Cafe Sweet Inspirations: Awesome Mongolian Joint

One of the places I loved to try (but never did) was Cafe Sweet Inspirations — right across that school with the blue rooster.  Why you say?  Let’s just say the 180-peso price tag was a wee bit too much for me¹.  I absolutely love my Mongolian rice bowl and the better alternative then was a place called Kublai’s, which gave students a 50% discount off the P220 unlimited Mongolian meals.  But now that it’s closed² and with a few quality Mongolian places out there, I find myself going back to Katipunan just for my Mongolian fix.

Cafe Sweet Inspirations has a selection of food, pastries, and cakes.  They have some pretty low-budget combos that if you factor in inflation, I’m might be willing to pay for them if I were still a college student.

Mind you, the serving isn’t going to overwhelm you, but what the hell can you expect for something less than 150 bucks?  Mom would go for the Pasta Combo C, which is Spaghetti Bolognese with a Mango Cream Pie.  It comes with a free glass of Iced Tea.

You can also go for a Native Combo D of Arroz Caldo and their Special³ Bibingka.  Hell, even go for the Pasta Combo D of Lasagna and Chocolate Mousse.

I’d say, though, that the food is fairly mediocre.  So don’t fuck around and just go for the Mongolian rice bowls.  What’s not to love? You pick your own meat, some carbs, go crazy with the sauces and eat like a king.  Now, I usually chide people for going for the quantity-over-quality thing when it comes to food, but Sweet Inspirations does offer a better selection of sauces.  Sesame oil? Yes! Garlic and lemon water? Why, yes!

But the best thing they have over all other Mongolian joints is their chili paste.  Simple, but pretty awesome stuff going on there.

The Single Bowl⁴ is good enough for me, but they’re only available on weekdays until the mid-afternoon.  I don’t need to tell you that you just try to pack in as much as you can.  My trick is to stack some rice and noodles underneath, pile your greens, then top it off with more carbs before they measure the meat for your  bowl.  Go for chicken and pork, like I do⁵.

If you’re really hungry, go for the Eat-All-You-Can Bowl.  Forget the carbs and just pile on your meat here.  Hell, forget the greens, too.  What are we here in Food Porn Junkies, rabbits?  Meat, people.  Meat.

The thing about Mongolian meals is: you’re responsible for your mix⁶.  If it doesn’t taste good, then you probably fucked up.  And yes, I’d be willing to pay for this now.

Cafe Sweet Inspirations: Awesome Mongolian Joint 2013-04-01

ne of the places I loved to try (but never did) was Cafe Sweet Inspirations — right across that school with the blue rooster.  Why you say?  Let’s just say the 180-peso price tag was a wee bit too much for me.  I absolutely love my Mongolian rice bowl and the better alternative then was …