Espresso Dreams: Dumaguete

Cafe Memento Dumaguete

In daydreams I go back to Negros Oriental – the hum of the waters in Valencia, the beaches of Siaton and Dauin, the sandbar of Manjuyod, the vast sugar cane plantations of Bais and Tanjay, the rustic charm of Dumaguete, and the spectacular marine life of the famed Apo Island.

People come to Dumaguete for a variety of reasons – to go to school, to retire, to marry. Some just want to satiate their curiosity, while others visit the place to reminisce. A mere tourist calls it Dumaguete, but a true habitué knows it as Doomsville – a term of endearment given by those who call the city home, or at least have an intense love affair with Dumaguete.

A pleasant brew of the old and the new, of the quaint and the sophisticated, and of the naive and the urbane; Doomsville is a charming little city that’s a far cry from your typical blah provincial capital. Whether you’re craving for adventure or you just want to laze around, there’s always something for everyone in Dumaguete.

Cafe Memento Dumaguete

One of the many reasons that made people silly about the city is the whole café culture, which can be broken down based on the ages of its patrons. (This may not be true now, but in my time, there's some sort of an age barrier that ran across it.) The high-end coffee shops, like Cafe Mamia and Don Atilano, have the older generation as clientele. Here, you can observe glamorous albeit near-senescent women sitting around chatting about their apo’s, their haciendas and generally, about times past. Restaurants that serve international cuisines, like Coco Amigos and Le Chalet, are the usual hangout joints of expats who just want to lounge around while enjoying the interesting boulevard scene and the beautiful sea views.

The coffee scene for the younger set, on the other hand, paints a more exciting café atmosphere. This can be categorized into three. First, you have the coffee shops for the non-smoking crowd; Lee Cimballi, Dunkin’ Donuts and Cafe Antonio to name a few. Here, you can see students studying hastily for their next-hour exams. Or folks who just want to-see-and-be-seen.