[Review] Ahmad Brothers Cafe at Labsan/Yandoc St., Baguio City

Ahmad Brothers Cafe is one of the restaurants my husband and I tried on our short vacation at Baguio.

We had a hard time looking for this place, but it was well worth it. From our place at Megatower Residences, we decided to walk all the way to their location at Legarda road, after all Google Maps said it's just a 20min walk. But wth, we got lost and pissed off at the throng of people flocked over at Session Rd. (read: Panagbenga Festival). Eventually we just hailed a cab and got dropped off around Giligan's. According to Google Maps, it should be at the same building, if not beside it.

It wasn't there. 

Imbyerna. We asked around, and finally one of the guards said Ahmad has moved to a new location. He told us it was walking distance. So we walked. But not before calling the establishment to confirm their existence. Thank God for Google (the same Google who led us to a wrong location), I was connected to one of their staff who texted us about their actual location. It's only 450m away from their old spot. Great!

And so we walked. As of writing, their current address is at Labsan St. cor Yandoc St, Baguio City. You can always confirm at their mobile number 0908-740-7284 or their landline number (074)-244-7292.

We found Ahmad Brothers Cafe tucked at the lower levels of Hotel Caterina. At this point in my Indian food loving life, I learned not to care about restaurant interiors. As you can see, nothing fancy here, but it's a big enough eatery offering Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine. 

We saw a couple of Arab looking kids ordering a plate of what looked like chicken tandoori with rice. And you know the drill, if you see foreign people eating their local food in a foreign country, the place must be legit.

And so we ordered the usual.

Vegetable samosa - ₱65

I super love this! It's a different kind of samosa, the wrap is made of something like lumpia wrapper, and the dip isn't the usual tamarind and mint-chutney. It's garlic sauce haha.

Chili Pakora - ₱80

Another great item from their menu. The chilis look super payat but I assure you they taste perfect, specially with their cheese dip. Jusko and ₱80 lang syaaaa. (for comparison, Chili Pakoras at Naan cost ₱150).

Chicken Masala - ₱240

Aaand our main dish. I know it looks like Adobo, the sauce is brown and there are large potato chunks too. It looks so far from the Masala we know. But the taste? AMAZING. Walang kwenta tong food blog na to, basta masarap - amazing yan. Try nyo na lang. The sauce isn't that thick but the flavors are all there. The spices really get to you. I love it.

We also ordered Sweet Lassi (₱70) and it was, again, amazing. I can't believe we're drinking super cheap Lassi that's also super good. Huhuhu. Goes to show that food in the metro is ridiculously overpriced. And their beef shawarma? ₱70 lang diiiin!

We tried to order Naan bread but didn't have any, they served us with pita bread instead, the one they use for shawarma. Okay lang naman hahaha.

Our bill went just a little over ₱600. Not baaaaad for two Indian food gluttons!

Location and contact

Address: #1, Yandoc st. corner Naguilian rd. Baguio City, Philippines (basement of Hotel Caterina, just beside Justice Hall)

If you're navigating via maps/waze, use the one pinned at Labsan st.

Operating hours: 9am to 9pm (Mon - Sat) and 11am to 9pm (Sun)

Contact number: (074)-244-7292

Facebook: Ahmad Brothers Cafe

[Review] Dinner at Naan Indian Street Kitchen at Kapitolyo

Naan is an Indian restaurant located at D Strip, United st., Brgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig City. It's definitely not authentic so don't expect too much but their Filipino/Western fusion menu is the bomb! It's a great place to dine in if you want to be introduced to Indian food without getting overwhelmed with new flavors. If you happen to like it here, I'm sure you'd enjoy real authentic Indian restaurants next (ie. New Bombay, Queens at Bollywood, Gilak)! On to the food, here's what we had:

Vegetable Samosa (₱150)
Size is small, and the shell is very thick, not much fillings inside. Still very tasty though! But they only serve tamarind dip, no mint-cilantro dip huhu. 7/10

Cheese-stuffed green chilli pakoras (₱150)
Here's a new favorite! The chillis taste great, the cheese is perfect and dip is awesooooome. 9/10

Butter Paneer (₱220)
Sauce seems more watery instead of creamy, but overall it tastes great and really perfect for Naan. 8/10

Fried Butter Chicken Curry (₱360)
Another good find! I don't usually like crispy fried chicken (except chickenjoy) but their breading is soooo good and the sauce is exploding with flavors. You have to try this! 9/10

Cardamom spiced sweet lassi
I forgot the price of this but I didn't like it that much because the cardamom is too strong haha. Hubby liked it though.

Naan (₱35)
Tastes exactly like it's supposed to haha. Pretty small too so get a bunch of these if you must!

Price range for 2 people is around ₱700-₱1000. Is it worth it? Price-wise, nope because you can get more authentic flavors for the same price. But heck, it's obviously fusion so I'm just babbling here hehe. But like I said if you haven't tried Indian food, this place is a great intro. My husband and I are total Indian food lovers and we we're looking for nearby Indian restaurants to try, but having dined at Queens, Gilak, and New Bombay gave Naan an unfair bar to beat haha. Kasi nga it's fusion, ang kulit!

Anyway the place is bright and colorful. Ambiance looked friendly, the staff are attentive. I loved the colors in this place, their logo, the walls, and even their plates!

Too bad they only accept cash!

Will probably try it again here, must go back for Chilli Pakoras! And of couse, must tryTikka Masala and their hummus too!

Naan Indian Street Kitchen
D Strip, 20 United st.,
Brgy Kapitolyo, Pasig City