Cover image via pinimg.com
What if you can actually give back to the community just by eating good food?
YES! Who would have thought that just by merely stuffing your mouth with food, you get to help these community-run restaurants in Manila? That's pretty cool, eh?
Here are the restaurants we've discovered in the Metro that give back to the community one meal at a time with a little help from our friendly neighbor, [Our Better World] (http://www.ourbetterworld.org/en) — the digital storytelling initiative of the Singapore International Foundation, which brings world communities together to do good. 🙂
Image via Giphy
Puzzle Gourmet Store and Café
**Good Food**: 'I Knew You Were Truffle' pasta, Blueberry Crepe Cake, and 'Ichi ni San Sushi'
Puzzle Gourmet is home to differently-abled children who will greet you by the door, take your orders, and even cook your food! From famous Filipino breakfast meals like the classic *Tapsilog* to timeless street foods like fishballs, there's always something to look forward to in Puzzle Gourmet — particularly the kids smiling at you as you enter their cafe.
[Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/puzzlecafeph/about/) | [Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/puzzlecafeph/)
**Address**: 1 Comets Loop, Blue Ridge B, Quezon City
**Contact**: +639175019645
Image via Puzzle Gourmet
Black Soup Cafe
**Good Food**: Homemade Guyabano Ice Cream, Mango Turon, Kalabasa soup, and coffee!
BlackSoup Cafe is located in Maginhawa, in the same courtyard as Van Gogh is Bipolar restaurant. The cafe is owned by 10 artists and is home to local artists' masterpieces and holds exhibits from time to time.
The cafe has a "Suspended Coffee Kindness Project" where people pay in advance for a coffee or meal meant for someone who cannot afford it. Sponsored coffees that remain unclaimed by the end of the week get distributed to the homeless as shared by [Our Better World] (http://www.ourbetterworld.org/en/story/best-places-eat-and-do-good-philippines#sthash.HGmdUjLX.dpuf).
[Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/Blacksoup-Cafe-Artspace-150792852572) | [Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/255459675/blacksoup-cafe-artspace/)
**Address**: Unit G 154 Maginhawa St. Sikatuna Village Quezon City
**Contact**: 435-2549 / +639056641273
Image via BlackSoup Cafe
GourmetGypsy Art Cafe
**Good Food**: Five Spiced Pork Belly, Seafood Chorizo Cioppino Pasta, and Clever Cup of Coffee!
Restaurateur Chef Waya Araos-Wijangco teaches culinary skills to young adults with special needs for employment and entrepreneurship at the vocational school called Open Hand School for Applied Arts.
When the first batch of her students graduated, Chef Waya thought that the students need to experience real-work and to put their skills into use. So, the GypsyGourmet Art Cafe was opened as a transitioning laboratory for the school's graduates.
[Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/gourmetgypsy/) | [Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/gourmetgypsy/) | [Website] (http://gourmetgypsyartcaf.wix.com/gourmetgypsyartcafe)
**Address**: # 25 Don A. Roces Avenue Brgy. Paligsahan, Quezon City
**Contact**: (02) 662-0880
Image via Tales from the Tummy
Cafe Mezzanine
**Good Food**: Dimsum specials, Halo-Halo, and coffee!
Located in the middle of the oldest Chinatown in the world, Cafe Mezzanine is just at the corner of Ong Pin street — the hub of authentic Chinese food and coffee in town.
What makes Cafe Mezzanine different from the other restaurants in Chinatown is that all their revenue is being donated to Binondo Paco Fire Search and Rescue Brigade. In fact, some of the staff in the cafe are the wives of the firemen.
[Website] (http://www.cafemezzanine.com/)
**Address**: 650 Ongpin cor. E.T. Yuchengco st. Binondo Manila, Philippines
**Contact**: (02) 288-8888 loc 230
Image via Cafe Mezzanine
Helping Hands Cafe
**Good Food**: Overloaded Breakfast, nachos, milkshakes, and coffee!
Helping Hands Cafe is a 24/7 restaurant which serves coffee beverages and light refreshments by differently-abled kids in the community. The fact that the cafe have deaf servers and cooks exposes customers to this other side of the community and gives them a chance to interact with them and maybe even learn their language.
[Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/helpinghandsmanila/)
**Address**: Unit 104 Cityland The Manila Residences Tower, Taft Avenue, Manila
**Contact**: +6326255167
Image via Helping Hands
