Happy Foodies

<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgahsRhW92N6pLQSClIp3P0LezwrJamEzwhI16MyBihKoOpKc5euMu07J8UVPVK2Rbwxp653BJpao-XVDdz-kcrhGCOnNrpvAPK3gVvecRpCw9_lkHthHmMUsiGvHzQU-PM3eb7b_BUvi5IDfaotscnTzMtRCE4BGNvmlpsWrFF_esBnhXy-V6ZW5Qo4RE/s1023/angono-art-capital-cafe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1023" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgahsRhW92N6pLQSClIp3P0LezwrJamEzwhI16MyBihKoOpKc5euMu07J8UVPVK2Rbwxp653BJpao-XVDdz-kcrhGCOnNrpvAPK3gVvecRpCw9_lkHthHmMUsiGvHzQU-PM3eb7b_BUvi5IDfaotscnTzMtRCE4BGNvmlpsWrFF_esBnhXy-V6ZW5Qo4RE/s16000/angono-art-capital-cafe.jpg"></a></div><br>Living up to the town’s reputation, <strong>Art Capital Cafe</strong>, is a cozy little cafe right beside a Caltex station in Angono. It serves up more than the usual brews but also showcases inspiring art pieces from up-and-coming artists. <strong>Art Capital Cafe</strong> was the last stop in our tour of Angono sites and eats. May we have saved the best for last?<p></p>

<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7ERlzjGcGhlHRrlor3tpyCAspfCofmkbed8_ii6Zz3BtR1dfZny4Zau8SeNqUsUgJiW4u1eebmHtGJBvsEkWOH9rqFYcscopUZD4kpbUC9HtQ0SvoS2vQBUv15swEQrElJ1SdFo7EdcyYV8-5AqOUiXG37aCDIVI2kNfpxV58K4dMVJdo3FxOuQS584/s1023/wings-on-the-go.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1023" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7ERlzjGcGhlHRrlor3tpyCAspfCofmkbed8_ii6Zz3BtR1dfZny4Zau8SeNqUsUgJiW4u1eebmHtGJBvsEkWOH9rqFYcscopUZD4kpbUC9HtQ0SvoS2vQBUv15swEQrElJ1SdFo7EdcyYV8-5AqOUiXG37aCDIVI2kNfpxV58K4dMVJdo3FxOuQS584/s16000/wings-on-the-go.jpg"></a></div><br>Finding a boutique shop inside a burger and chicken wings joint may seem to be an odd combination. For owners Faye and Leo David, they are just all too happy to finally have a place where they can serve their homestyle grilled burgers and buffalo wings and a lifestyle shop to give back to their loyal online customers. The <strong>Wings On The Go</strong> restaurant may have opened recently this year (March 2016), but they have been operating since 2012 in a delivery and pick-up system. Their menu and offerings, showcased online via Facebook, were such a massive hit they developed a cult-like following in Angono and nearby towns. On a recent visit to Angono, I had a chance to try Wings on the Go and find out what made people crazy about <strong>Wings On The Go</strong>.<p></p>

<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmoBmIDhSFSvuWPndRFvGibQyWz6gPwPMtmH7urvOuV8sBWLwXsd2NJ_SjkbhgtXx2vKubuCRNFnA9NmJRf3ZhhIMZb02vaeS_A1IqnxKx_iRVgC6wHp-u0IsVYNbXZdaUJbjtKTtwGAX-e4kV5ZONomkpZzS2ZvBR-R-vBny1KfBsczXjgcorNuSRxw/s1023/angono-balaw-balaw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1023" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmoBmIDhSFSvuWPndRFvGibQyWz6gPwPMtmH7urvOuV8sBWLwXsd2NJ_SjkbhgtXx2vKubuCRNFnA9NmJRf3ZhhIMZb02vaeS_A1IqnxKx_iRVgC6wHp-u0IsVYNbXZdaUJbjtKTtwGAX-e4kV5ZONomkpZzS2ZvBR-R-vBny1KfBsczXjgcorNuSRxw/s16000/angono-balaw-balaw.jpg"></a></div><br>Angono, the art capital of the Philippines, is not only a haven for artists but also a showcase of the Philippines' rich culinary heritage. Talk about Angono and Balaw Balaw will eventually come up in the conversation. <strong>Balaw Balaw Restaurant and Art Gallery</strong> has been known to serve exotic dishes utilizing indigenous ingredients used by our forefathers like the <em>balaw balaw</em> (fermented shrimp sauce). They are also popular for serving exotic dishes like butt and balls Soup #5, the fried <em>itik</em> (native duck), and <em>uok</em> (giant coconut worms).  While the staples are still there, the Vocalan family who run the restaurant still tries to innovate on traditional dishes to adapt them to modern times.<p></p>

<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQc_RrZtXO2RRi1TRJUb2Aem7rWVCeK9RJ9rbeDlW-xmgdpW-RSx4ofiDj06yKxN8JK19EhIDEAFrpqebwzAkkPwzw7XD4hx7F8Pt9eukKB8bJPx7UDlESkFfxxRY0dneOmwUwVLEcCUHhKN2UzDuLtkVIPOYO90UnstEGYajLFvYo_DBIJMX6UgFdMg/s1023/el-union-coffee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1023" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQc_RrZtXO2RRi1TRJUb2Aem7rWVCeK9RJ9rbeDlW-xmgdpW-RSx4ofiDj06yKxN8JK19EhIDEAFrpqebwzAkkPwzw7XD4hx7F8Pt9eukKB8bJPx7UDlESkFfxxRY0dneOmwUwVLEcCUHhKN2UzDuLtkVIPOYO90UnstEGYajLFvYo_DBIJMX6UgFdMg/s16000/el-union-coffee.jpg"></a></div><br>I have a friend who’s known as the “Sound Check Guy”. He’s musically inclined and decided to live in La Union for good, finding he felt more at home there. He worked as a barista for a small coffee shop for a while and that’s where I first heard about <strong>El Union Coffee</strong>. This small cafe run by Kiddo and Sly sources locally grown coffee beans from around La Union. Their signature blend became a hit among the locals and tourists alike. The cafe quickly outgrew its original site and had to move to a new location along the MacArthur National Highway.<p></p>

<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUgm8K6Vy9HpBR4ttKbdVBzpnnLOtN02gy0dxECInvWCPge0S4MC_xn0EhBayoRVI-whKL41hCuEPxTePoRDwAZj7qTCyokYO1BEQC43s6zgCTc7C0ChYBgqcK7uEWdTDsGoYM3AoZQ6ITl9YGMY1yyI2wCjnr5DJ5zG253Vvmjj-PC4oZTEiELifpZQ/s1023/the-coffee-library-baguio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1023" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUgm8K6Vy9HpBR4ttKbdVBzpnnLOtN02gy0dxECInvWCPge0S4MC_xn0EhBayoRVI-whKL41hCuEPxTePoRDwAZj7qTCyokYO1BEQC43s6zgCTc7C0ChYBgqcK7uEWdTDsGoYM3AoZQ6ITl9YGMY1yyI2wCjnr5DJ5zG253Vvmjj-PC4oZTEiELifpZQ/s16000/the-coffee-library-baguio.jpg"></a></div><br>Your <strong>Happyfoodies</strong> trudged to the northern highlands for the days leading up to the new year with an overnight stop in Baguio.  By chance, we got billeted in a hotel on a quieter street parallel to the always-busy (read: noisy) Session Road and chanced upon the barely month-old <strong>The Coffee Library</strong> on the ground floor of the Rex Hall Student Residences along General Luna Street.  Needless to say, it was a serendipitous find.  Yes, it is eye-catching, with tasteful touches of ethnic crafts, a mix of red brick and warm wood, and even vintage "<em>padyak</em>" (foot pedal-powered) sewing machines converted into tables, but how was the food, you may ask.<p></p>

<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRE8Bqb-IaHIsRAMzZKrEsZ4eCZ-rjzOiCS-TBfBI9eQUIiYgzL-uT-qv7lDRJtfMMM3_ortoZAMGfO4Lnz0LWkQod1_X_KkHU5K1oNCe2Dfio4JyDshZE_F31eZSPr8loGQtkOfvp5XAZVNU9_OZ28-YlsRXnw36sHzhKKRWv1VQj_BpBBYyeA753eGg/s1023/clarins-house-of-suman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1023" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRE8Bqb-IaHIsRAMzZKrEsZ4eCZ-rjzOiCS-TBfBI9eQUIiYgzL-uT-qv7lDRJtfMMM3_ortoZAMGfO4Lnz0LWkQod1_X_KkHU5K1oNCe2Dfio4JyDshZE_F31eZSPr8loGQtkOfvp5XAZVNU9_OZ28-YlsRXnw36sHzhKKRWv1VQj_BpBBYyeA753eGg/s16000/clarins-house-of-suman.jpg"></a></div><br>The <em>suman</em>, a Filipino delicacy is an elongated rice cake neatly wrapped in banana leaves is a favorite local snack. But how many flavors of this <em>suman</em> have you tried? There’s chocolate, mango, cheese and it’s just crazy to know there’s more. Well in Clarin municipality of Misamis Occidental, they boast of 13 flavors under the roof of <strong>Clarin’s House of Suman</strong>, a popular stop amongst locals and tourists not only for suman but some pasalubong treats as well.<p></p>

<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrsSnDk2jDPSiWod_MlOiV3DUNPK-81GGJ4vrOgcYK6Rv2RjkSdr040GpgBUx4GLSus3b7XAu-fWoDAl2Wg233owN4uCK9oZm6i_pZPAOrNVapYPh3nO37doTtd8XH3PdRENC6TyyGfyBKH1vvnTyniJ9Oz95ut2vaUNgfW0S7r798yDUm1kHkb3PtcM/s1023/cafe-pho-co.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1023" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrsSnDk2jDPSiWod_MlOiV3DUNPK-81GGJ4vrOgcYK6Rv2RjkSdr040GpgBUx4GLSus3b7XAu-fWoDAl2Wg233owN4uCK9oZm6i_pZPAOrNVapYPh3nO37doTtd8XH3PdRENC6TyyGfyBKH1vvnTyniJ9Oz95ut2vaUNgfW0S7r798yDUm1kHkb3PtcM/s16000/cafe-pho-co.jpg"></a></div><br>There is a certain zen moment that I like about Vietnamese coffee. The time I wait for the coffee to brew and drip from the <em>phin</em> (a small Vietnamese brewing device) to my is a quiet still moment I savor every morning. I like the unhurried air it brings. There’s also the yin and yang combination from the ironically smooth yet strong coffee and the creamy sweet layer of condensed milk. Their perfect blend is just a satisfying reward for that short wait. More than the coffee, I also appreciate the surroundings of the cafe which adds to the experience of drinking coffee. That’s why in Hanoi, <strong>Cafe Pho Co</strong>, was a delightful find, tucked deep within rustic buildings past the souvenir shops fronting the streets. Ancient walls, a charming cat, unique coffee with egg, and views one can get lost in moments.<p></p>