We were in Manila for a business meeting when we found a restaurant worth hitting up. Bill’s Bear Cafe was easily spotted inside Robinsons Place, Ermita. We actually dined here twice already. The first happened during merienda when we tried their Crispy Quadro Pizza, Yakult Green Tea, and Bill’s Bear Milk Tea. It was so good that we agreed to come back but this time during lunch. I ordered one of their new dishes — Chicken & Shrimp Cream Pasta, while Jeric tried one of the best sellers — Salmon in Lemon Caper Cream Sauce. Drinks were Bill’s Bear Milk Tea (again) and Oreo Milk Tea. Dessert was King Mango Snow Ice.

They have huge variety of dishes which is good because you’ve got many choices, but it could be a setback as well when it becomes too difficult to choose. Good thing, their menu was easy to read and the meals were very well categorized so you won’t need to turn too many pages before you could decide what to eat.

Food

Bill’s Bear Café has American, Italian, Thai, and Taiwanese cuisines. Let’s take a look at the ones we had.

Crispy Quadro Pizza comes in thin crust. As its name suggests, it’s crispy especially on the edges. It has that sweet taste which I guess comes from the “special mayonnaise”. But it’s not the sweetness that makes you feel “fed up”, it’s actually a comforting sweet taste. I noticed some brownish thin flakes on toppings, got curious, a staff said it’s “wooden fish”. Quite exotic! It was tangy and salty which makes the whole pizza taste savory. And oh, the mozzarella cheese, I just love it!

This flavorful pizza is priced at 259 php for solo, and 369 php for regular. We got the regular which has 9 slices.

Other pizza choices: Beef Teppanyaki, Chicken bbq, Sausage Brothers Pizza, Cheesy Hawaiian, Vegetarian, and Tuna Pesto

Their very own Bill’s Bear Milk Tea has that perfect balance between sugar, cream, and tea. The pearls are fresh and chewy. Nothing too special though, just as good as other milk teas. Yakult Green Tea has that sour, creamy, and refreshing sweet taste with a little touch of green tea. It’s quite new to my taste buds but it did not disappoint. Both were served in huge tall mugs.

Bill’s Bear Milk Tea costs 130 php while Yakult Green Tea is 120 php.

Let’s proceed to the ones we tried on our second visit.

Salmon in Lemon Caper Cream Sauce can be served with either rice or mashed potato (Jeric chose mashed potato). The salmon was served with a generous drizzle of cream sauce. The creamy lemon caper sauce wasn’t the taste I had in mind but it was good. It was rich and creamy. Glad to try something new! The fruity taste of lemon can be felt richly from the sauce. The salmon fillet was tender and fresh. This isn’t a savory dish but it tastes really good and healthy. It wasn’t served with soup though, as opposed to what their menu says.

This salmon dish is priced at 380 php which I think is worth it for the quality and taste.

Chicken and Shrimp Cream Pasta is one of their new must try dishes. The chicken was at just right amount while the shrimp was kinda loner, wish there were at least a couple of it. The dish was served with pasta breads. What I liked the most was how the Parmesan cheese and butter partied in my mouth. It was so creamy and flavorful. Serving was somewhat little though, wish I had more as it was truly delicious (or maybe I was just really hungry).

You’ll get this pasta dish for 305 php. That’s a little bit steep and I think it will be more reasonable if there were at least a couple of shrimp and a little more amount of pasta.

For the dessert, we were torn between Black Forest and King Mango Snow Ice. But I’ve got a mango-junkie boyfie with me so King Mango won. I haven’t been to Taiwan so I don’t know how an authentic Bingsu exactly tastes like. So far, I personally liked Bill’s Bear’s take on it. The ice was really soft though it wasn’t as creamy as I expected, but that’s okay as the mangoes were sumptuous. The ice cream on top was good, I’ve heard it’s their own recipe.

King Mango Snow Ice is priced at 190 php for solo, and 275 php for regular. I think it’s worth the price.

Other Snow Ice variants: Fruit Party, Snow Berry, Matcha Snow, Tiramisu Snow, Coffee Snow, and Black Forest

I love anything Oreo so I think this is gonna be biased. 😜 The bittersweet taste of this crushed cookie complemented the delightful sweet creamy taste of milk tea. Sweetness is just right and refreshing. It was served ice cold. The chewy pearls were not too few, yet not too plenty, just a right amount.

An Oreo Milk Tea for 135 php isn’t bad after all. I enjoyed it till the last sip!

Other Milk tea flavors: Wintermelon Milk Tea, Matcha Milk Tea, and Bill’s Bear Milk Tea

Location

The store is strategically located right at the center of the top floor of Midtown Wing Robinsons Place, Manila. So it still can be easily spotted from ground floor even if it’s on the topmost. The store is unwalled (not sure if “al fresco”  would be a right term as it isn’t outdoor) and doesn’t have its own washroom, but it’s just few feet away from mall cr.

Service

I found the staff to be very attentive and approachable. Serving is not that fast though. Took about 15-20 minutes before the meals were served. Or maybe because it was peak hours when we went there and the store was packed with customers.

Ambiance

The store looks artsy and modern. It’s cozy and well-lit. Air-conditioners were scattered within the area for good ventilation. The only drawback is privacy as it is open. You’ll see people walking back and forth from one side to another and vise versa. Busyness was more felt than relaxation. Plus the outside noise, I personally prefer a place where I could clearly hear my companions’ voices while chit-chatting over food. Mas masarap ang kainan kung may coke kasalo, este, kung masarap ang kwentuhan. 😜

I’ve heard from a crew that they are planning to move or to branch-out to a more private location. Something to look forward to!

How I’d rate this resto

Food	★★★★★
Service	★★★★☆
Location	★★★☆☆
Price	★★★★☆
Ambiance	★★★☆☆
Overall	3.8