That Sizzling Day in Laguna

On that sizzling 36 degree summer day, we were in the beautiful province of Laguna. Mark had to work in Calamba. When he was done, he wanted to take the other route back to Manila, where we would exit in Antipolo.

At around lunch time, we passed by this lovely restaurant at the Kalayaan Highway called Exotik Restaurant.

There's a corner by the entrance where native sweets and pasalubong are sold.
I saw some yummy pastillas but wasn't able to buy, because they were a little expensive.

There was a lot of greenery and landscaping. The place looks like a mini resort, except that the the pools are not made for dipping. The place was divided by several covered areas filling the irregular landscape. There was the main restaurant, while the other "huts" served to provide customers who wants some privacy for special events. It was a pretty big place.

At the entrance of the main restaurant,
framed clippings of photos and articles of the place are displayed.
Nice :)

I also loved that it was quite cool inside the restaurant,
which served to protect us from the super heat at that time.

Mark went straight to this page - where the "exotic" menu could be found. He ordered some stingray in spicy sauce. I ordered the Guinataang Pako. I've heard so much about Pako or Fern being made into salads. Knowing Pako was on the menu, excited me so much, I had to order it.

Plus, this can of soda spelled - relief from the heat!!!

I really liked the Guinataang Pako. It tasted somewhat like mini kangkong/cooked lato.
The gata or coconut milk was light and tasty. Yummy!

The Stingray had some vegetables infused with the spicy red sauce: some celery, carrots and tomatoes. I don't think it worked quite well. We were imagining something else for the stingray.

We were full, nonetheless. Yummy food from Laguna!

The place is a nice respite from the urbanscape. Lovely place :)



check out related post on www.ourawesome planet.com :)

Going South

Today, we went to Calamba, Laguna. Again. Our second trip in less than a month. There's another trip tomorrow but I'm not so sure if I want to go. It was so hoooot today - the digital car thermometer registered at 36 degrees Celsius! It was crazy. So far, the highest temperature we've experienced inside the car was driving around the metro at 34 degrees. Today, at the Kalayaan area after Pagsanjan.... it was a crazy 36 degrees!

Anyway, I wasn't able to post our food trip in the previous Calamba trip. We asked a good friend of mine who studied in UPLB their popular food haunts, and he was able to suggest a couple of places. But as soon as we turned to the outskirts of Calamba from the South Superhighway, we were so hungry we decided to go for RSM Lutong Bahay. I googled it and it was given an award by the DOT. Excited, we rushed in from the parking lot to escape the high noon heat.

Mark has eaten there before, so he knew what to order already. I looked around, and it had an old Filipiniana-slash-fastfood feel. There was a glass showcase along the cashier, so we could do turo-turo. But I did like the little wooden touches.

Our rice was Binalot style. Now, I don't really like Binalot. The food becomes all mooshy and jumbled inside. But....

.... this one turned out right!

The steaming rice was still molded and the tomatoes and eggs were still firm.
Looked freshly made :)

But RSM Lutong Bahay's piece de resistance is their Bulalo! Bulalo is a beef broth soup with vegetables and beef meat and marrow bones. I was so excited because I really like Bulalo. This one did not disappoint! It was meaty, full of flavor... and there was no visible "SEBO", which is the one thing that stops me from eating a lot of it. The broth was clear but full of flavor! I really liked it :)

And knowing Mark, he ordered some Sizzling Pusit, and I got us some vegetables via some Chopsuey. They were all good, except that I could taste the "umami".

It was a good lunch, and if I want some Bulalo... I now know where to get me some!:)

What's wrong with this picture?

Mark and I stopped over a popular fast food chain after walking a few blocks from his office. It was a sweltering summer evening, and a good serving of vanilla sundae was just right. While having our ice cream, we spotted something different:

tee hee!