Antipolo is slowly growing a cafe culture in recent years. I'm glad to note that this community is not composed of your usual multinational brands (although there's a Starbucks right beside the Antipolo Cathedral). The coffee joints that have been sprouting up are home-grown companies, thankfully, and one of this is Roots and Herbs Coffee set up by Fe Mabanta with her husband Sammy. It is located in an ideal spot in Antipolo, on the ground floor of the Ahead Tutorial Center in Mission Hills Subdivision along M.L. Quezon Avenue, far from the traffic fix that one is bound to get into at the intersection of Sumulong Memorial Circle.
What makes this an inviting spot is that you get to enjoy the cool mountain breezes here and the location is on the quiet side, having one or two residential subdivisions, and the Transfiguration Cathedral as neighbors. It certainly made sense for Fe to put up a cafe that serves healthy beverage choices, as it matches with the fresh Antipolo air and the simpler lifestyle led by its people.
Roots and Herbs is a brand name that has been popular for its healthy drink mixes - from Malunggay (or horseradish tree) coffee, to its slimming coffee brand "Cafe Nero". They also serve the most delectable Green Tea (served iced or hot), Iced Red Berry Tea, all of which contain nutrient-rich herbs and are sugar-free.
There's also the Venus Prime vanilla-flavored anti-aging milk which contains collagen, co-enzyme Q10, chamomile, hops and linden that can cap your day nicely. Boxes of their drink mixes plus nutritional supplements are also being sold at the store. Fe displays packaging suggestions for gifts, which is timely, as we are already in the middle of the Christmas season. (You might still have a few more people in your gift list that you haven't shopped for yet, these products might be a good idea).
Thus, when Roots and Herbs opened in Antipolo last 8 December 2013, friends of the Mabantas came to congratulate and sample the hot and creamy milk tea (you can also have it cold), the green and red berry iced tea, and various dishes that are on the regular menu.
I especially liked their Fish Fillet with garlic cream (usually served as a rice topping), and their Pasta with Seafood Aglio Olio.
Carrot cakes, blueberry and oreo cheesecakes are also available to satisfy your sweet cravings.
The opening day was conducted with easy conversation and all-around smiles that mingled with the cafe's casual interiors. It felt like you were in an extension of your own living room.
As of this writing, I am told that the menu will likely expand to answer to the demands of its growing clientele. Will it open for the Simbang Gabi (or the early morning novena mass in anticipation of Christmas Day, an old Filipino tradition)? Here's keeping my fingers crossed.
Well, its been four days since it opened and I have returned to sample their other food choices at least three times already. That certainly says something.
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