IT'S fascinating how Café Caw has grown over the last two years. What began as the owner’s comfort zone and happy place—a cozy nook she would run to and unwind in after a long day at work—is now a two-storey café praised for its array of desserts and of course, its vibrant and Instagram-worthy interiors.
Previously located on Gov. M. Cuenco Ave. in Banilad, the café, interestingly enough, was opened on a whim.
Owner Carol “Caw” Tan Unjo-Park was presented with the opportunity to use the space and without second thoughts took it, deciding to use the area as where she would put to practice her passion for culinary.
While the old outlet sat 15 customers, the current one on Salinas Drive, opened September last year, can already accommodate up to 50. Doused in pastels and cutesy fixtures, Café Caw is a charming hideaway ideal for all sorts of occasions, whether catching up with friends or grabbing late night dessert with family, or going out on a date.
Despite having no formal background in food preparation, Carol has been tinkering in the kitchen since she was young, cooking and baking to her heart’s content. Years later when she lived on her own as she pursued college studies abroad, her talent for it was further honed.
The recipes she learned over the years are what customers can find in the café’s menu.
It is filled with her favorites and specialties, her comfort food and ones she encountered from her travels. The menu has choices of pastas, waffles, sandwiches and desserts, plus milkshakes, frappes and other flavored beverages.
The café is generally known for its sweets, like pasty bars, cupcakes, cakes and cookies yet its main meals are just as good and worth a try as well.
Specialties include the Japadog, which is sausage seasoned with wasabi and nori; the “Chicken and Waffles,” or chicken wings topped on a syrupy bed of waffles; and the “Cawey Burger” that’s a combo patty of beef and bacon.
One of the menu’s mainstays, also one of the first items that Carol introduced in the previous branch, is the “Country Fried Steak,” a serving of breaded chicken topped with a generous dollop of gravy.
Fascinating indeed, and Carol said Cebuanos will be seeing more of Café Caw around the city soon. The next branch is already in the works—another charming experience that foodies and dessert-lovers can look forward to.
Café Caw is in SSY Business Center along Salinas Drive, Cebu City. It opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 11:30 p.m. daily.