Oh Six Oh Eight in Candon: A Vibrant Yet Industrial Cafe Serving Local Milkteas
While milk-tea shops are a hit in today’s generation, it’s surprisingly hard to find one in a heritage tourist destination like Ilocos Sur.
Tourists are in for an Ilocano feast, so everybody’s off to try every restaurant around, leaving behind the trend of cafes and milk tea shops in Manila. So while we’re in town, we roamed around and found a gem waiting to be discovered—Oh Six Oh Eight.
The vibrant and colorful seats and decors of Oh Six Oh Eight / IMAGE Oh Six Oh Eight Cafe
This local milk tea shop situated in the neighborhood of Candon City in Ilocos Sur started out as a franchise of Mang Cha-a.
From sandwich options to providing a wide range of drinks, the milk tea shop relaunched and expanded to a bigger cafe now known as the Oh Six Oh Eight Cafe.
Oh Six Oh Eight cafe’s industrial setting perfect as a hang-out place for everyone / IMAGE Oh Six Oh Eight Cafe
Why the numbers, you ask? The cafe’s name stands for the owner’s parents’ anniversary and the family’s lucky numbers.
It has become a hang-out place for everyone to enjoy quick talks or long-catch ups with everyone’s favorite cup of coffee or milk tea. More than the drinks, the cafe boasts a vibrant and comforting setting along with colors and artworks hanging on the walls.
Wall displays are vibrant artworks inspired by the owner’s love for interior designing
As for the drinks, we have three milk teas you’ve probably had before but are definitely called classics.
Get the go-to Wintermelon Milk Tea with Pearls (Php 65), or try the Blueberry Milk Tea (Php 65) for a fruity aftertaste. If you’re more of the frappe kind of person, try their newest White Chocolate Frappe (Php 85).
L-R: White Chocolate Frappe (P85), Taro Pudding (P70), Wintermelon Milk Tea with Pearls (P65), Blueberry Milk Tea (P65)
If you want to try a different combination for your milk tea, you can try the Taro Pudding (Php 70) for a different add-on flavor. Unlike other taro milk teas in the metro, this one tastes more of taro while the egg pudding balances the sweetness of it.
Also read: LIST: The Best Milk Teas in the Metro and Where to Get Them
Aside from the beverages, they also have finger foods like the Chicken Pops (Regular Php 55; Large Php 70) served with toothpick sticks and honey lime sauce on the sides.
Chicken Pops (Regular Php 55; Large Php 70)
For sandwiches, their best-seller is the 0608 Clubhouse (Php 125) of tuna spread, egg, ham, cucumber, tomato, and cheese.
0608 Clubhouse (Php 125)
Looking for heavy meals? Oh Six Oh Eight also has pasta like the Creamy Carbonara (Php 110) plate, as well as sizzling rice plates like their Pork Sisig (Php 150).
Creamy Carbonara (Php 110)
Pork Sisig (Php 150)
Just when you thought Oh Six Oh Eight are just for snacks and finger foods, they embrace local favorites as well and offer Sinigang na Bagnet (Php 230) perfectly paired with rice.
Sinigang Na Bagnet (Php 230)
If you happen to pass by Candon, just a few kilometers away from the arch of Ilocos Sur, drop by this cafe and spend time catching up over light snacks and extending till dinner.
For more information, you can call them at 0956-072-2687. They are open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oh Six Oh Eight Cafe is located at Cleofel Complex, National Highway, San Jose Candon Ilocos Sur.
How to get here:
- By car: From Manila, take the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), then continue to Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and then Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX). Continue straight and turn left to the MacArthur Highway or Manila North Road. Continue to follow the Manila N. Road then turn right then left to San Fernando By-Pass Road. Continue to follow San Fernando then merge to MacArthur Highway or Manila North Road. Straight for about 69km and you’ll arrive at Oh Six Oh Eight.
- By public transport: From Manila ride either the Partas Bus or Viron in Cubao. Get off at Oh Six Oh Eight on your right side. It is across Candon South Central School.
This first appeared in Philippine Primer Japanese magazine’s February 2019 issue.
