Nestled in San Pablo is a well-known restaurant among connoisseurs that serves gourmet Filipino cuisines with a twist. Kusina Salud is the offspring of a partnership between Patis Tesoro, known for her Ninay dolls, and Paul Poblador, the chef. The place is secluded and it is difficult to reach by commuting. The road to Kusina Salud reveals scenes of yesteryears – a carabao pulling a cart of merchandise, women doing their laundry in the river, wooded areas, and verdant shrubs and trees. Once you have reached the place, an aviary welcomes you into the main dining area, which is an old Filipino house, complete with windows and doors of capiz shells. Diners eat at the ground floor, while the second floor is the home of the owner, Patis Tesoro.
Inside the house you would find an eclectic mix of furniture – Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Filipino, European – it has no theme at all! Surprisingly, everything seems to fit in nicely and one knows that much care has been devoted in planning and arranging the pieces. You would see posters of Hong Kong girls in traditional dresses, heads of Buddha, Japanese vases with Philippines flags, an old TV set with its cabinet, Paete woodcarvings, and other eccentric pieces.
How the house was arranged mirrors the concept behind the dishes. We were welcomed with a fantastic appetizer of fried calamares in mustard sauce with kalawo, a Filipino dish made from banana blossoms. We were done with it quickly before we could say “Hmmm” and we helped ourselves with a second serving of the appetizer. After the truly appetizing dish came the salad. It was superb! Blanched young fern leaves, crunchy frozen lettuce leaves, fresh tomatoes with pieces of salted egg, and crushed peanuts, topped with grated cheese, and a dash of vinegar. How should I describe it? The best salad I have ever tasted.
Next came the spicy carabao meat with pasta and grated cheese. The taste of the carabao meat blends perfectly with that of the pasta and the slight saltiness of cheese. If ever you come across this dish, do not eat the carabeef with rice. It will ruin the triple ensemble. The meat was tender, softer than beef but they tasted almost the same. The fish followed. I do not know what kind of fish was that, but its flesh was delicious. The taste was not overpowering; it was mild and I had a second serving of that. The cut fish was swimming in oyster sauce with slices of cabbage and petchay leaves to finish the look. Next came the chicken inasal sitting atop the binagoongang laing. I really liked the laing. The finale was sinigang na hipon. Hmmmmm.... sarap to the max! Heightening the dining experience was the soothing instrumental music playing in the background.
For the dessert, we had ube guinataan and turon. The ube guinataan came in goblets (Surprise! Surprise!) and not in bowls as we normally see. It was good, not too sweet. It is best eaten with otap. The turon was served with ice cream (another surprise!) and covered in caramel, sprinkled with sesame seeds. I had two of those turon.
Verdict: I enjoyed the food, the setting, dining mates, everything! I want to come again if I have the money. Oh well, it was really a satisfying lunch. Try to eat here especially if the money to pay for your food will not come from your own pocket. Hehe. In my case, it’s free (at least, in my point of view)!
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Next stop: Liliw, Laguna – the best place to buy tsinelas! Oh, forget about your havaianas. They’ve got Badong here. Nice and sturdy slippers for fifty pesos. For the more classy ones (and therefore, more expensive) go to entrada. Unfortunately, I did not bring my wallet so I had no souvenir from the ‘road trip’.
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After San Pablo, we went to Liliw, Laguna. We passed through the towns Rizal and Nagcarlan. The road going to Nagcarlan is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, that one friend described it as “the chicken intestines.” You get the picture. Nagcarlan is famous for its underground cemetery. If you have time, try to visit the place. They say it is not really very creepy because the underground cemetery is well-lit. There is an old church, which harkens back to the Spanish era, to mark the cemetery.
It was a long journey from San Pablo to Liliw. Liliw is arguably the tsinelas capital of the Philippines. It seems every house is selling shoes and tsinelas. The best time to go to Liliw is during the tsinelas festival, which is held at the end of April or early May. My first visit to Liliw was during our trip in PI100. It was Labor Day. We just stopped for a while, and it happened to be tsinelas festival at that time. Aside from tsinelas, you can also buy meringue, baraquillos, otap, and other goodies. Also try the Liliw longanisa.
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They say that if you continue the journey, (just follow the road) you will eventually end up in Antipolo, Rizal, drive through Ortigas, then Alabang, and finally back to Los Baños, Laguna, where you started. You have just circumnavigated the Laguna Lake.
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Somewhere along the road to San Pablo, there’s a fork. It’s interesting to know that if you follow one road, you’ll end up in the province of Rizal, and then Manila. Choosing the other will lead you to Quezon, and finally Bicol. Either choice is fine with me.
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