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Cafe Leona

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

Friday dinner was spent at Café Leona. No, no, we weren’t in Vigan, Ilocos Norte. It is the Café Leona in the metro, conveniently situated along Katipunan Avenue.

It looks like a garden restaurant from the outside. The restaurant is open and airy with large windows, beautiful woodwork and a friendly homey atmosphere. Several paintings were displayed on the wall, some quite peculiar piece of art (the pig art was creepy according to CW), but artistic nonetheless.

During this dinner, CW breaks to me that we won’t be able to go with the DEFTAC group to the Anawangin trip because he had to work over the weekend. Too bad because I’ve bought groceries (chips, jams, 2 kilos of liempo, wheat bread, drinks) and CW ordered 3 frozen bangus from Pixies solely for this trip. But then, as always, work comes first before leisure.

On the Table:

Pepperoni Pizza PHP 180

Thin crust pizza where some parts of the dough were crunchy while other parts were soft. Better to order a Margherita pizza at Bellini’s for PHP 170.

Quesadilla PHP 100

Basic tortilla dough with cheese and cilantro inside.

Mozzarella Chicken PHP 150

The waiter said that this is one of their bestsellers. It didn’t taste like it was a bestseller at the time we dined in. The chicken was dry and tasteless with a pitiful layer of mozzarella on top of it.

Maria Shrimp PHP 200

Other than the melon shake, this dish is the highlight of the dinner. White mushroom sauce on fettuccini pasta with generous helping o f fried shrimps. I have to note though that the pasta was drowning in the sauce.

Melon Shake PHP 35

Fresh melon with milk. CW can taste artificial melon flavoring but I disagree. There were bits of melon flesh for this to come from a pack. *Shrugs* Maybe they added melon powder to spike up the taste. Overall, this was a saving grace.

Strawberry Shake PHP 35

Kool-aid strawberry added to crushed ice.

On our way out, we saw Tiffany and her boyfriend ordering dinner. It was also their first time that night to dine there and asked us how the food were.

Café Leona is located at 137 Katipunan Avenue, St. Ignatius, QC.

Album: http://cushee.multiply.com/photos/album/435

Tags: art, Art restaurant, Cafe Leona, Garden, katipunan avenue, metro, vigan
Posted in Inside Dish, Taste Manila | 1 Bite »

Ilocos Norte Heritage Tour

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Time check: 09:55 PM. I timidly approached a slim guy holding a Photoholic banner at the assembly venue in Mc Donald’s Quezon Avenue. It was the night of the Peninsula Siege and the government declared a 12MN curfew. I’ve never experienced a curfew imposed by the government before and I was terribly afraid of breaking any law. Leia who said that we have all the necessary papers and identification to validate our trip to Ilocos calmed my fears.

I first stumbled across Travel Factor through their post in the PH Photo yahoo groups. I was deeply intrigued since the trip was dubbed as Photoholic. I am not a professional photographer nor am I a photo hobbyist since I can’t find the time to actually go out and shoot. I’ve only taken my Canon DSLR for a ride on 11 occasions since I first bought it 2 years ago. I love taking pictures though of scenery, people, food, captured moments… does that consider me as photoholic? Nevertheless, I booked Bubba and me for the Ilocos trip, again unbeknown to him. It was my pre-Christmas trip for him. I deposited the payment before the cut-off date and availed 2 slots.

Let me take you to a photo essay cum time blog of the tour.

DAY 1 (11/30/2007)

6:00 AM

ETA Vigan

St. Augustine Parish Church of Bantay and Bell Tower

7:00 – 8:00

Breakfast at Villa Angela Heritage House

First taste of authentic Vigan longganisa. I still prefer the crunchy Lucban or Alaminos longganisa but Vigan’s was yummy.

8:00 – 11:00

Walking Tour of Vigan Crisologo Street

St. Paul’s Cathedral @ St. Paul’s Bell Tower and Plaza Salcedo

Paburnayan Pottery Making

11:00 – 12:00

Buffet Lunch at Villa Angela Heritage House

12:30

Batac and Paoay

Marcos Museum

Paoay Church

Malacañang of the North

Laoag

Fort Ilocandia - X Sand Dunes - X Sinking Bell Tower

07:00 PM

Check-in at Polaris Beach House, Saud Beach

Buffet Dinner at Polaris Beach House

08:00 PM

Karaoke Time

DAY 2 (12/01/2007)

5:30 AM

Sunrise at Bangui Windmill

Brrr… It was freezing cold when I stepped out of the pink bus. The cold morning did not let up. I didn’t realize what was in front of me. Amazingly gigantic windmills!!! I’ve never seen anything as large and as many. It was a sight to behold, an experience to see. It’s weird but I can just stare at them the whole day and remian fascinated.

8:00 AM

Trekking at Kabigan Falls

It was my first time to trek and it wasn’t so bad. It was one of the activities I enjoyed during the trip. It only took 20 minutes to trek to Kabigan Falls. We had to walk in the woods and cross mini-streams.

It was also my first time to see a bee hive –and a massive one at that.

12:00 NN

Picnic Lunch at Maira-ira Blue Lagoon

The picnic lunch here was my favorite meal of the trip. They served Filipino Style Curry Chicken, Barbeque Chicken, Rice and Eggplant Salad and everything was delicious.