Ceree

Ceree is a sun-filled Filipino cafe, restaurant and pantry that’s all about comfort and community. Its main mission? To expose Melburnians who may not be super familiar with Filipino food to lesser-known dishes.

Inspired by family recipes, the menu features batchoy (noodle soup) and Filipino spaghetti, a homey take on bolognaise that varies from household to household, but is usually made with hotdog sausages. There’s also banana ketchup; and ground pork; and dinuguan, a stew of pork, pig’s blood, vinegar and spices. Don’t miss the silog – a Filipino breakfast of garlic fried rice and fried egg with sides like tapa (cured meat), longganisa (pork sausage), tocino (sweet-cured pork) and adobo.

All the accompaniments are made in-house, and there’s also sweets like buko (coconut) pie and turon (fried jackfruit and banana lumpia, or spring rolls). Coffee is from the Gold Coast’s Supreme Roasters, but the star of the drinks list is the iced ube latte, a creamy number with a shot of espresso that balances sweet and nutty notes.

With neutral tones and wooden furniture, Ceree’s design mimics the appearance of a Filipino home. The pantry section is reminiscent of a sari-sari, or convenience store, selling Filipino chocolates and chips, plus hard-to-find cooking ingredients like banana ketchup. The venue is owned by restaurateur Albert Estampador, who previously owned now-closed Basement Cafe.