Kopi Tiam

There's a small restaurant along Councilor Benitez St., near the junction of Horseshoe Village and Santolan Avenue called Kopi Tiam.  This restaurant, while affiliated with the North Park group, serves the Chinese dishes that North Park is known for, but the  concept and menu offering have been tweaked a bit by the owners, the siblings Rafael and Gabriel Soon.  Instead of the straightforward & spartan interiors of the noodle houses, the place is a much cozier cafe which was built around a remodeled residence.  The wood-lined glass panels all over the split-level house actually made me think the house would have been a great mountain retreat, or would have been perfect atop a cliff fronting the sea.  In addition to serving coffee concoctions, the place is also home to a bakery that sells Taiwan-style breads and pastries.  While the kopi tiam phenomenon in Singapore & Malaysia is usually associated with toast, soft boiled eggs & kaya, the brothers have steered clear of the typecast, and several pan-Asian dishes have been added to beef-up the menu (e.g. Korean hot pot).  I got to our business meeting a bit late, but was in time for dessert--their version of halo-halo!  Reasonable prices--have a full course for around P500 per person.