Nourishing the seeds of friendship at The Fat Seed Cafe + Roastery, UP Town Center

Sometimes, people you have no relation to can seem like family. By working together, sharing stories and spending time with them, you sow the seeds that blossom into strong friendships.

Lately, with all the changes in my workplace, the team decided to have a get-together at The Fat Seed Cafe + Roastery, a place we deemed suitable to hang out with our work friends, reminisce about old adventures and look forward to the new ones we will undertake.

These stories are the seeds that germinate into respect, affection and friendships.

The Fat Seed Cafe + Roastery also germinated from something small: the seed of an idea that a cafe that offers a different take on the Filipino coffee experience will prosper – grow fat, that is – from the knowledge and passion poured into it.

Even the store’s premises are filled with eclectic works of passion: from artistic murals that adorn the walls, furniture made of reclaimed wood to the artful displays of coffee paraphernalia on the shelves.

During the team’s storytelling and bonding session, we were fueled by concoctions that The Fat Seed makes from premium ingredients and hand-crafted into our chosen drinks which include:

Coffee Cubes (Php150). Steamed milk is gently poured into cubes of frozen espresso – adding sugar syrup is optional – creating a creamy cold beverage that still has a strong espresso kick.

Belgian Hot Chocolate (Php140). A steaming hot mug of rich chocolatey goodness, perfect for long conversations.

In between funny anecdotes we regale each other with, we filled out tummies with The Fat Seed’s signature dishes which displays the store’s penchant for whimsy and experimentation:

Mushroom Fritters (Php175). Deep-fried oyster mushrooms served with homemade ketchup. One of the stories that will live on from our time here was how one of us thought he was munching on chicken skin the whole time instead of the crunchy and expertly cooked ‘shrooms.

Spinach Artichoke Dip (Php265). A yummy dip made of artichokes, mozzarella, garlic and parmesan which made each bite of crunchy baguette slices simply amazing.

Tartufo Pasta (Php310). Freshly cooked pasta noodles tossed into a cream truffle sauce along with porcini, prosciutto and parmesan cheese.

Aglio Olio Chorizo Pasta (Php270). Sauteed garlic and spicy bits of chorizo are tossed into pasta noodles then topped with a plump poached egg.

Grilled Cheese with Tomato Cream Soup (Php285). Four different kinds of cheese are grilled inside a buttered brioche bun, accompanied by a bowl of creamy soup made with Italian tomatoes and pesto then topped with fried basil.

Kimchi Fried Rice with Maple Bacon Slab (Php315). Fried slabs maple syrup-flavored bacon and sunny side up egg on top of kimchi fried rice and garnished with spring onions and nori shreds.

And to cap our meal with some sweet stuff, we split Revel and Brownie bars among ourselves.

With people who are really close to your heart, a few hours spent talking, laughing and teasing can be little seeds that grow into deep friendships.

Here’s to more time to spend nourishing friendships!

The Fat Seed Cafe + Roastery is located at Ground Floor, Phase 2, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, open daily from 10am to 10pm. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 9362113.

Did you know that if you and a friend ordered 2 drinks at The Fat Seed Coffee + Roastery, you can get the same 2 drinks free via Zomato Gold?

Zomato Gold provides members with 1+1 (Buy 1 Get 1) deals on food or 2+2 (Buy 2 Get 2) deals on drinks. All you have to do is sign up for a Zomato Gold membership here. Use my code JELLYB to get 20% off the membership fee.