Foodtrip in UPLB

Now where to eat?
Restaurants and fastfood abound around UPLB. There is so many of them, you would not run out of choices. I've listed some places and food which I think are unique to Los Banos.

1. Mang Toto Chicken Bacolod Inasal

Location: Silangan Road (within UPLB campus, beside Landbank)
Who can resist grilled liempo and chicken thigh? They offer affordable meals ranging from Php45 to Php75. Its an open air seating area though but they have ceiling fans. Just pick a nice spot and a bit away from the grilling area. Unless you want to smell like grilled food. :)

2. Cafe La Bonne Vie

 (Update as of Sep 2015: replaced by Venice Italian Resto)

Location: Laguna Lopez Avenue, Brgy. Batong Malaki (walking distance from Centro Mall)
Very cozy place, perfect for a quiet reading or to taste their delicious pastries. I just love their apple walnut cupcake and their Fish Fillet with Sauteed Zucchini.

Update: March 24, 2015: I recently tried their Chicken Alexander. It came as a surprise (in a good way)as it was like Chicken a la King topped with mashed potato and cheese. Their baked blueberry cheese cake is a must try too.

Fish Fillet with Sauteed Zucchini

Chicken Alexander with free Raspberry Iced Tea

3. Cafe Maquiling

 (Update as of Sep 2015: replaced by Chelsea)

Location: Just across Cafe La Bonnie Vie
Good place for Karaoke. And they serve really good coffee. So far, this place tops my list of brewed coffee. Good ambiance for long conversations. It is located on the second floor so you get a street view and may get noisy on rush hour traffic.

	Cafe Maquiling's coffee tops my list

4. Bonitos

Location: Oregano St. cor Lopez Ave., Demarses Subd., (a few meters from UP gate)
Two words: Kalderetang Batangas! I just adore this one of their many specialties. There are still a lot to try in this restaurant.

Yum! Kaldereta!

5. Mer-Nel's cake

Location: Lopez Avenue, Batong Malaki (still walking distance from UP gate) and National Highway, Los Banos.
Los Banos will not be complete with this homegrown business which started from a small store and now has a three (or was it four?) storey building which has the bakery and the restaurant on the first floor. The upper floor are used to host wedding receptions and events. People line up to get a box of their sweet treat more so at their store in SM Calamba. I think their secret ingredient can be found in the frosting.

 

Mer-Nel's signature cake with sweet chocolate gooey frosting

6. Cocina (pronounced as Kusina)

Location: basement of SU Building, within UPLB campus
This is a regular hangout because of the proximity and coffee! The place is music-themed with an open stage for piano, guitar players and even singers. They even serve food and drinks in Minor or Major sizes. Love their pasta and their Honey barbecue chicken.

Music-themed cafe

7. Faustina's

Location: Ruby St, Los Baños, Laguna
Had a chance to dine here with a friend. I like their vegetable salad, pastries and pasta. I wasn't able to try everything of course but so far I liked everything I ordered here. Serving size is not for the ravenous though. After doing some googling on this place, I found out this is where the Boneless Lechon was served! Gosh, I saw this unique dish and how it was prepared in a show on TV previously not knowing I was only blocks away from it. It does not come cheap though because the minimum order is 5kg and worth Php2,800. Plus, you have to order 2 days before pick-up.

http://www.crispypataatkarekare.com/2013/11/28/faustinas-restaurant/

8. Herb Republic

Location: Lopez Avenue, Batong Malaki ( a bit further than Mer-Nel's cake)
Just as their name says, they do food with herbs. I was to order their rosemary chicken but it was not available then. So I ended up with garlic chicken which was very tasty. You can taste the herbs embedded in the tender chicken. Their mint watermelon was a real treat as well. They were pricey but was worth the money.
What I also liked about this place is they employ people with hearing disabilities. They have an instruction card with how to communicate with them thru sign language. See the pic below.

Communicate with sign language

Chicken with lots and lots of herbs

9. IRRI's Coffee Shop

Location: Near IRRI entrance beside the IRRI museum
I love their cheesecake, iced cappuccino and affogato. They even sell artisan chocolates. I tried one called the Dark Chocolate with Green Mango and Sea Salt. And it tasted just that... dark chocolate.. with green mango (bits)... and rock salt. Not sure if I liked that one thought but I did finish it.

Artisan Dark Chocolate

There are still a lot of places to visit and some I haven't had a chance to get a photo. So expect more food blogs to come. :)

Updated 9/20/2016:

PS
  Here's the other added blogs on food in los banos:
Foodtrip in UPLB 2Five Food Stops from Calamba to Los Banos