Aljosh Café, Rediscovered: ALDP Plaza Mall Naga

Aljosh Café, Rediscovered 
ALDP Plaza Mall Naga 

Aljosh Café was our favorite restaurant in the mid 90’s as

it pioneered buffet dining in Naga City, offering different

cuisines from different countries of the world every week.

When the giant Puregold Supermarket took over
the operation of almost half of the ALDP Plaza Mall,

 

...we thought that Aljosh Café had closed down as their

former space was taken over by DIY, a hardware store.

 

We were pleasantly surprised when we accidentally

re- discovered that Aljosh Café was still open when

we happened to park at the rear portion of the mall.



We never knew that they relocated at the back- most

portion near the IBM and Pag- Ibig satellite offices.

We also did not recognize the new Aljosh Café as

it used to have a contemporary conventional interior,

but this time, it was set in a corridor, over- decorated

with cheap- looking plastic plants and flowers,

…that seemed to have been bought from Angeena

Trading, a Taiwanese bargain store located nearby.

The new Aljosh Café staff seemed to have not been trained like
 they used to, as they immediately served the  Fruit Salad ahead 
of anything else, which was meant for our dessert. Since it  was 
already  on our table and we were hungry, we ended up eating them. 
We did not regret consuming the salad ahead- as it was very delicious.



When they served the Sinigang na Hipon, it took them forever

to provide the individual soup bowls, but it was worth the wait. 

The sinignag was very delicious and had a perfect degree of 
sourness,  not enough to wrinkle our faces. In fact it wasn't sour at all 
as the soup  just had a hint of tangy acidity coming from the tomatoes 
and ginger. It tasted so natural and devoid of any  artificial flavorings.



They then served the Kinunot, 

…and the Chop Suey, but there was not

much that we can do but to stare at  them

as it took them forever to serve the rice.



Hhen they finally did, the rice was served in lovely 

dinner plates with exquisite designs that we admired.

Everything was worth the wait. The Kinunot was so delicious and

creamy and wasn’t salty unlike most local versions of the dish. It had

a delightful tinge  of “kamias” or ‘iba’ for an aftertaste. We gobbled

up every bits and pieces on kinunot until nothing was left on the plate.

  Same thing happened with the Chop Suey. It tasted so naturally delicious and

also did not have any tinge salt and artificial flavors. Just the sharp and heady 
but pleasing pungent aftertaste of the fresh young corn. Just like the kinunot, we

also gobbled everything on the plate  of the tasty but healthy fresh vegetable dish.

The Siningang na Hipon also suffered the same fate

as we drained the delicious soup dry up to the last drop .



Then suddenly they served the Crispy Pata.

We were so mesmerized by the delicious dishes

and we were caught unaware of the lapse and we

didn’t realize they haven’t served our main dish yet.

The Aljosh Crispy Pata also tasted very good and could

give Bob Marlin’s OMG Crispy Pata a run for its money.

We were already full as the Crispy Pata was served very

late, but still consumed about half- plate as it was addicting.



This restaurant may have the most disorganized service in the world,

but we were still thankful and didn’t have the heart to complain as 
the staff was nice and courteous. They have just served us some of   
the most delicious dishes we had tasted in this part of the world so 
what is there to complain? Still it wouldn't hurt if the service was perfect.

Aljosh Café’s interior reminded me of Papa Cripsy's Restaurant ,
 as both had awful, cheap looking  plastic décors, and could be a big
 turn off on to some diners as it doesn't look pleasant at all.

The restaurant  may look tasteless-  but that's alright. They  
serve some of the best tasting dishes in the city  anyway.

Read on the links below for similar posts: 

Aljosh Café, Rediscovered: ALDP Plaza Mall Naga
Wings Café at Flamingo Hostel: Extremely Delicious and Surprisingly Affordable 
Aljosh Café at Montevista Walk Park
Aljosh Café’s Angus Burger Steak: Montevista Walk Park, Naga City