Since UCC opened here in Manila, all I wanted was to visit and try their food and drinks as soon as possible. So after my 24 hr holter test (see here), we immediately went to Estancia Mall. Our agenda was to eat lunch in KyoChon, see what Capitol Commons has to offer and visit UCC.
“Estancia is a name that means ‘stay a while,’ and what we envisioned is a place where people can come with their family or friends and discover something exactly for them to enjoy and while their time with,” shares Ortigas & Co.’s general manager for shopping centers Cathy Casares-Ko.
I have to agree with her. We actually felt comfortable, relaxed and had more desire to rest and stay a while. For a change, we found a “quiet” and more “peaceful” mall in Pasig. The temperature in this mall is too cold compared to other malls we usually visit. I also love their restrooms — squeaky clean and well maintained. The standard of their restroom can be compared to Shangri-La’s paid restrooms. I envy those who live in this community.
I’m just pleased to see how clean, private, and secured this place is. There are a lot of things to do here and many interesting shops to visit. Best part — the place is not crowded!
UCC Clockwork is our concept store which focuses on third-wave coffee,” UCC Clockwork’s Janna Arceo notes. “This means we have a lot of single-origin coffee available.” At any given time, the hip Japanese kisaten café houses 12 single-origin beans.
After the silliness and some shopping, we went to UCC to have desserts/cafe. I was so excited! We even enjoyed walking in the park while feeling the cool breeze outside. But.. there were smokers there so we went in instead. Unfortunately, we had a problem with the table we want. There’s only one available table that will fit all of us and yet the server was so hesitant to give it to us. It even came to a point that he asked his manager if it’s okay for him to give us the table. I was in a happy mood at that time so I didn’t mind.. but seriously? Why would you give a customer a hard time just to have a seat? 😧
That same server wasn’t attentive as well. We ordered 3 kinds of desserts but they only served us 2. At that time, we were quite frustrated. 😰 Worst part is.. they even charged us for that missing dessert. 😕
We had :
Ohhh! This is delicious!!! We ordered 2 of this. It’s a crowd favorite! I’m supposed to order another one but they don’t have it anymore. 😯 It is soft and creamy with a dash of mango and a hint of crispiness from the sugar glaze on top. It is something worth drooling for. A good “comfort” food! 👏
This cake is full of nuts. The serving of their desserts are bigger compared to what the other coffee shops offer. It is for those who want to eat something sweet and a bit crunchy at the same time. 😉
After the desserts, we asked a different server to give us their best “available” juice and cold coffee. Side Note : A lot of their cold drinks weren’t available at that time. It’s a completely bad timing. 😐
To our surprise, both their juice and coffee are not good. The juice has a bad combination of fruit and vegetable mix. It is bitter and spice in a drink. It’s like drinking a cold vinegar and was asked to pay for it. For us to not waste, my husband attempted to drink up despite of the different faces he makes while attempting to finish the drink. After some time, when the glass became half full, he had an upset stomach. 😕 He wasn’t able to finish the juice. Now go back to the photo above.
The coffee was not that bad but it didn’t reach my expectations either. It is too strong for me even with the addition of cream and sugar. I gave it to our helper instead. Though I can’t blame them that I can’t tolerate a strong coffee, I just think that the server recommended us the wrong drink especially when I mentioned that the coffee must be mild. It is such a waste of money and time. 😣
For this experience, we will give them a rate of 6/10. Aside from the unfortunate “table” experience, despicable juice and bad customer service, we also don’t like the uncomfortable chairs and weak tables they have. It made us feel that the coffee shop doesn’t want their customers to hang out for hours. Side Note : Some restaurants use uncomfy chairs and tables so we’d be forced to leave ASAP instead of hanging out longer.
Also, the place is too crowded. It is a complete opposite of what Estancia Mall has to offer. The tables and chairs are too close from one another. It is hard to have a good and quiet conversation since it’s too easy to hear somebody else’s chat beside you. In fact, our stroller couldn’t fit that’s why our helper and toddler stayed near the door instead. It made our stay more uncomfortable as well.
Though this experience is a total disaster, I still want to visit them and try their other dishes and drinks.. but next time, I want to visit another branch instead. This first impression was too drastic for us to like UCC Cafe instantly. I hope the next experience would be better. 😩
UCC Clockwork
Contact Number : 9422142
Address : Ground Floor, Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons, Oranbo, Pasig City
Facebook Page : Like here
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