Cat café in the city
MANILA, Philippines - Minushi is an exotic Shorthair cat from Japan,” shares Jaime S. Aclon, assistant manager of Velvet Friends Cat Café in Blue Bay Walk, Pasay City. “He is the same breed as Garfield. Curtis is a British Shorthair cat, and we have a Korean Bobtail, which is native to the islands of Koril between Russia and Japan.”
How could any pet lover not fall in love with a cat café where the assistant manager knows all the cats by name — and speaks fondly of each one as he introduces them to you?
No way.
And so it was cat-café love at first sight when I visited Velvet Friends Cat Café at Blue Bay Walk recently.
Jaime told me that the cat café was set up by Chito P. Aclon and Venus Beltran-Salangsang, both Filipinos and OFWs. Chito is based in Singapore and Venus in Macau.
“The business concept and structure was conceived and will function like most Cat Café businesses worldwide,” added Jaime. “This unique and fascinating concept offers guests a different yet worthwhile experience with our feline friends. Our Café houses tabbies coming from Europe and Asia, with breeds never seen before in a common Filipino household.”
A NEW PLACE TO BE
Blue Bay Walk is the latest destination for those who seek a different kind of retail, dining and shopping experience. Situated right within Federal Land’s mixed-use township Metro Park along Macapagal Avenue and EDSA in Pasay City, Blue Bay Walk is primarily distinguished by its low-rise structures and wide, landscaped open areas.
The complex is specially designed to be pedestrian-friendly with its network of walkways and generous event venues and activity areas both covered and al fresco, such as The Spine and The Garden.
There are lots of other places to eat at Blue Bay Walk, which is replete with familiar fast-food fare that Filipinos have grown to love. Quick-service restaurants include Army Navy, BonChon Chicken, Burger King, Chowking, Dairy Queen, Jollibee, McDonald’s, Papa John’s, and Quick Stomach. Original fast-food concept Hot Star is also fast gaining a following, along with Japanese convenience store Family Mart, which is open round-the-clock for busy BPO workers.
Popular cafés such as Starbucks, UCC Clockwork, J.Co Donuts, Yamato Bakery Café, and Manila’s Best Coffee provide ideal places to hold meetings, hang out, or have some quiet time alone. Wine connoisseurs can enjoy their favorite spirits at European Wines and Liquor.
For more enjoyable casual dining with family and friends, some of the most sought-after restaurants in the metro can also be found, such as Conti’s, Crisostomo, Kimono Ken, Mitsuyado Sei-Men, Outback Steakhouse, Persia Grill, and Project Pie.
But for pet lovers, it is Velvet Friends Cat Café — the only café in Metro Manila today that showcases a collection of some of the most adorable international cat breeds — that will capture their fancy.
CAT TALK
The Cat Café has two areas called The Haven and The Café.
It is in “The Haven” that the exotic cats are housed. The area has between 15 and 20 mostly purebred and people-friendly cats. There is one Puspin (Pusang Pinoy) in the area.
At the Haven, guests can enjoy the company of the cats when they enter. I got a chance to carry, cuddle and coo at the exotic cats when I visited.
Anyone who dines at the café gets at least an hour of time inside the Haven if they want to get up close and personal with the cats.
The café, on the other hand, serves coffee, cupcakes and other snacks for humans. But the human food is not for the cats, and cat owners who take their cats to Velvet Friends Cat Café will have to leave their cats at the cat hotel before they mingle with the resident cats.
Overall it’s a great place to relax and de-stress, dine and refresh, meet people and be with velvet friends.
“We are committed to provide a great time and a wonderful ‘expurrience’ for our guests,” adds Jaime. “This way we make life a little less stressful and a lot more relaxing.” — Kathy Moran
