brewed Iced Tea. Our drinks are settled already that all we needed was something solid to complete our afternoon snack. Beside Coffee Madness is a pizza kiosk called, Prima Pizzeria. As an occasional pescatarian, I chose Vegetarian Delight Pizza and Plain French Fries.

On the menu, the Home-brewed Iced Tea is a brewed tea, passion fruit and mint. However, it bewildered me that it has one thin slice of lemon. I thought it was just part of the serving but when I had the sip of the liquid, I was waiting for the minty kick of mint and the soury taste of the passion fruit. I could only appreciate the bitter taste of medium-brewed tea. It was good enough if there wasn't any description in the menu. It could have been just plain

home-brewed iced tea.

"Home-brewed Iced Tea"

Tiramisu Latte appears attractive to me. With a latte, it should have a taste of milk, and given that it has a tiramisu syrup with dark chocolate, it could taste bitter. I guess, it was good enough for this cafe but ordinary for already established coffee shops.

"Tiramisu"

Strawberry Cookies is by far my favorite among the three. I could taste the strawberry syrup perfectly blended with oreo cookies. Though it fell short with cookies - I wanted more!

"Strawberry Cookies"

At Prime Pizzeria, I ordered a 6-Inched Solo Vegetarian Delight Pizza. It is garnished with onions, mushroom, bellpepper, tomatoes, and olives in a mozarella cheese. The crust thick but the dough seemed not baked well. The outermost arcs are spread with tiny bread crumbs. The food server isn't too friendly and accommodating. The french fries tasted dry and very plain.

"French Fries"

"Vegetarian Pizza"

Anyway, we still managed to eat up and enjoyed the afternoon snacks. What could have been a very short break turned out longer because it rained hard. We waited for 30 minutes before heading to our next appointment. A great consolation for this quick afternoon snack - we were able to hitchhiked! At least, it was one fun afternoon break.