Boybands... A singing and dancing group act that makes all the girls swoon and scream in delight as they also willingly hand in their money to watch concerts and buy various merchandise in support and love for their favorite boys. I'm only too familiar with this as I was once a fan girl when American boyband, Backstreet Boys, were all the craze. Fast forward to today and the boyband is still taking the world by storm with BTS on the helm. Unless you're living under a rock, I'm sure you've heard of them and their songs.
BTS is a K-Pop group from South Korea and the name is an acronym for the Korean phrase Bangtan Sonyeodan (Bullet Proof Boyscouts). They're a global phenomenon with fans from all over the globe referred to as Army or Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth. According to what I read, the fandom name basically means they'll always be together with BTS.
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| Meet my cousin, Mae. She's an ARMY. |
BTS Themed Coffee Shop
The BTS fandom is so great that not only has so much merchandise been created on these cute Korean guys, it's even inspired coffee shops. One such coffee shop is Rkive Cafe, located in Bangkal, Makati.
I first spotted this place because of its balcony and instantly got an inkling that it was either a restaurant or a coffee shop. Later on, when I shared this discovery with my cousin, Mae, she told me it was a coffee shop called Rkive. And not just another coffee shop! But a BTS themed one!
I love checking out coffee shops. And because she's an Army, I knew my cousin was the right person to take with me to check out the place.
It's a small place but it's popular among BTS Army. A reservation is required for those who want to dine in. If you want to visit this place, keep an eye out when they post about their reservation registration announcement on Rkive's Facebook page.
A Look Inside Rkive Cafe
As soon as you go inside the cafe, you'll be greeted by life size standees of BTS.
For fans of these boys, it's a must to take a photo beside their favorite K-Pop group. I know my cousin couldn't get enough of having her photo taken beside them.
Every corner you turn at Rkive is filled with BTS decor from artworks to photos of the boys to Tiny Tans. It's like looking at a fan girl's room actually! Reminds me of the days I used to have a room full of magazines, posters and photos of Backstreet Boys.
You can even buy small BTS merch at Rkive.
BTS Recommended Reads
You know what's interesting about this BTS phenomenon? They've even made it to the booklovers community! Their leader, Namjoon, likes to read. So at Rkive, there are also a bunch of books on display available for your reading pleasure.
Mae told me The Midnight Library in particular is a BTS recommended read. That book's in my to-be-read list too.
Don't feel like reading? And honestly why would you read when you'd most likely be busy fangirling over the decor? You can also skim through the BTS coffee table books available in the cafe.
The Food at Rkive
We visited in the afternoon so snacks were in order aside from drinks.
We ordered cheese mandu (Php165) and potato pizza waffle (Php125). For drinks I had the white chocolate latte (Php110) while Mae had the Borahae (Php95).
While both snacks taste good, we couldn't finish the cheese (pork) mandu. Umay after a while. The potato pizza waffle, on the other hand, oh yummy! It's definitely my favorite of the two snacks we ordered.
The Borahae drink is a butterfly pea tea based with passionfruit juice and jam. Mae enjoyed this sweet drink.
Overall, it was a nice experience at Rkive Cafe. My cousin, an ARMY, definitely enjoyed it more with all the photos she took of her "bebes" as she lovingly calls these boys. Drop by Rkive Cafe and indulge your Army self.
Rkive Cafe
Lucban Street
Bangkal, Makati City
Open 12NN - 9PM (except Tuesday and Wednesday)
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