Cafe La Bonne Vie: Living a Good Life

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.

Discovering good food in an unlikely place...hospital

An unplanned visit and an impromptu trip turns out to be an underlying reason for an exciting food trip.

A few days back, food buddy Aida was at the Asian General Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, when I received a text message asking if I could drop by our HR office and get PhilHealth forms for her pending laparoscopic operation. She also asked if I could drop the forms by her house but I instinctively decided to visit and accompany her at the hospital.

I was hungry and I was feeling tired from a toxic workday. After her consultation, she offered that we eat at the pantry located at the lower ground floor of hospital. I admitted that I was short of cash and I only had a few hundreds to get me through the week. She offered to pay for it...so I did not decline. Libre eh!

The pantry looked like a mid-class restaurant. It looked liked a food court but not quite much because there was only one concessionaire as I had observed.

She ordered lumpiang ubod while I chose to have spaghetti. Then, we saw the pasta area and we ordered another. We were choosing from a fettuccine or penne pasta and the pesto or alfredo sauce. We settled for the pesto in penne pasta.

Orders are made and we've settled on a table. Its eating time!!! We first tried the lumpiang ubod and I was surprised how good it tasted. Foobu Aida had said it before that the ubod was great and yes it was indeed. It was made of the tender young coconut wood with bits of vegetables. Its a highly recommended must-try food, plus its healthy.

Then we tried the spaghetti. She confessed that she liked her spaghettis sour while I prefer the sweet ones. Gladly, the spaghetti was served sweet with generous serving of ground meat and a few hotdog slices. She said that its only in the Philippines that spaghettis are served with hotdog. It didn't matter for me, but if its a testimony..then I'm a proud Filipino for that.

I can say that there are better spaghettis out there; for one, foobu Aida's version of spaghetti with meatballs and herbs are far better, and my wife's choice of sweet blend Del Monte ketchup and original blend spaghetti sauce also makes a better serving.

Then came the pesto. I didn't know pesto is green. According to wikipedia, "the name is the contracted past participle of pestâ ("to pound, to crush", from the same Latin root as the English word pestle), in reference to the sauce's crushed herbs and garlic."

In all due fairness, the pesto tasted good and its an enjoyable treat. The penne pasta added structure and form to the food, while the dominant green crashed herbs provide a texture that is pleasing to the eyes. The herby taste less that goaty feeling (kambing or goat because you have to eat leaves) and the strong flavor of basil made it a delectable treat.

Lastly, the dessert and its my choice of the blueberry cheesecake. I opted for the blueberry cheesecake because I have not tried one. On the rack were my favorites; chocolate cake and black forest but I chose this one.

Foobu Aida who bakes cakes shared that the based is just a diluted cream cheese and the bottom part are graham crackers while the blueberries can be bought in stores. So pretty much, making blueberry cheesecake is just stuffing the cream cheese on top of the graham crackers and topping it with the blueberries. Its that easy.

The sweet tooth me liked the cake, but not quite as much as I do with chocolate cakes.

Food can be found in many places and sometimes you can discover the best in places you never expect. This time, I discovered a good spot to try out lumpiang ubods and pesto pastas...and I found it in a hospital.