Sip, Bite, and Roll a Die: Ludo Boardgame Bar and Cafe

- September 27, 2014, Saturday.

- Some of my high school classmates suggested that we try this new cafe in Scout Torillo corner Scout Fuentebella, near Tomas Morato and Timog, called "Ludo Boardgame Bar and Cafe." As the name suggests, people could go there and eat, or have specialty drinks, and play board games. The casual cafe opened this year, and has been featured numerous times by articles and blogs (as far as I know;) I have also come to know about this cafe's existence by word of mouth too.

- Knowing the Morato-Timog area, commuting to that place was difficult. Ludo's Facebook states that one can ride the MRT to Quezon Avenue, and get a tricycle that can go straight to Ludo; it seems convenient, but the bigger problem would be going home, since public transportation is hard to find in the small streets of that area, and it will be difficult also in case we'd go home late. Since someone from my high school friends, as well as Karel's boyfriend, was willing to drive us there, we decided to check the place out. By the way, Ludo opens from 4pm during weekdays, and 12 noon during weekends, and closes at 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, and midnight on all the other days. 

- Due to the heavy traffic, we left our meeting place (somewhere near UST) around 6pm, and arrived an hour later, when a traffic-less drive would be around 20 to 30 minutes. Getting a seat in the cafe was a bigger challenge since it was a Saturday night, which meant more people; even those who had made reservations had some difficulty securing their seats. The place was also small, so it was difficult to seat many people. Personally, I thought it was a smart decision to have a small place, so the staff could monitor the board games being used by the customers. There is no charge for the boardgames (and customers could play as many board games as they wish,) and there is no time limit, as long as everyone in the group orders at least one dish or specialty drink (Ludo also serves alcoholic drinks.) Ludo also has free wifi for those who need it, like for Instagram purposes. (By the way, I don't have Instagram because I don't really like uploading things instantly -- which is what Instagram is all about.)

Tada!!

The tarpaulined door makes people wonder if the cafe is open or now.

With high school friends and Karel's boyfriend.

- The nine of us were finally able to get a table after an hour (we were fourth in the waiting list,) and that was around 8:15pm. We played some Uno while waiting for our dinner to come. Our food and drinks took a long time to arrive, and everyone just stopped playing and talking when the appetizers came. We had some nachos and two kinds of dumplings for our appetizers. The cheese dumplings were surprisingly delicious, sort of like an east-meets-west dimsum, but I liked the wasabi dumplings more even though my friends were quite intimidated by the wasabi. For me, the wasabi-veggie filling used in the dumplings was not too strong, or maybe because I just have a higher tolerance for wasabi (or they have a lower tolerance for wasabi.) Some of us ordered Ludo's specialty drinks. I had chocolate milkshake; it was a normal milkshake. I should have gotten the "fancier" sounding drinks, like the salted caramel drink that one of my other friends had. Still, I loved my milkshake. 

Mr. Jay Mata, one of the founders of Ludo Boardgame Bar and Cafe.

Look at that crowd. It was kinda hard to move inside.

Unoooo.

Look at all the board games they have.

Oliver and AJ going through another board game.

I'll give that hand form a 10.0. (It's Jessica's hand.)

Nathalie's turn.

The stack just wobbled. Nathalie's reaction was priceless.

Wait no, Karel's reaction was priceless!!!! I was responsible for toppling the stack.

My milkshake. (Trying my best not to sing that milkshake-bringing-people-to-the-yard song.)

Nachos. (Karel and AJ's hands.)

Nomnom.

My favorite wasabi dumplings. I like them, but I probably could not eat them all day.

- Later on, our main courses arrived. Ludo's dishes were Japanese, mostly rice toppings (toridon, katsudon, you name it.) The food was decent, but definitely not the best Japanese food there is. I wasn't quite sure why the cafe chose to serve Japanese food; I did not feel that it was coherent with the theme of the cafe. Come to think of it, their menu was a mix of Japanese, Italian, and American, and faux Mexican (the nachos) cuisines.  However, I observed that the dishes were placed in bowls, making it easier to eat while playing board games. The appetizers were placed on plates, as well as the pasta dishes, but they were also easy to eat and finish. Also, I did not really want to be too particular on or too critical of the food and drinks, since the real selling point of the cafe was the endless number of board games to choose from; Ludo also sells some board games. By the way, Ludo's food and drinks are in the 150php to 300php price range, and I think the range is quite reasonable.

My dinner: Toridon.

Hello everyone!!

- I felt quite dizzy at some point, because the place was too small and crowded, and while I understand that everyone in the cafe was simply enjoying their board games, the simultaneous excited shouting from the other tables triggered my mild headache. I am quite sensitive to loud noises, which makes me a bad companion to crowded places with loud noises (i.e. clubs, big public events.) 

- While we were finishing dinner and playing this deception game called "Avalon," our plates of chicken wings with blue cheese dip were delivered to us from heaven. Yes, the wings were THAT good, and it was my favorite dish from everything that we ate. The chicken skin was crispy and perfectly glazed, the meat was tender, and the dip was not too strong, so much so that the taste of both the glaze and the dip could be savored in each bite. I wanted to eat all of the wings had I not been too full from dinner and what hasn't been digested during my long lunch in Mann Hann. Oh, the chicken wings also helped me take my mind off my headache. (The wings might have actually cured my headache too????)

This plate of heavenly, heavenly wings and dip. THESE I can eat all day!!

- We later ate the cake Oliver brought for me and Karel (Karel and I both have the same birthday, but we celebrated late,) and because of that we had to be charged an additional 200php corkage fee. We did not mind since it would be hassling for Karel and me to figure out how to split the addicting Caramia smores cake, and find a box big enough for both halves for us to take home. Everyone enjoyed the cake even when they were too full, but I was more than thankful that Karel and I were still able to take home a slice each since everyone could not finish the whole cake.

Thank you friends for this equally heavenly cake.

She wanted the cake for herself....

....but of course I did not allow that.

A photo of us cutting the cake, plus AJ trolling.

- We stayed until around 12 midnight, and had a quick traffic-less drive home. I had to rest my eyes, head, and tummy while Bless drove me, Bernadette, and Jessica home. Some of us talked about going back to Ludo again soon, with our group, or with other friends. As for me, I probably want to go back to Ludo again some day, but most likely during the off-peak hours, to avoid the big crowd, and to avoid the long waiting time. If I do get the chance to revisit Ludo, I'll definitely save my tummy space for the chicken wings!!