It’s funny how I seem to have forgotten how to relax. Before, I always set aside at least an hour at night to read– my way of unwinding. Ask me how many books I’ve read this year and you will know I’ve been failing at that lately. I already adjusted my reading challenge on Goodreads to accommodate my pace, but even with just a 15 book goal for the year, I have only read 3 so far. T-H-R-E-E! This has never happened before.
Sunday is my only rest day, but every time I set myself up for some relaxation, something that I “need” to do pops into my mind. As is natural to me, I decide to work on it and work on it until the light outside the window fades to black and I end up doing no unwinding at all.
I just feel like I’ve wound myself up so tight lately with all the things I do at work and for the blog that I’ve forgotten what it’s like to just sit back and feel like I’ve earned myself a little break. My mind is always running. Running after ideas. Running after my to-do’s. Worrying about deadlines. Knowing your responsibilities is all well and good, but knowing when to rest is equally important isn’t it?
A little vacation would be a nice thing to look forward to for the holidays, but since it doesn’t seem quite plausible this year since all the holidays fall on a weekend, there are two things that keep me sane at the moment: Gym time and coffee. Now all the more, I appreciate spending some quiet time in third-wave coffee shops like Fundamental Coffee.
This isn’t going to be a review in the vein of what I typically do for restaurants here on the blog. It’s more like a feature, mostly because I had such a pleasant time while I was here. The ambiance was perfect, and it was quiet. It was perfect for some downtime with my brothers.
For those of you who don’t know about Fundamental Coffee, it is a third wave coffee shop right across Glorietta Mall. Something it shares with other third wave coffee shops is its modernistic-industrial interior, with high ceilings and windows. Feels so hipster haha! The third wave movement is alive and thriving in Manila, because people’s tastes seem to have stepped up a notch, giving them the ability to appreciate things at a different level.
Since the focus of the third wave movement is to produce high-quality specialty coffees, they take painstaking effort in capturing the essence of precious coffee beans. The goal is to convey the complexities and the nuances in flavour of each type of coffee bean they brew. Artisanal coffee shops like Fundamental Coffee have been popping up left and right and enjoying much success.
Perhaps the trick is to also provide some good dishes to go with the good coffee?
Looking through the menu of Fundamental Coffee, you can see that they really just like to stick to what they’re good at. They don’t try to be all kinds of things for you– they just want to give you no-frills good coffee! I heard that this place is really good with their cold brews but since I’m more often in the mood for hot coffee, I didn’t try any of them yet.
Old Fashioned Capp (Php 135). That’s torched brown sugar sitting on the froth there. It’s almost like having a marshmallow on top of your cappuccino.
Flat White (Php 140). My drink of choice for the day.
Cold Brew Mocha (Php 140). A blend of cacao and coffee that have both been separately steeped for 12 hours.
Con Panna (Php 130). Espresso topped with chocolate whipped cream. Yummmm.
Fundamental Toast (Php 190). I have to admit I was quite disappointed by the serving size of this because the toast was fluffy and delicious. I wanted more! It is a little on the sweet side on its own, making it perfect with coffee.
Tuna Basil Tomato Sandwich (Php 295). A really classic combination of flavours between crisp warm bread.
It seems ironic that I’m setting this post up to go live on a Monday. (Ugh, is it really Monday again?!) But it’s a nice reminder that with every start of the work-week, I have yet another Sunday to look forward to. Maybe I’ll get a chance to visit Fundamental Coffee again soon for some Salmon Eggs Benedict!
Yesterday I managed to go see a movie with my family, and gah the feels of watching ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ was too real for my Harry Potter-loving heart! I’m trying to set aside certain Sundays now where I just stop myself from doing any work at all, and right now my soul definitely feels invigorated. 🙂
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Fundamental Coffee
G/F Retail 3, Park Terraces Tower 1, Ayala Center
Makati, Philippines
Hours: 7AM to 11PM
Contact Nos: +63 927 895 6670
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