Eat pray love Lipa

You may think that this quote is just for the movies and from the movies, but let me tell you that it holds true for this city set upon the hills of Batangas, enjoying a 330-meter above sea level (masl) elevation. We recently went for the 14th National Food Showdown, held in conjunction with the 11th Batangas Food and Beverage Expo at the De La Salle Lipa Sentrum.

Organized by long-time college friend Myrna Segismundo and De La Salle’s chef Patrick Maravillas, the two-day food event was primed by a city tour for all the judges who came from as far as Cebu City and Cotabato.

PRAY. Chef Patrick is a member of the Third Order of the Carmelites, a religious congregation. Being close to the Church, he was able to borrow first class relics of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and St. Therese of Lisieux, France which he displayed at the De La Salle chapel from Nov. 11 to 18, exactly when the food event was also being held. That was our first important stop within the school grounds.

What a treat for the devout Catholics in the group, especially when Chef Patrick brought out the Crucifix from its glass case, holding the holy cross with his gloved hands. PRAY was the first activity of the day and rightly so. This day was already blessed before we even got started.

EAT. In cooperation with the local government of Lipa City, we were escorted to the Lipa City Public Market for a taste of what the city has to offer chefs and foodies like myself. As we were led by the market administrator himself, we saw a slice of the local food basket, albeit peppered with imported fruits like grapes, oranges and apples. That is a microcosm of what the whole country now has – imported fruits enjoying equal display space with local finds.

But our delegation was on the hunt for everything local, everything Batangas. Passing these imports by, we headed to the dried fish section to see a wide array of marine life, in its various forms, as a Filipino breakfast staple – dried fish, bulad, tuyo, daing which were quickly bought by chef Glenda Barretto and Café Laguna’s Lita Urbina, two very respectable women in the culinary world.

Glenda and Lita comfortably sat on stools as the merchants weighed their orders of biya, a small fish species which you may find in these ladies’ restaurants. They ordered a lot of fish and everyone followed suit.

Next stop was the coffee section – a revered part of the market as more and more tourists look for the famed Barako, actually now used as a term for all coffees from Batangas. Though the term strictly refers to the Liberica species (Caffea Liberica), Batangas and Barako have become synonymous with any coffee bean that is roasted dark and served with sugar, at least in these parts. Though there is Arabica available, everyone veers towards the big beans of Liberica.

We met Gloria Cuenca and Cris Leynes, a mother and daughter team selling coffee since 1945.

Across them was Michele’s selling coffee since 1968, who had an empty bilao of Liberica, as they awaited for the day’s fresh delivery.

Coffee, dried fish, local rice cakes, pickled santol and many artisan preparations await the shopper. Do not mind the imported fruits which are patronized by the locals and even found in our hotel’s breakfast buffet. The local fruits are the stars for tourists like us – guyabano, bananas and even Satsuma oranges from the North of Luzon.

After satisfying our food curiosity, we were taken to the Miraculous Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace, also known as the Lady of Lipa, a popular destination for most faith and religious tourists.

Here, the group prayed and brought their individual petitions. There is a prayer deck, a sanctuary and a church which is built on sprawling grounds and where many weddings and celebrations have been held.

The third stop for prayer is the San Sebastian Cathedral in the city center, a neo-Renaissance structure founded in 1605. On its walls are accounts of the arrival of coffee and cacao in these areas of Batangas province. At 330 meters above sea level, Lipa rightfully has been the perfect birthplace of coffee and cacao, at least in Calabarzon.

Towards noon, we were brought to a coconut farm which is also the micro distillery for lambanog, a local spirit made with coconut sap, collected and distilled up to six times – which results in a very fine liquor sold under the brand name LAKAN. The founder, Tony Manguiat, explained the process of how each “mangangaret” gets the sap of each coconut tree every day.

And it would take 30 trees to fill a bottle of this special liquor which now has won many awards here and abroad. I tried it “neat” or without ice, and the gold version is a good after-meal digestive like cognac. The bronze (two-hour distillation) makes a good mixer for cocktails like Aperol Spritz or a Barako drink.

It is a must try and this must be the LOVE part of the tour. I love this drink already. And you will love the EAT part, too. Tony served us bulalo, sinaing na tulingan, tawilis, dulong and adobong dilaw – all Batangas specialties.

After a heavy local lunch coupled with that beautiful shot of Lakan, we took naps in the car before we settled along the lakeside resort called Kapusod. Owned by popular couple Howie Severino and Atty. Ipat Luna, this getaway gives you ringside seats to see the lake up close, along with a close up of the volcano. You can have guinataan, pancit or suman for merienda, along with a lemongrass iced drink.

I keep forgetting that Lipa is so easy to get to, is such a beautiful place to visit and try the local fare while enjoying the cool breeze. “Para kang naka aircon sa labas (it’s like you have air-conditioning outside)!”