What’s UP, Los Baños?

Came across this blogger site for UPLB alumni from Thai. It’s rather new and has few posts only and you probably won’t understanding anything at all as they are written in Thai scripts. But it is still heartwarming to know of our linkage with the Thais. Makes one think of pad thai, papaya salad and red hot chilis! For a dose of Thailand in Los Baños,  there are two places to go. (more…)

There’s fried chicken and there are fried chicken. But nothing comes close to Ellen’s fried chicken paired with steaming sauteed mongo. I think this is one of UPLB’s best kept secrets and one of the things I will always miss of UPLB. And always you pair it with mongo, everyone agrees. From a dark restaurant in Grove (it is now a hardware store) to the CR-like building to the new location at Raymundo Gate, it is still a student favorite. These days, it is best to eat the Raymundo Gate branch which they now call RM Cadapan Canteen. Mind you, pinipilahan talaga ang manok dito. They cook it in front of you, in wood-fired stove similar to Bat Cave’s. You’re lucky if you get the last piece of chicken available otherwise you will have to wait. They usually cook it in batches and you can specify your favorite part. I think they list it down already, how many wings, thigh, drumstick, etc… At 25 pesos per piece, it is still a good meal. To get the complete set of 1 piece chicken, mongo and rice will cost you 40 pesos. Or you can indulge and get two pieces. I always do.

Nope, I didn’t get any sem-break vacation as most of you might have thought. Got busy with lab work and theses work as I’m hoping to graduate this second semester. Just some thoughts…

• Sembreak means most of the shops were close. No Ellen’s fried chicken for a week, no LB Square gimik - ang tahimik sa campus!
• But I do like this time of the year, with the campus so quiet, it’s like having the campus to myself for a week. When I stayed at IH, I usually go to the field early morning bringing my cup of coffee. Very few joggers and no jeepneys that early - so peaceful.
• Signs of Christmas are here - from Crossing where there is a shop dubbed “Divisoria ng Los Banos” to the putong bumbong stall just outside UP Gate to Christmas songs on the radio. Soon there’ll Christmas decorations, the Carabao Park will be decorated with the Belen, Parolan and Apo Run!
• The first time I had buko pie, it was only 25 pesos. I think it’s 150 pesos per box now.
• I remember we had a one-eyed cat at Womens’. We called him Garfield. In IH, there is a dog named Adobo.
• Had sukiyaki and sushi for dinner with friends at Komeshi, the Japanese resto at Raymundo Gate. Good thing there is a variety of food to eat here in Los Banos. Some must-try: Paella Valenciana at Bonito’s (order a day before), Italian pasta dishes at Joes in Umali, chicken sisig at Conga (Agrix), seafood salad at Namjai Thai, chicken with nuts at Ning’s Thai.
• Enrollment again next week. In graduate school, one unit costs 1000 pesos!
• Mudspring and Peak Two are close for a few months since Milenyo came.
• Campus figures? Would you believe me if I tell you that one famous figure from Humanities, a professor always clad in Barong Tagalog and quite ancient then but has since retired now dons a sporty attire -with bike, cycling shorts and goggles?
• Anymore scary stories to tell?
• Need to get in touch with UPLB people or look up directory? Check out UPLB’s website: http://www.uplb.edu.ph

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Want to check out some used Harleys?

I remember when Batcave hit Los Baños. They had these freshly cooked lechon kawali cooked right in front of you. The owner slices the slab of fried pork belly with matching tilamsik ng mantika. Sarsa ni Mang Tomas is unlimited, too. I haven’t been there for some time, it’s too dark for my taste. These days I swear by the fried liempo of Tita Melba’s. The pork skin is very crispy yet the meat part is very tender. It goes well with their chopsuey. You can also try their embotido with white sauce, bihon and pork chop. They also serve the “silog” series – from tapa, bacon, tocino and hotdog, all day.

And yes, they deliver, too.

Tita Melba’s is located at Ruby St., Umali Subd. Just go by Raymundo Gate,

What better way to start up and wrap up a day than over a cup of coffee? Way back in college, I took to drinking coffee like I drank water. I always think of what made me a coffeeholic now. I think I have my dad to “accuse” for that, since he taught how to make a good cup of instant Nescafe when I was young. I had to take a sip before serving it to him. Until gradually, the sip turned into a teaspoonful, into sharing a cup of coffee with him till now, 2-3 cups of freshly brewed coffee a day for me. I still share a cup of coffee with my dad, though, whenever I am home.

Back then in Los Baños, a cup of brewed coffee was difficult to be had. That’s why I relish the thought of going to IRRI library to research(as an excuse, hehehe) then having a cup of brewed coffee in IRRI’s cafeteria. It cost around 1.50 then, with milk and sugar already. Now, it costs around 7 pesos and it tastes so bland.

There are other options though. If you find yourself at IRRI, they have a coffee shop that offers freshly brewed coffee, cakes, pastries and pasta. It is operated by Bean Hub, which has another branch at Vega Mall. A cup of barako coffee is only 20 pesos. Good enough to wake you up.

Outside the UP Gate, just walk along Grove and you will find coffee shops dotting Lopez Avenue all the way to Agapita. Among the notable ones are Bean Hub (Vega Mall and IRRI), Coffee Blends (in front of Agrix), Ristretto (Agapita), Isis (LB Square) and Café Amalia (Agapita). They also offer pasta, sandwiches and cakes to complement your coffee experience. Coffee Blends, Isis and Ristretto close quite late so they are good choices to go for after-dinner coffee.

For a coffeholic like me, going to coffee shops could be very expensive. So I got my own coffee maker and brew my own coffee. I have one at the apartment and maintain the office coffee maker. This poses another quest as to what coffee should I buy for brewing. As much as possible, I try to buy locally produced coffee. So far I’ve tried kapeng barako from Batangas, Aguinaldo blend from Cavite, Benguet Gold from Benguet and Monks Blend from Bukidnon. I get coffee as pasalabung from abroad and my favorite is the Don Francisco Vanilla Nut coffee I usually request from my cousins. From Quebec, where I went to recently, I got to talking about coffee with a French-Canadian and she gave me a bag of coffee granules from a Quebecoise cafe.

But those branded coffees are still expensive. Fortunately, I have discovered that Robinson’s supermarket sells barako coffee beans and they can grind it for you. It is by far, the best barako coffee I have tasted.

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