During the long weeks that our household had no DSL, I managed to survive by going to Internet cafes, using my—now useless—ümobile 3G connection, and staying at various free Wi-Fi hotspots. One of the places I frequented was the Westgate branch of BoNa Coffee located inside Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang. I first heard about BoNa Coffee when Rico and Sasha raved about BoNa’s original branch in BF Homes Parañaque. They then opened their second branch in Alabang and that’s the one I tried.

All in all, BoNa Coffee Westgate (BoNa stands for Bohemian Nation, by the way) is an excellent place to use as your mobile office. It’s also one of the best cafes I’ve been to, ever. There’s free Wi-Fi, there are two computer terminals for use by patrons, and there’s plenty of power outlets in case you bring your own computing gear. Add to that the delicious drinks and snacks, the really friendly and helpful staff (they’re quite ready to answer any questions you may have about their food), and a very nice ambiance and you’re good to go! In terms of price, I would say that they’re comparable to Starbucks.

I’ve gone to BoNa Coffee several times and tried several of their varied offerings. I agree with Sasha that their 20° Below “Hot” Chocolate is pretty good and the sandwiches are tasty and healthy as well. I didn’t particularly like the Italian fruit sodas, however.

What I find amusing is that BoNa Coffee compares their food and drinks to their competitors and actually names them. BoNa says their coffee is healthier than Starbucks’, their tea has less calories than Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’s, and their muffins are less fattening than a bakeshop whose name I forgot (updated) Cinnabon’s. They have this panel on the wall showing the nutritional comparison complete with their competitors’ logos. Now, I’m not well-versed with DTI regulations, but I think such outright comparisons are not allowed. Hehehe.

Anyway, below is a gallery of pictures I took of the food and the place. Each thumbnail links to a Flickr page. Don’t you agree that the place is pretty nice?