Health-conscious In You Will Love Hills Café

People love to visit cafés for various reasons. One such reason is to eat something healthy and different from ordinary take outs. The health-conscious in you should rejoice because Hills Café, a very accessible local coffee shop in Batangas City, just opened.

A little background about Hills Café

When those around you change for the better, one feels inspired to adapt with such positive change. That is how Hills Café began. The building beside the Joedelpadent Dormitory was renovating. The beautiful façade of its neighbor is the positive change that inspired the Panopio family who owned the dormitory to improve their facilities as well. Improving their service in the dorm and its exterior will help their residents feel more at home.

Mikee, one of the Panopio sisters, studied culinary for 6 months at the nearby school. To put such cooking skills to good use, the family set up Hills Café at the parking space of their dormitory. Now, their residents have a new and cozy place to study and meet their friends in without leaving the comforts of their dormitory. Hills Café is located at Hilltop, Batangas City, just in front of NBI, and is open to everyone from 9:00AM to 9:00PM.

 

The garden-inspired interiors at Hills Café

When you step into the café, you will be greeted by a very whimsical interior that is perfect for an afternoon tea. The crisp white walls are adorned with green leaves and a dash of motivational messages while tables bloom with fresh flowers.

Green-ed walls

Cushioned seats

Bar-type

Bossa and other soothing music is on the loop. The place may only be able to accommodate around 20 people but it does not look cramped. The seats are cushioned but they are quite too small for people with heavy set. Bar type seats are available for those who want to visit the café alone and want to have their own private area. When the sun is up, the café looks really fresh and relaxing. At night, warm lights illuminate the area.

The café does not only appear neat but is absolutely very clean. Even their washroom is dirt free.

 

The food at Hills Café

Hills Café aims to offer healthy options for everyone. They have sandwiches, rice meals, all day breakfast, pasta, waffles, pasties, salads, and beverages.

For a café, this definitely has a lot of food selections in their menu. Of their chicken tenders rice meals, we were able to try all four – Honey BBQ, Garlic Parmesan, Ranch, and Fiery Buffalo. All of these are served with Dirty Rice.

Chicken Tenders rice meals

Dirty rice

It does not mean unclean, silly. Dirty rice is a recipe. Hills Café uses brown rice and cooks it with cucumber, tomatoes, onions, and spices. Brown rice is high in fiber, promotes weight loss, and is rich in antioxidants. (I was served with red rice though because of a concern with the supplier. Don’t worry, brown rice will be served again next week. Besides, red rice contains high amounts of antioxidants, and can help lower cholesterol. Hence, it is equally a healthy option). However, if you are not so fond of having too much herbs in your rice, you can ask the chef to prepare your meal with white rice.

Honey BBQ

This is my personal favorite. 😋 **sweet tooth alert** The sauce is reddish brown. It has a balance of sweet and tangy.

Garlic Parmesan

Hills Café’s best seller 👍 The chicken tenders are more textured because of the parmesan. The sauce is yellow and buttery, and it is full-flavored. You can really taste the garlic and the saltiness of the cheese.

Ranch

The sauce is white, and it tastes sour. I had to close my eyes because I am not really fond of anything sour. You can really smell and taste the herbs put into it though.

Fiery Buffalo

This is the first thing I tried because I am a fan of anything spicy. I was a bit disappointed with it because the sauce is watery and I knew it would not be as hot as I hoped it to be. However, if you just want a little bit of kick, this dish has a very light spiciness your taste buds can handle.

 

The drinks at Hills Café

When I step in a café, I expect a lot of coffee and tea selections. Hills Café only have 3 coffee-based drinks, 2 chocolate-based drinks, and 2 kinds of tea available.

Hills Café menu

Nevertheless, if you prefer a simple, straightforward cup of coffee, chocolate, or tea, you have found yourself a haven at Hills Café. The hot beverages are very light to taste, and can go well with either a sandwich, a rice plate, or a pastry. Oh, and the coffee is barako – sobrang tapang, kaya kang ipaglaban (barako – strong enough to fight for you)  😂👊

I can’t wait to go back for more Honey BBQ chicken tenders! Have you tried Hills Café? Comment below or drop me an email at mirriamdictionary@gmail.com 😉

Kabatang and other Batangas-based food bloggers with the Panopio sisters, Dra. Ivy and Mikee. (Photo grabbed from Dra.)