Naekkum: A cafe for dreamers

Naekkum is a coffee shop in the crannies of Banilad, Cebu City; it is found in a gated house with an area converted into the coffee shop.

The cafe is all about dreaming; with its home-y atmosphere, it provides a space to stay locked in, to be productive and to create- which essentially, makes it a space for dreamers.

The cafe is spacious enough, with lots of natural lighting. The outdoors is filled with plants and the indoors have enough transparency to bring the outside in. The furniture is very cute with lots of seating options and spaces. There is an outdoor space, an open indoor space, and a closed and air-conditioned indoor space.

I sat right in front of the coffee bar, a part of the open outdoor space. I got a cafe americano and a ham and cheese sandwich. There are meals listed on the menu, but it wasn’t available; only the snacks were the food available. I thought the sandwich was good and filling, you can’t go wrong with ham & cheese after all, it is a truth universally acknowledged. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to taste the americano. I went there when I was sick and ordered a hot one, but I got served an iced americano and I was too timid to ask for my coffee to be replaced. I don’t like bothering service workers and maybe I did say my order wrong, so I didn’t bother.

There is something that is very humble about attaching the cafe in a residential home; humble, for a lack of a better word. Going there feels like coming over to a close friend’s house for coffee. I think the rest of the former house is converted into dormitories because I’ve seen people go in and out, so I think it is an addition to their welcoming and cozy atmosphere. Having people constantly there also makes it a communal space and I think that it’s lovely to have that space to share.

Coffee shop culture in the Philippines is unique. For a lot of the population, coffee is prepared from an instant three-in-one powdered packet which is easy and economic. Coffee from cafes is more expensive than regular instant coffee and that might have led to the idea that cafes should offer more than just coffee or the menu. For most cafes, similar to this one, they offer a workspace. So cafes in the Philippines are usually workspaces, this has its advantages and disadvantages, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the target market of the cafe.

Unintentionally, I somehow made a lot of my content about cafes; more than I expected anyway, but what’s a girl gotta do? I try to visit a lot of coffee places, especially small, local ones because it gives me an opportunity to explore my options and at the same time, support small, local businesses.

I missed blogging, getting sick really took me away from it, but I hope that this blog is a redirection to help me get back on track.

I hope you enjoyed this one!