For travelers who have been to Silay, Negros Occidental, two things come to mind—ancestral homes and sugar. You’ll find archaic heritage houses around the province, from open-house tourist spots such as The Ruins to private residences that may only be photographed discreetly from the outside.
As for being the land of sugar plantations, you’ll notice that native pastries such as caramel tarts are sold everywhere in Negros, while dessert shops and cafés are found in almost every street. During my first visit to Bacolod two weeks ago, my sweet tooth went wild. We visited as many cafés as we could on our list, including the popular Calea, Café Bon, Pendy’s, and Kuppa.
But there was one coffee shop that, in my book, stood out from them all—Kapehan sang Silay. Thanks to my Google-obsessed boyfriend, Anton, who spends most of his online time researching about the newest restaurants and underground spots, we rode a tricycle to Kapehan, located along Rizal Street in Silay.
Definitely not categorized under the Starbucks kind, Kapehan is a humble coffee shop and eatery. The menu, handwritten and posted on the wall, is simple and affordable:
San Miguel Light, ₱28
Pilsen/Stallion, ₱25
Eagle, ₱20
Sprite/Coke Sakto, ₱10
Pepsi/7-Up, ₱10
Tropicana, ₱12
Mountain Dew/ Royal, ₱12
Coke/Sprite 12 oz, ₱13
Coke Litro to serve, ₱13
Coke Litro for takeout, ₱26
Noodles, ₱15
Noodles with egg, ₱20
Pancit Canton, ₱18
Native Coffee with milk, ₱13
Nescafe with milk, ₱13
Nescafe without milk, ₱10
Nescafe 3-in-1, ₱12
Milo with milk, ₱14
Lipton tea, ₱12
Oatmeal, ₱20
Oatmeal with Milo, ₱23
Iced tea, ₱13
Iced milk, ₱17
Kalamansi juice, ₱13
Fried/soft/boiled egg, ₱12
Meat/cheese sandwich, ₱12
Anton ordered a mug of native coffee, while I had a glass of iced tea and buttered toast. Our total bill was ₱39, but that wasn’t the best part of our experience. It was being in the midst of the modest Silay crowd on a Friday afternoon and watching them take a break from their workaday world. Most of them had their eyes glued to the boxing game on the wall-mounted TV set, while others were reading newspapers while slurping their bowl of noodles.
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What a refreshing change from my usual WiFi-filled afternoons in air-conditioned designer cafés!
Kapehan is located at Rizal Street, Silay, Negros Occidental, Philippines.It’s in front of the San Diego Pro-Cathedral Church.