u/Spare_Talk_7275

>PART 6: Last post. Ranking Zamboanga City Coffee spots strictly based on taste, ignoring service, ambiance, price, portion size, and presentation. Drink at your own risk.

Last Reminder: Taste is Subjective. Don't come for my ass. Thanks.

Apparently, I don't have any good pictures of any coffee lol(I eventually got tired of taking photos and decided to just enjoy my food n drinks w/out needing to capture them.)

I want to share some few facts about me: I'm a total matcha, sea salt latte, and cheesecake person, and as you can see in the image, I tend to order matcha and coffees together.

​However, since my plan is to eventually recommend coffee for everyone. I've decided to not just stick to those drinks but try other variations of coffee as well. Also stopped drinking coffee for like 3-4 months because I deadass can't sleep.

MY COFFEE RANKING(I had a difficult time putting this list together! And while reviewing everything, I realized I have already tried over 130+ vendors here in ZC. Since I featured numerous cafes in my Part 1 thread, end of the list will focus exclusively on the names of the places I have yet to try. I might add more to the top list because my brain hurts trying to remember all the best coffee I've had):

1. Mapa Coffee

2. Creia

3. Arya's Coffee

4. Taza

5. Kape Larawan

6. 3rd cup(haven't seen anyone that recommend their coffee but I loved it sm)

7. Commune cafe

8. But first, coffee

9. CASA MISUR

10. BBK(underrated! So good matcha and coffee)

Honorable Mentions(these are all good too, but it's just that the top 8 are just diff. Also, some here are a hit-and-miss): La lune, Lulu's, Kiki's Patisserie, Tom n Toms, Coffee Hour, Bo's Coffee, Shell cafe

Have not tried(their coffee): Little Viet, Library coffee + study, ZBGA, Bendeli's Coffee, Kofi Hub, Tiny House Coffee & Top, Chachago

Take All: P9500 ONLY(open for nego and I'll sell this next week)

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Just Decluttering(I honestly don't wanna bring this when I move out). Most are brand-new and pre-loved makeup collection(also, i threw away all the boxes and packaging)

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All pre-loved items were used only 2-4 times and have been strictly cleaned and sanitized after being used on my clients.

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TRANSACTION INFO:

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Location: Zamboanga City meet-ups and maxim delivery ONLY.

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MOP: Cash in Person & GCASH

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Inquiries: DM me here or PM me on my Facebook page if you're interested.

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Serious buyers only. First come, first served

❗️Going to sell this next week. DM me here yall for reservations and inquiries.❗️

Just Decluttering. Selling my some brand-new and pre-loved makeup collections.

All pre-loved items were used only 2-4 times and have been strictly cleaned and sanitized after being used on my clients.

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Transaction Info:

Location: Zamboanga City meet-ups and maxim delivery ONLY.

MOP: Cash in Person & GCASH

Serious buyers only. First come, first served.

>PART 5: This might be my last post. Ranking Zamboanga City food spots strictly based on taste, ignoring service, ambiance, price, portion size, and presentation. Eat at your own risk. Just to be clear, this isn’t sponsored or a brand deal. I bought all these with my own money

Before sharing my ranking, I just wanted to leave a small reflection at the end of this post. I'd really appreciate it if you could read it through, especially my fellow Muslims.

Anyway, I don't think I'll be able to make rankings for coffee(Like what?? I recently found out after making this thread that I deadass have eaten from 130+ vendors. Tbh, I have already decided my top coffees, but I'll save the best for last teehee), pastas, noodles, shawarma, takoyaki, tacos, salads, seafood, chicken, beef, BBQ, samgyupsal, soup, yogurt drinks, tea, frappes, fruit shakes, banana pudding, catering, Indian, Arab, SEA, Chinese, Korean, or Japanese food, etc. To be honest, I haven't really tried versions of those dishes here that made me say 'WOW,' and I just prefer my own cooking.

Times Mentioned(From my top list & honorable mention):

1. HALAL(afaik): 6 & 3

2. NON-PORK(check menu or ask them if may pork, cause, as sometimes, out of nowhere, they suddenly add pork to the menu): 18 & 5

3. NOT HALAL(specifically has pork): 7 & 1

4. VEGAN: 1

OVERALL RESTAURANTS RANKING(Honestly, compiling this general list was sooo hard. It was supposed to be only for 'restaurants' with big menus, which is why I included some cafes. It's definitely bound to change over time, and I just know the second I post this I’m going to realize I completely forgot to add a spot, but for now, here it is):

1. Bigby's Cafe and Restaurant(I’ve never had any problems here. They are one of the restaurant that I know that is consistently good, and I’ve tried almost everything on the menu): NOT HALAL
2. L'muse(I love everything, but I didn’t enjoy the pizzatilla - it is too expensive for what you get): NON-PORK
3. Titos Franco Mediterranean: NON-PORK
4. La Salsa: NON-PORK
5. Out of nowhere: NON-PORK
6. Abalone(Flavors are great, but it has a slightly heavy, floury texture sometimes): NOT HALAL
7. Tonala Mexican Food(Best burrito I've tried so far): NON-PORK
8. Cosmic: VEGAN
9. Garden Orchid Hotel: NOT HALAL
10. Hermosa Jardin: NON-PORK
11. Alegre x Good Habits(tried almost everything): NON-PORK
12. Maurizio's: NON-PORK
13. Kiki's patisserie(I’ve tried everything except the items that are not out yet. It is still good, but it tasted much better before): NON-PORK
14. Auntie Nitz Cafe(underrated): NON-PORK
15. Mesa: NOT HALAL
16. Peppers Lunch(I’ve tried almost everything, but it is unnecessarily expensive): NON-PORK
17. ZAYNS restaurant(I prefer their biryani over any restaurant): HALAL
18. GORS Halal Cuisine: HALAL
19. Maligay: HALAL
20. Bo's coffee: NON-PORK
21. Coffee hour(tetuan>airport branch): NON-PORK
22. Wendoweeat(underrated): NON-PORK
23. D'port foodhub: NON-PORK
24. Sweetaffairs by lyssa: NOT HALAL
25. Taza: NON-PORK
26. 3rd cup: NOT HALAL
27. Old Town: NON-PORK
28. The Hut Malaysian Foods: HALAL
29. Family Friend Chicken(An OG spot. I really want to know the ingredients in their chicken sauce): HALAL
30. Paresilog(almost tried everything): NON-PORK
31. Yoshimeatsu(I prefer this over all other samgyupsal places): NOT HALAL
32. Andy's Satti(Personally, better than any other satti place, although I am not that picky about any satti spot) : HALAL

Honorable mention: Gerardos(Used to be my top 1, but for the past few months it hasn't tasted as good as before - NOT HALAL), 3McQueens Cafe(HALAL), Mons grill(NON-PORK), Mamang's greasy spoon(HALAL), Nanyang(NON-PORK), Bambas by chef mick(NON-PORK), Kinami(NON-PORK), Turkish grille(HALAL), 24 Chicken(NON-PORK)

Have Tried Resto: alavar, andre, army navy, asadores, atoa, baka rico, barcode, bay tal mal, beats & bites, big j's, bigdawgs bistro, cafe amara, cafe amari, cafe intana, casa velyn, chef jose, chillies, chinitos, coffee spot, coffee station, cookpub, dennis, early birds, figaro, hanazono, haya, holy smokes, hunger bites, jinsoku, kaizu, kalye siete, kape larawan, kohi, kbop, kbop zip, kenny rogers, kimstaurant, kinami, kuku, la cresta, la gran by mano mano, la vivienda, mapa cafe, mulberry cafe, nylas cafe, ole-ole, oishii ramen bai, palm tree, parkview, popsilog, publique lounge, sandyheart, seven steaks, shrimpyard, sweetaffairs, taste of bud, tokyo tokyo, turkish grille, vanilla bean, vee diner, village zc restaurant, wingman zambo,wokaholic, 1860 coffee etc. lazy to continue

On my list that I have not yet tried and will not try(because there's pork): aristocrat chinese, autogrill, boaz grill, botejyu, brique modern kitchen, carrson's bar, choobi choobi, comedor na canelar, country chicken(waiting for their halal cert branch), don vicente, ettas cusina, gerry's grill, hai san, hideout resto cafe, izakaya, Johnnies batchoy, kape zambo, la roma, la vuelta, masako japanese cuisine, mico's kamayan, muy bien ramen, oriental bowl, palmeras, papitos, raymeon and chill zc, samurai sushi and bento, seoul garden, times resto, tito jiggs, yokocho, zubaibai etc. lazy to continue

SIDE NOTE: Please take this as a gentle but serious reminder. Maybe this isn't talked about enough, or maybe I’m just living under a rock, but we really need to look closer at what we consider 'Halal.' Also, Let's discuss the rising trend of AI posters and the general overuse of AI.

On AI usage:

Please stop overusing Al. Not to be a hypocrite, I do use Al for important things. It's just that lately, I've noticed establishments using AI for their menus. I kinda find it crazy when graphic design tools like Canva are right there naman. On top of that, people are using Al to design their My Day posts, generating weird, uncanny images and nonsensical videos.

Please learn about the actual consequences of relying and using too much on Al.

On Halal-Certification:

I say this as someone who used to be in the exact same position as many of you. I used to feel terrible guilt trying to eat at non-certified places, constantly convincing myself that 'as long as the kitchen is segregated, it's all good.' But a few months ago, I completely stopped eating at any spot that serves pork. No matter how segregated a kitchen claims to be, cross-contamination is a risk I am simply not willing to take anymore. As Muslims, it is always better to play it safe and stick to places that are strictly Halal Certified or 100% vegan.

A lot of people misunderstand and assume a restaurant is halal just because they don't serve pork. I would love some help from you guys. Please comment or send links of any food spots here in ZC that you know are legitimately Halal Certified or vegan. I really wish EVERY establishment would display their halal certification clearly for us. Hopefully, I can make a separate thread soon with a complete, verified list of halal and vegan options in ZC!

​On Boycotting:

On another note, I still see some of our brothers and sisters eating at food chains that should be boycotted. I'm definitely not claiming to be perfect, but we must remember that we will be held accountable for how we spend our money on the Day of Judgment. If we knowingly support brands that are complicit in the gen0cid3 of our brothers and sisters, we really need to take heed.

"And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. indeed, Allah is severe in penalty." - Qur'an 5:2

​For now, I’m just going to list the best restaurants I’ve tried previously, and this list is for everybody. For this food ranking, I will be classifying each establishment into four(4) temporary categories: Halal, Non-Pork, Vegan, and Not Halal(specifically have pork on menu), until I have finalized them strictly into either Halal Certified or Not Halal. Please correct me if I am wrong!!!

>PART 4: Ranking Zamboanga City Food Spots based STRICTLY on taste. Ignoring services, ambiance, price, portion size, presentation. Make sure to eat at your own risk.

This ranking covers five(5) specific categories: Burnt Cheesecake, Cakes, Cookies, Bread & Pastries, and Brownies.

BURNT BASQUE CHEESECAKE RANKING(I definitely forgot to add something. I'll update this once I remember):

1. Moms cheesecake(trust me, it's worth it. Don't forget to tell them if you prefer your BBC firm or soft)
2. TBC(The burp co.): Other variants. Literally a sugar rush in 3 bites, but no regrets.
3. Phew's pastries
4. Continental Bakes & Co.
5. Mulberry cafe
6. Seattle's(hit and miss)
7. Iya coffee
8. Soul Bake

(The rest of the CC are honestly on the same lvl of quality, but as always, it just comes down to personal preferences)

9. HAYA cafe(and other variants)
10. Twinslittleoven(other variants)
11. Nana's
12. Isabelle's(Personally, it tastes like leche flan)
13. Kakes and Kreams
14. Sweetaffairs by lyssa
15. Mrs. lowell(other variants)
16. Wakahers
17. Matcha Tokyo
18. TeamHealthyZambo
19. Harina Pastry(hit and miss)
20. Taza

CAKES RANKING(PM them first. Others are featuring ready-to-serve options and custom orders):

1. The Flourists

2. Sweetsaffairs by lyssa

3. The Cake Studio

4. Little Cakes

5. Mrs. Lowell

6. Lorain's Cafe

7. Kape larawan(love their pistachio cake)

8. La lune

9. Andre

10. Stephens

11. Harina

12.Berry box de Zamboanga

13. Bellacious Baked Goodies Shop

14. Iya coffee

15. Taza

16. Myrnas

17. CBTL(dryyy)

Have tried the usual: Red Ribbon, Goldilocks, Cakes!

COOKIES RANKING(Not really into cookies so help me out and please recommend more. I've tried other spots too, I just forgot the names):

1. Elle Goods
2. Sweet Maria
3. The Dessert Club
4. Creia
5. Seattle's
6. Cookie sa Mapa coffee
7. Lara's Kookies
8. Kakes and Kreams
9. 25th donut

BREAD & PASTRIES RANKING(This is just an overall list. Also, pls drop your recommendations below):

1. Soul bake(their lineup usually changes day to day, but I think I've tried almost everything atp. My absolute favorites are any of the pistachio variants)
2. Auntie Nitz bakeshop
3. Kirstyn Bakeshop
4. Master's(og, will never get tired of eating their cheesebread)
5. Mang tinapay(and their foods are underrated and affordable too)

Have tried the usuals: Red Ribbon, Goldilocks

BROWNIES RANKING(Not into brownies too, so please recommend):

1. Phew's pastries
2. Moms cheesecake(brownie cheesecake is a one way ticket to a sugar coma i swearr)
3. Sugar and Ice(pistachio brownie was so good)
4. Sagebakeszc(IG, fav was the cheesecake brownie variant)
5. Stephens Dessert(used to love it sm. My fav is the smores one)
6. Mrs. lowell

>PART 3: Ranking Zamboanga City Food Spots based STRICTLY on taste. Ignoring services, ambiance, price, portion size, presentation. Make sure to eat at your own risk.

Disclaimer: I feel like I need to say the obvious, but something I’m sure we’ve all noticed is how many food establishments taste amazing when they first open, only to eventually downgrade. Just a heads-up that while these are my top picks for the time being, the leaderboard is always changing - and eventually, someone else might take their place.

BURGERS & SANDWICHES RANKING(note: I will specify if an item falls under the sandwich category):

1. >!Johnny's Burger(I have a feeling they've downgraded, so imma cross this out and I'll try them again to see if they're still good. Note: It's occasionally a miss whenever the bread is bad, no matter how good the filling tastes.)!<
2. Pablo's burger(tried almost every burger)
3. Seven steak(it tastes like pablo's, just the expensive version)
4. Bandits Burger(tried all, good but it's a bit oily)
5. Zark's Burger(It used to taste so much better)
6. Kiki Patisserie(tried all including sandwiches, underrated)
7. Tito Franco's Mediterranean
8. Bigby's
9. Seattle
10. Out of Nowhere
11. Auntie nitz cafe(sandwiches, underrated)
12. Jollibee(so underrated esp the double aloha champ or any and the deluxe)
13. Buffalo's Wings N' Things
14. Tom n toms coffee(sandwiches)
15. Bo's Coffee
16. Iya coffee(sandwiches)

Honorable mention: La Salsa, Flavorite, Taza

**Have tried:**army navy, dalberos, hot chicks(I know people love those two, but I find it mid, sorry), asadores, barid, cafe amara, cafe intana, creamy creations, dalberos, dwntwn, ghetto, mapa, minute burger, myrnas, nana's kitchen, planet's burger, savor cuisine, vee diner, vons giant, 1860 coffee

FRENCH FRIES RANKING(tbh, I'm not that big of a fan of chips or frites, as long as they ain't soggy, I'm good. But here are some spots that pop into my mind):

1. Lulu's Cafe
2. Seven steaks

PIZZA RANKING:

1. Greenwich pizza(I'm sorry, I'm biased regarding this even though some dislike it)
2. Cafe Margherita(hit and miss)
3. Angel's pizza
4. Tito Franco's Mediterranean(hit and miss)
5. Yellow Cab(why did they have to close it?)
6. Maurizio's pizza(hit and miss, I prefer their pizza in sm city compared to other branches)
7. Shakeys
8. Iya coffee
9. Kiki's patisserie(underrated)
10. Buboy’s ZC pizza

Honorable mention: Lulu's, Isabelle's, Taam halal pizza

Have Tried: cafe amari, chef jose, cristina, dolce affari, higante, l'muse, speedy pizza, torks, 3M pizza

>PART 2: Ranking Zamboanga City Food Spots based STRICTLY on taste. Ignoring services, ambiance, price, portion size, presentation. Make sure to eat at your own risk.

Zamboanga City has so many amazing local restaurants and cafes that easily outshine the big, boycotted food chains. So, yall better start boycotting iykyk. Just a heads-up: ranking these doesn't mean I won't give them another shot. Whenever I happen to drop by, I always end up buying something anyway! Again, to each their own.

My DCC Ranking (I'll update this cause i forgot the names of the other 4. As usual, most are a hit, and sometimes a miss, and again I've tried everything 2-6 times):

1. Gorggstyles de Zamboanga PH(love love, expensive nga lang)
2. Sugar and Ice(It has a like choco chip filling)
3. The Dessert Club(It's giving luxury and I love their cookies too)
4. The Cake Studio
5. Berry Sam
6. Kakes and Kreams

(The rest taste the same; some just taste better to me. From #13-18, yall need to step up your game)

7. Kikis patisserie

8. Conon coffee

9. The Marble ZC

10. Soul Bake

11. Sweet bites

12. 11:11 coffee

13. Joseph's good harvest

14. Celine's Yummy Treats

15. ZBGA books and cafe

16. Lulus cafe

17. La lune

18. Nylas cafe

My Donut Ranking:

1. 25th donut
2. J.co
3. Soul bake(hit and miss, love their pastries in general)
4. Minetime
5. Mister donut
6. Coffee street
7. Donut park
8. Matcha cafe
9. Mamus bread
10. Johnny's Burger(dry and bland, but love their burger)
11. BY GEMS PARTY KINGDOM(dry and bland)

>PART 1: Ranking Zamboanga City Food Spots based STRICTLY on taste. Ignoring services, ambiance, price, portion size, presentation. Make sure to drink at your own risk.

Remember: taste is subjective, to each their own!

Updates coming soon! My matcha ranking are probably bound to change after I’ve been on a bit of a matcha run and tried drinks from several new spots. I'm currently debating whether these 6+ vendors belong in my top or not.

My Ranking (which was honestly a nightmare to put together because they're all so good. To keep things unbiased, I made sure to try every single one anywhere and went back 2 to 8+ times before deciding):

1. La lune(tried all, hit and miss, suprisingly the cheapest one taste the best)
2. Oh mama matcha(tried all, love all of them esp earl grey)
3. KalMacha(on hiatus i think)
4. Kiki's patisserie
5. Commune cafe(tried all, love esp seasalt)
6. TAHARA: Crafted Matcha
7. Casamisur
8. Lulu's(hit and miss)
9. Sunni Sip(it's good but there is something missing)
10. Macao(love the uji matcha)
11. BBK(SM city, tried all and every matcha variant was so good!)
12. Mapa coffee(I love their dirty matcha!! but the matcha latte was not giving tbh)
13. Matcha Tokyo(tried all, only liked the salted cream latte and the ones with coffee)

Honorable Mentions: Coco Fresh Tea, Buen Dia Cafe

Cafes and pop-ups I've tried so far, besides those on the list (I might not remember everything, sorry):

akats tea, alegre, amanah cafe, amaris diner, andre, auntie nitz cafe, awake, barcode, barid, barnyard, bos coffee, brew and co, but first coffee, cafe amara, cafe amari, cafe corazon, cafe intana, cafe kawa, cafehan moments, cafe mulberry, cafe reptalia, chatime, cof-tea, coffee bean and tea leaf, coffee hour, coffee spot, coffee station, coffee street, cozy cafe, creamy creations, creia, cty,dnew coffee, dalberos, dash espresso, don macchiatos, dwntwn, escobar, figaro, fresco, ghetto, gong cha, groundzero, harina, haya, hey jude, highlands, hiluxx coffeetea, hungry mylies, isabelle, iya coffee, kakes and kream, kape larawan, km6, kohi, koomi, kuku coffee, library coffee, lorain, Iya coffee, masah, matcha cafe, minetime, mnl tea station, moi bien, mr brew, ms latte, myrnas, nanas kitchen, nylas cafe, onze, palm tree, parkview, priyo cafe, publique,que?tal, seattle, seville, shell, solana, soul bake, star&box coffee, sweetaffairs, taste of bud, taza, tea station, tiger sugar, tom n toms, vee diner, wakahers, whey n co, yummylly, 25th donut, 1860, 3rd cup, etc. too lazy to continue