We are at the planning stage of setting-up our own coffee shop in Los Baños, Laguna with a business partner. Its a weekend and we've been deciding for a place to discuss the business details but no place meets our preference. We wanted a coffee shop for us to get ideas of how a place would look like, we wanted a place where good food is served, and we wanted a quiet place so we can talk about details. Our initial plan of having it at Boston Cafe along UP Grove had to be canceled since it was too crowded.
Knowing that there are quite a number of coffee shops in Los Baños along Grove, we decided to try out Cafe La Bonne Vie (Good Life). Its located about a hundred meter or so away from UPLB gate opposite Anest Tower that also houses another dining place, Cafe Maquiling.
The place is decently clean and looked good from the outside. This cafe, for me, has the most appealing exterior among all the coffee shops and cafes in Los Banos
My wife, Lorenz, and I decided to try this place while waiting for our business partner, Shervi, a brother (brod) from our academic organization and who used to be Lorenz's former employer. He was late, so while we were in the waiting, we had the chance to examine the place, check out the interiors and be critics for twenty or so minutes.
The inside was small and only has four tables, that can accommodate a total of 12 diners at a time. The tables and chairs are made of hardwood,unlike most coffee shops that use glass or metal tables. We had the impression that the place was not made just for coffee drinking but for dining as well. The menu offers pasta dishes, sandwiches, rice meals and some pastries.
We felt that we've been waiting for almost an hour already so my wife ordered the brewed coffee.
Being the coffee drinker that she is, she knows how to differentiate a good coffee from an ordinary one. And she was utterly disappointed with the brew. She said, it tasted bland, and would have opted for the commercial 3-in-1 coffee instead. Also, while sipping her brewed coffee, a friendly fly kept buzzing around and was gracious enough to share a moment with my camera.
When Shervi arrived, he ordered the Chicken Club sandwich. Like any other club sandwiches, its a double decker and had generous serving of egg, ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato plus a grilled chicken fillet. Thus, Chicken Club. The club was served with wheat bread and was big enough for two persons. I did not have the chance to taste it, but it looked delicious.
We were at the middle of our meeting when I ordered Forest Ham sandwich and Pesto.
The Forest Ham sounded cool. I was expecting a sandwich that would have some special stuff in it. I was hoping I could see leaves, herbs and others aside from the usual tomato, pipino and lettuce. But I was disappointed, It looked like an ordinary sandwich, served with more ham and more cheese than the usual. Probably, it was the bread that made it different. It still tasted good though, but was much saltier because of the cheese.
As for the pesto, it was non-arguably the biggest flop of the night, with the brewed coffee close at second. Other pasta dishes served was puttanesca and spaghetti with meatballs, but I decided on the pesto to build a comparison to that of the Asian General Hospital pantry.
The aroma of basil was enchanting while the food was being prepared in the kitchen. I was excited because the aroma was so fulfilling. Simply put, the pesto smelled good. But the story completely changed when the food was served. It looked pale, paler than an anemic spaghetti, and the taste...'crap' is an understatement.
My wife who loves pasta dishes pushed her plate aside with just a single taste with the commanding "ayoko ng lasa". And I understood why. Eating the pesto was like eating your pasta in olive oil with the slightest taste of basil. I probably won't recommend this to a diner, nor even try out this dish again in the same cafe. But food concerns were just secondary. We where there for a meeting.
We ended the night in high hopes of opening our coffee shop soon. The partnership finally took its form and where going somewhere with the plans. Where heading for HealthyLand Coffee House, a place where healthy food tastes good.
