Arabela: Liliw's Gem

Liliw is a worthwhile stop-over for those on a roadtrip. It has an old church and this quaint cafe/restaurant to go to. The cafe is situated on an old house (I really think its a bodega before/ or the residents were not that tall, just because it has a very low ceiling.) Nonetheless, the place serve decent food.

 Sicilian Chicken Salad. P220 I never thought that Sicilians liked their salads laden with mayonnaise. The mayo is really overpowers everything. It has grapes and mangoes and the usual greens.

 Bread Pudding P50. Claims to be the restaurant's best seller, and our dinner's biggest letdown. It was cold and not moist. Felt like eating stale bread. 

Rib-eye Steak P240 The only affordable restaurant in here that serves medium cooked steak. (No, I can't afford to eat at Mamou's regularly.) I would definitely order this one again!

  

Seafood Marinara P220

If you classify fishballs and other street food turo-turo staples as such, then you are in luck. I know I am allergic to seafood but they really don't have to scrimp on that one just to lower down the cost. But I do love how they're able to capture what I normally want my "red sauce" pasta to be. The pasta's al dente as well. I find it strange why most restaurants (a lot actually) can fuck up a dish that is so easy to make (yes, that's coming from a person who can't cook, who can actually make a decent arabiatta dish). Pasta is so easy to prepare and I still don't get it why the noodles get all so soggy and why they put too much sauce (because I never order a seafood pasta in red soup). I also hate it when restaurants assume that everyone wants their pasta SWEET or worse, resembling banana ketchup . Is it so hard to open a whole-peeled tomato canned? They don't even need to use the real thing. Sigh. Anyway, I was just too happy even if I didn't get to have "seafood". The shell on top? That was probably the closest thing I ever gotten to seafood and bits of tiny shrimps. Don't get me wrong, the fact that I am still willing to order this means it actually is better than most crappy pastas out there- it tastes like "seafood" (hint: shrimp-y) and it has the tomato flavor to it.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake P95

I wouldn't call this a cheesecake perse just because I mainly judge cheesecake based on the cream cheese used. It's better to view this one as "mouse". It has the soft, creamy texture on the white part and the supposedly solid chocolate below (too solid that its frozen and I can't easily slice my way through it even with a knife). Needless to say, I love the whole thing, even the cream/milk on the side. Perfect coffee companion.

 

This is not ideal for tall people, if you are 5'7" and above, you might find yourself slouching or bending too much to navigate around here. The place closes at 7 pm, even on weekends. I don't understand why they don't serve dinner but if you earn enough to break even at an 8-hour shift for a restaurant, good for you. They don't have much competition  in the area anyway. They also open late, around 11 am so you'd only get this place for lunch and merienda. 

Other items we got were Watermelon Shake P95, Cafe Late P95, Chicken Roll P190 (average) and the Deluxe Pizza P260. A word of advice, NEVER order this pizza. Not only is it under seasoned, we tend to steer away from onions that aren't caramelized and the ham wasn't even browned. I tend to separate cold cuts from my pizza.

Bonus: they use Frank's. I am already sold at restaurants who bother themselves with using this one instead of the cheaper ones. And for you to actually claim to serve "Buffalo Wings" you gotta have at least this or Trappy's. I also love the fact that they have a complete selection of GOOD, CHEAP wines. Rex and I love 

Beaujolais, it pairs well with pasta. Overall, this place is worth the visit. I'd go back again for the "cheesecakes" and the steak. Oh, if you are in the generous mood try the wine with the pasta.

Los Banos on a Plate

It's my 24th birthday and what better way to celebrate it than go on a road trip with my family and boyfriend.  My dad wanted to explore Laguna so I decided we NEED to drop at Los Banos! LB will always have a special place in my heart because I spent two months there for an IP project back in high school. My friends and I would walk the school grounds, us feeling like "college kids" staying in the dorm and hitting the laboratory. Sadly, that experience didn't convince me that I should be in the sciences (I've never been good at laboratory works and I'll forever be the clumsy one).
I digress too much. So around by the time we were there I was so set on trying out  five establishments:

Order as follows:
1. D Original Buko Pie
2. Nings Thai Restaurant
3. Phuong's
4. UPLB Dairy Institute
5. Faustina's

I decided I'd skip the usual Mernel's Chocolate Cake (I've eaten there before. The chocolate cake's affordable for Php125+.The cake is moist and soft). There are a couple of restaurants that I'd love to try if I only stayed longer (Considering I have three hours to stuff myself crazy with fifteen dishes only because I asked my dad to limit himself to a maximum of three dishes per place). There are two vegetarian restaurants that should've made it in my list: Mio's and Herb Republic. But vegetables can always wait for next time. Plus, it's my birthday after all and I only want to indulge myself that day. I also heard a lot of good reviews for Joe's, but decided against eating there last minute because I figured I can only have enough space for  pizza and pasta. There's always another time for that.

Another thing to note about Los Banos is its traffic. The road's too narrow and there are a lot of jeepney. While I love the whole small town vibe, the place gives you a feeling of being in Manila during rush hour minus the tall buildings. And you know you are nearing Los Banos if you see a lot of resorts and buko pie stannds. There are a lot of new establishments but I feel so nostalgic whenever I see the old Pizza House in Olivarez. Back in high school, we would finish two family sized stuff crust pizza and bottomless iced tea. Almost an hour in the road and nearing one o'clock, we decided to suspend the buko pie session for later and start with a decent meal. Sadly, Ning's was closed and it was IMPOSSIBLE to find Phuongs.

Lopez Street is your go-to place if you do want to sample everything. I envy students staying there today because there are a wide range of restaurants to choose from (depending on your budget and taste). Back in the day, we would eat at that sizzling place (a few meters  from Chowking/Jollibee area) EVERY NIGHT. Today, they have an assortment of bars, cafes and ..even milk tea stands. (Sabi nga ni Rex, a university area wouldn't be the same without Moonleaf.)  If its your first time in LB, just find the big Jollibee on your right (if you are coming from National Highway and then turn right, or you can always follow the traffic). This is where the street where you'd find Mio's, Dalcielo's (for the cakes), Ning's, Ellen and most of the bars.

I panicked just to end myself at the gate without deciding where to eat. So we settled for Bonito's. It was never in my list just because I felt that most of the food there can be cooked by Rex at home. But dad was hungry and they have wifi. (We needed to find Phuong fast!). My take on their food on my next post.

My dad wanting to try out other stuff went to the sisig place nearby. It was an old house turned into a restaurant by the owners. They serve sisig. Just sisig.

Rex finally found the Vietnamese restaurant and we had to spend another hour waiting for our food to be prepared at Phuong's because there's only one person who mans the restaurant, cooks your food and entertains the guest. You really need to order in advance if you plan to eat here.

Desserts at Philippine Carabao Center. My dad wanting to try every yogurt flavor on the menu and Rex getting the biggest rejection out there.

Rex: Ate, may fresh mozzarella ba kayong hindi frozen?
Ate: Sir, dapat talaga frozen ung mozza pagkinain mo. Kasi ginagrate mo talaga yan, hindi po yan kinakain lang ng nakaslice.
(Rex walk away mumbling, face palm. He goes on to rant later on about proper storage of cheese and an ice cream's perfect texture).

Oh and I just had to have my "carabao shot". Ask my UPLB friends, its a "to do" thing whenever we are here.