Gram Cafe & Pancakes is a popular Japanese café chain well-loved for their fluffy soufflé pancakes. So far, they have opened two branches in the Philippines, and I was lucky enough to visit one of them during their collaboration with Miffy!
I’ve always liked Miffy, and it was a pleasant surprise seeing this collab considering how popular she is in Japan. The minimalist-cute theme was really nice as well, with different cutouts of Miffy scattered all over the café.
The actual Miffy menu features a good variety of sweet and savory dishes, drinks, and desserts. These include curry rice meals, fruit pancakes, strawberry parfait, and iced or warm chocolate. Unfortunately, during our visit, we weren’t able to order any of the items with strawberries as they’d run out of that particular ingredient. Bummer!
That said, there were still several options to choose from, so I got the Tori Katsu Curry and Iced Chocolate. My fiancé decided to go a different route and order from Gram’s regular menu, so he got a Bolognese Pasta with Nori Fonduta and a set of Beary Pancakes. (Though as usual, we ended up taking bites from each other’s meals and sharing dessert…)
Our orders started coming in one by one within a 20-minute total wait time, which was okay considering we arrived close to dinner and there were a lot of people coming in. I didn’t know that my curry rice would come with a mini pitcher of cheese sauce; and as a lifelong fan of cheese, this made me even happier, to say the least.
This was also our first time dining at Gram, and we’re pleased to report that the food did not disappoint! Here’s a mini-review of each item.
First up from the Miffy menu is the Tori Katsu Curry. With its Miffy-shaped rice, it was almost too cute to eat! The tori katsu was very crunchy and filling, and the veggies were cut into small cherry blossom shapes, which added to the overall cuteness of the dish. I do wish they added a bit more curry sauce, but maybe they were avoiding the possibility of it becoming too rich or flavorful given that the dish also comes with cheese sauce. I don’t particularly mind having “too much” curry sauce though, but that’s just me. Overall, this was still a delicious meal and it gets a 4.5/5!
Next is the Iced Chocolate, which comes topped with whipped cream, a chocolate syrup drizzle, and two tiny Miffy heads made of what I assume to be pieces of bread. I found it nice and not too sugary sweet, however, the chocolate flavor is very rich. So if you’re not much of a fan of rich chocolate, it’s best to keep this in mind. This drink gets a 4/5 from me.
Now onto the regular menu, we have the Bolognese Pasta with Nori Fonduta. This is Gram’s own take on the bolognese, and it comes topped with a truffle cream sauce and parmesan crisps. I’m not usually a huge fan of red sauce pasta, but this was pretty good! There was a nice enough amount of red sauce, and the truffle cream and parmesan crisps also added a unique texture. This gets a 4/5 from us.
Lastly, we have the Beary Pancakes. This was actually part of the kiddie meals section! But they looked way too cute so we just had to order them. There was a good mix of flavors and textures thanks to the pancakes themselves, plus the banana slices, chocolate hazelnut spread, chocolate ice cream, and whipped cream—given this, the pancakes surprisingly weren’t too sweet. These pancakes get a bear-y nice 4/5!
How to visit
Gram Café and Pancakes is available across various branches in Japan and worldwide. Upon a quick scan of other Gram café branches, it looks like the Miffy collaboration is only for the Philippines (at least for now). If you’re ever planning a visit soon, come say hi to Miffy in either of Gram’s two branches here: SM Megamall in Mandaluyong or Serendra in BGC, Taguig.
While there isn’t any word yet on the duration of this event, it’s looking like a success so far as Miffy has recently returned with her picnic picks! The new selection includes a wagyu burger, sukiyaki sandwich, matcha pancakes, and a Biscoff milkshake, which we can’t wait to try out on our next visit. For more information, check out their socials via Facebook and Instagram.
Andy (AKA Arlandyia) lives in Manila with her fiancé and works as a content writer, illustrator, and English teacher to fund her love for kawaii and food for their cat, Xiao. In her free time, she plays video games, goes café-hopping, and takes a few short naps.
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