Madge Cafe

I’m back! Don’t ask why I’m gone and where I’ve been. Basta, I’m glad to be back. I’ve been really cranky lately because I miss my blog. Yup, this is my sojourn.

So to welcome myself in the blogging world, I will share on of my vanities in life..coffee. Just read my tag line. “..freelance writer and coffee addict” which is courtesy of my brother  Keith who made this site for free.

Before, drinking coffee was not a lifestyle. Thanks to Starbucks, people now drink coffee anytime of the day but do you know that Ilonggos are really known as coffee-lovers? Back flash 20 years ago and its quite shocking to see someone sipping coffee in the middle of the day. But among Ilonggos, they drink it anytime they want just like what we are doing now.

I love coffee. Is it a secret? Obviously not. But I really love house blends. I keep on mentioning in my previous posts that I always look for a shop serving native coffee in any place I travel to. In my adopted city of Love, Madge Cafe is one place to for some genuine caffeine fix.

I have heard about this famed coffee shop inside La Paz market but I never took the leap to savor their brew. Until this freelance writer of yours was commissioned for a travel article that I gave time checking out Madge Cafe.

And it was heavenly! Seriously. Native coffee for 20 pesos. Even if you are not a coffee lover, they offer different coffee blends. They have Black Strong (20Php), Black Regular (20PHP) and Light (20PHP). You can also have it with milk ( 22PHP a cup). Light coffee even comes with milk if you want to so you can really have a cup of your own taste.

They use native coffee beans locally grown in the province like those from the northern town of Dingle. Here she is, so friendly and kind enough to take a photo of her. Though she has been photographed countless times..

To make sure that they serve coffee at its right temperature, they have this heated water with a burner under it.

You can also choose your sweeteners. You can have white sugar, brown or muscovado sugar. I personally use muscovado for its bitter sweet taste.

Do not let its location ( in a market) discourage you from visiting this place. They have maintained its cleanliness and they even safeguard their customers from those with bad intentions. They have been in this place for so many years and I’m pretty sure they have all those felonious minds under control.

No fancy seats but it is spacious and airy.

They also have a smoking area outside. Over the years they have captured even the upscale market from personalities to politicians. They have their “wall of fame” to prove that. Still, they give special attention to those who first notice their incredible coffee.

They also have this mugs with names of their loyal patrons.

This has been a family business for many decades and it is now managed by Peter De la Cruz ( his grandfather started the business).

They have been featured in various local and national publications but they were still friendly to my team. And I really appreciate it when Peter had our coffee on the house. By the way, I had two. haha!

So you are visiting Iloilo or you have some friends coming over, come to Madge Cafe. This is a nice place to relax after a day of touring Iloilo. Watch your snapshots as you enjoy their local brew.

Madge Cafe is open from 6am-6pm. They also serve native cakes – suman, ibos,etc.