Wara-wara

Levicel, my friend from high school, invited me to a tour of freshmen college students who are studying Hotel and Restaurant Management. It was designed as a culinary excursion of nearby Laguna, specifically Calamba, Los Banos, and San Pablo. Levicel needed one more guide to herd the kids, all 120 of them (divided into three guides so I was handling roughly 40 of them). You can only imagine how this experience really tested my patience. All along I thought they should've been a bit better behaved, they're in college already for crying out loud. But then, they acted like they were still in Grade 6. I was forever tempted to wring their necks, but the murderer in me was better controlled fortunately.

The first stop was an organic herb farm in Calamba, which had a great view of Mount Makiling and the Laguna Lake. The herbs and vegetables were really boring. What interested me more were the flowers that grew all over the place. I was fascinated during lunch when a gumamela found their way into the salad. Apparently, they are edible and were placed there on purpose.

After a series of cooking demonstrations and going around the farm, we proceeded to La Vista Pansol, a resort in the town of Los Banos, where we stayed for the night. God, that resort is one kitschy place. I think the kids had fun in the pool though. For some strange reason (maybe it was a prank played by the kids) a couple of resort towels and a blanket were missing when we checked out.

Early the next day, we proceeded to San Pablo to visit the restaurant owned by the designer Patis Tesoro. Kusina Salud is nestled in a secluded part of the town, nonetheless, I was told that people drive two hours from Manila just to experience the culinary delights of the restaurant, which features a fusion of Filipino and French cooking. I was however more lured by the verdant garden that surrounded the restaurant and the mini gallery selling vintage items (plates, sculptures). Both the restaurant and the gallery were made of salvaged pieces from old houses that were demolished. This included lovely windows made of Capiz shells, old furniture, and sculptures. Everything old were scattered all over the place. I was having multiple orgasms appreciating all the details.

And some camwhoring of course.