Mentore Coffee + Bar by UCC

We have a lot of western coffee shops in the Philippines.  UCC, on the other hand, is the Japanese version of the coffee shop and it has been running very successfully in the country.

Now UCC has opened up a new venture related to the coffee business.  They called it Mentore Coffee+Bar.  Mentore is an Italian word which means mentor or to teach.  I went to their first branch at SM Aura two months ago and discovered the place with other foodies.  It’s nice to see a different concept of coffee shop.  Mentore has a lot of things to offer.  They have coffee, tea, juices, food such as omurice, spaghetti, soup, curry, rice dishes, grilled food, sandwiches, salads and dessert.

AMBIENCE

Mentore Coffee+Bar by UCC has a pretty big space at SM Aura.  It’s located at one end of the mall.  You can hang out at the middle of the mall which is a pretty good position for friends & families who are waiting for their loved ones in shopping.

Don’t be fooled by the Mentore entrance at the side.  I thought they only had 2-3 tables inside but I was pleasantly surprised to see how big it was.  It has ample space for coffee aficionados out there 🙂

My favourite, and the biggest surprise for me is the veranda.  Not only does it give you a very good view of Serendra.  You can even play mini golf!  How cool is that?

You see, we used to have a mini golf course at the Fort but it didn’t last long.  So when I saw Mentore adding this to their beautiful SM Aura branch, I was just in awe and excited even!

COFFEE

While UCC offers great coffee, Mentore stretches it by offering more varieties in preparing coffee.

1. Syphon – highly charismatic visual appeal in coffee making.  Produces a smooth medium body and flavourful cup using a medium ground coffee.  Best with high acidity coffees.
2. Pour Over – basically the drip method, a cone-shaped paper filter is utilised to extract coffee.  Water at off-the-boil is carefully spread over medium fine grind coffee with an unfailingly clear, fragrant, and seductive coffee cup.
3. Water Drip – precisely measured cold water is allowed to drip over medium coarse ground coffee over 8 hours.  This produces a brew which is silky with deep coffee nots without the usual acidity.
4. French Press – first used in French restaurants.  Uses a fine mesh filter plunger unit attached to the lid to separate ground coffee from hot boiling water.  Uses coarse ground coffee and produces a heavy-bodied coffee.
5. Espresso – coffee done with the espresso machine extracted from 7 grams of fine grind coffee at temperature of 95 degrees celsius with 9 atm in 25-30 seconds.  Produces an ounce of very rich, syrupy, and robust brew.  Not for the fainthearted.

PERRI-ESPRESSO

Mentore’s most popular concoction is the Perri-Espresso (Php 180).  This drink really caught my eye and I was really curious how it tasted and how it is prepared.

It’s basically a combination of Mentore’s espresso, Perrier sparkling water, and honey syrup.

I love that we get to partake in mixing all the ingredients.  All we need to do is to pour in the espresso, the sparkling water, and the honey syrup into the glass and we’re good to go!  Here, I took a video on how it should be done! 🙂

MENTORE FOOD

Mentore’s food items are a combination of two types of cooking: Western and Japanese.  I’ve tried a couple of dishes during my visit.  I tasted each of the items and I must say, they are definitely yummy!  I’m pretty positive that Mentore will be a household name in the coffee world real soon.  It’ll be just as successful as UCC in Manila 🙂

Let me give a photo diary of some of Mentore’s food items:

• Omurice – omelette stuffed with buttered tomato rice with your choice of tomato or beef sauce

Pork Omurice Special with Hamburg (Php 400)

Mushroom Omurice Special with Vegetable Kakiage (Php 400)

Chicken Omurice Special with Fried Shrimp (Php 400)

• Yoshoku Spaghetti – Mentore’s western-inspired Japanese spaghetti!

Yoshoku Spa-Butter & Soy Sauce with Egg (Regular – Php 300, Large – Php 390)

• Japanese Curry – curry meat sauce mixed with vegetables poured over steamed rice.

Fried Shrimp Curry with Rice (Php 400)

Hamburg Curry with Rice (Php 400)

• Gratin & Doria – dishes with butter, creamy Japanese white sauce, & melted cheese

Shrimp Penne Gratin (Php 340) – if you’re a pasta lover, you’ll love shrimp penne gratin which is pasta-based.

Shrimp Doria (Php 350) – for rice lovers (like me), the shrimp doria will be our choice as it’s rice-based.

• Grilled and Fried Food – served with rice or garlic toast

Grilled Chicken & Fried Shrimp Combo (Php 400)

• Salad – fresh leafy greens with Mentore special dressings

Thai Yam Unsen Salad (Php 290) – when ordering salad, I would suggest you get this one.  The spices were just spot on.  You can taste a bit of spicy, salty, sweet and sour in this Thai Yam Unsen salad.  Perfect for picky eaters because I do not think this salad will disappoint anyone.

Spicy Shabu Shabu Salad (Php 340)

• Side Dishes – complements to any meal.

Fried Chicken Wings (Php 130)

Spinach with Cheese (Php 180)

• Dessert – sweet endings to your meal.

Clair Berry (Php 200) – waffle & crepes.  get it? 😉  The way to eat this is by cutting the clair into 4 parts, putting all the berries & ice cream equally unto each part, wrap and bite just like eating crepes.  Yum!

Kobe Baked Pudding (Php 180) – this might looked simple but boy, this was cooked perfectly and I’m not exaggerating!  a MUST-order!

Now we all have another place to go to when we are going to hang out with friends.  Mentore will be a very good choice for a good meal + very nice coffee & dessert, all in one place!

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Mentore Coffee + Bar by UCC
SM Aura Premier, Bonifacio Global City, McKinley Parkway corner 26th street, Taguig City, Philippines
Park Terraces, Glorietta, Ayala Center Park Drive corner West street, Makati City, Philippines