Food for the Trails: Coffee Break at Si Christina Gateau Sans Rival, San Pablo

 

* interior views of Si Christina Gateau Sans Rival

A slight drizzle one time opened up a chance to visit Si Christina Gateau Sans Rival, a beautifully lit coffee/cake shop in our home city of San Pablo. The unusual cold nights every now and then proved a good excuse to get a taste of some coffee right in the city proper.

The place was cozy as expected but I do not see it as fitful place for an intimate meeting. Rather, it is a conducive place for simple group meeting or family gathering. The fixtures and its lighting may be contributory to this.

 

 

 

* good food in a good place

But beyond the interior designs the food was superb. We tried a Cuban sandwich and a red velvet cupcake coupled with a blackberry mocha coffee. The bittersweet combination of the food and drink was simply enjoyable. I am yet to try to more famous cakes they have there. Next time it has to be more than a simple coffee break at Si Christina.

[How to go to Si Christina Gateau Sans Rival, San Pablo City, Laguna: This coffee shop would not be hard to find. The place is close to the San Pablo Cathedral and in fact just opposite the city plaza.]

Food for the Trails: Isaw Atbp. Along Lopez Avenue, Los Baños, Laguna

My recent revisit to Los Baños, Laguna (LB for most of us who spent part of their life in this town) to obtain some documents brought back memories of my college days. I remember walking along Lopez Avenue whenever I had money just enough to bring me to San Pablo or whenever I want to do a solo food trip along this main thoroughfare to UP Los Baños.

As I walked towards Junction (Lopez Avenue and Los Baños-to-Calamba highway intersection) I could not resist the inviting smoke from a makeshift store just in front of Robinson’s Town Mall. In tracing the smoke’s origin, I found myself again in this small stall where isaw and the usual gang of innards are grilled and sold. As always these foods (often tagged as street foods) were satisfying.

From this impromptu eat I came up with the idea of covering some of the busiest streets in LB and make a blog post on the food being sold along these streets.

2013 San Pablo Visita Iglesia Itinerary

Parishioners of the San Pablo Cathedral and nearby churches may join this year’s Visita Iglesia. The assembly and registration will begin at 5:45 am on March 20, 2013, the day of the tour. At 6:15 am a community mass will be held at the San Pablo Cathedral.

  

The list of the churches is found below:

Stations 1 and 2: St. Bartholomew Church – Nagcarlan
Stations 3 and 4: St. John the Baptist Church – Liliw
Stations 5 and 6: St. Gregory the Great – Majayjay
Stations 7 and 8: D. Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe – Pagsanjan
Stations 9 and 10: D. Shrine of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores Turumba – Pakil
Stations 11 and 12: San Sebastian Parish – Lumban
Stations 13 and 14: St. Augustine Parish – Bay

The Lenten season is definitely underway.

Most Reverend Buenaventura Famadico is San Pablo’s Fourth Bishop

 

I remember former Bishop Drona’s inauguration when I was still an elementary school student. But now the Diocese of San Pablo has a new one. March 2, 2013 marked the solemn installation of Bishop Buenaventura M. Famadico in the San Pablo Cathedral.

Los Baños Views from Philippine High School for the Arts

 * Mount Maquiling slopes

 * a marker for PHSA; will discuss this

in a later post focused on PHSA 

                       

* part of the many houses inside the PHSA grounds

where students are lodged during their stay

Right before posting the photos here, sudden realization hit me that I missed taking photos of the famed auditorium in Philippine High School for the Arts or PHSA in Los Baños, Laguna. So it seemed more reasonable to share more about the view from this elevated place. The activity we did up there was thoroughly relaxing if combined with the literally breath-taking view of many area of Los Baños.

  

 * a wooden structure we found on the grounds of PHSA

 

* view of the lower area of Los Baños and Tadlac Lake

One serendipitous thing that happened there was my first sighting of the famous Tadlac Lake in Barangay Tadlac. Plans were made before to visit the lake but all failed. It turned that it would happen while I was perched up Mount Maquiling. 

* in pose

Tranquil. That’s PHSA.