Kobe Kitchen is a Japanese and Italian café put together which is what makes the café unique from others because it literally has two themes split in two. The moment you walk into the café the right side is Italian themed including its walls, paintings, and tables; the left side is a Japanese-themed setting where the tables are very low so that customers have to sit on the floor to really experience the fine dining of Japanese culture. The design of the Café is exquisite and very unique.
The owner-manager, Milagros C. De Jesus, shares that the tables on the Italian side of the Café are actually 100% recycled tires that she painted and then constructed to make the unique tables where glass tops are fit over the tires to make a table, then the inside of the tires are filled with sand and seashells to create a beautiful scenery and ambience for the customers.
The main chef of Kobe Kitchen is actually a 23-year-old Japanese chef named Serina Hisada. She graduated as a professional chef in Makati and spent five years in Japan as a chef’s assistant and now has been upgraded as Head Chef of Kobe Kitchen.
De Jesus decided to open this café because she was very touched and inspired by a friend who shared with her a story about a Japanese man who owned a restaurant years ago called Kobe Kitchen. It was a very famous Japanese restaurant back then in Baguio City, but unfortunately, World War II broke out and the country fought against the Japanese. As a Japanese, the owner was labeled an enemy of the country and was forced to shut down his business. De Jesus was inspired by the story and decided to revive the restaurant that has been forgotten. This makes her café somehow becomes a part of history wherein she tries to revitalize and relive this Japanese man’s restaurant through her café.
Kobe Kitchen opened on November 18, 2016, and since then has become a famous café because of its intriguing two-themed style of Italian and Japanese fusion. The café serves Japanese- and Italian-based foods like ramen, pasta, and has also budget meals, desserts, and drinks.
They even serve buffets every Saturday for only 188Php per head! Chilling with friends, and having meals are a perfect combination especially since there is a wide range of foods to choose from. It’s a perfect place for students, friends, family and couples to sit, chill out, eat, and have a good time. You can find this exquisite Café at the 3rd floor of Ecco Building in Assumption Road.
By Jan Rome Olivo Galimba
