Skip to main content

Review: Le Bistro

One Saturday, my sister, Anna, and I opted to eat lunch at the Paseo Uno de Calamba, a commercial complex that features newly opened restaurants. Tucked within the commercial complex is a coffee shop called Le Bistro. We got curious about this restaurant because it's the most accessible coffee shop for us, at least currently (a mere five-minute drive on a good day); not to mention that the restaurant's subtitle is "Sustainable Coffees". According to the serving staff we asked, "sustainable coffees" mean that the coffee beans they use are sourced from local farmers.

This, to me, is an example of helping farmers lead better lives -- something that isn't far from what Jollibee Foods Corp. is doing with its local vegetable and rice farmer-suppliers. Both companies ensure that these farmers have income by providing a stable market for their produce.

Ironically, we veered away from the coffee selections because we went there for lunch and because I don't drink coffee. So instead, we ordered pasta, an Oreo cheesecake, and a calamansi smoothie. 

I got the creamy malunggay pesto with chicken herb. The pasta was al dente and the chicken herb was perfectly tasty. Anna even got some of the chicken and paired that off with the sun-dried tomato arrabbiata pasta of hers. The sauce, on the other hand, was light and refreshing; none of that heavy feeling I always get when I eat overly oily pesto sauce. Unlike the pesto sauces I've tasted before, the Le Bistro version features malunggay (Moringa oleifera), a nutritious leafy vegetable, instead of basil. The presence of such a local ingredient in its menu further reflects the restaurant's commitment to promoting sustainable agriculture by supporting local farmers.

The delicious pasta effectively raised my expectations about the dessert...
Le Bistro's version of the
Oreo cheesecake

Then came the cheesecake. The portion that we got was quite a letdown after eating the scrumptious pasta. Don't get me wrong: the cheesecake was okay; it just didn't make as big an impact on me as Dalcielo's creme brulee. Maybe it's because of the fatty aftertaste which I didn't like. I thought, at first, that the whipped cream was the culprit, although Anna figured that the problem was in the cheesecake itself. Anyway, it might just have been the specific cake we got and not the whole batch. I'm going to try this dessert again next time I drop by.

Yes, there will definitely be a next time. Aside from a second go at the Oreo cheesecake, there are other items on the menu that I'd like to try on later visits. It's such a good thing that the restaurant is really easy to get to from home. Now, if only I can convince my friends to travel all the way to this bright corner of Paseo Uno de Calamba so they could try out this restaurant too.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for dropping by!

Before moving on, please share your thoughts or comments about the post. :)

Thanks again!

Popular posts from this blog

10 things I learned while driving on Marcos Highway to Baguio City

I went on a day trip to the City of Pines, which was around a 700-km drive from my house. I drove  going up there and then from the city to Victoria, Tarlac. After that, my dad took over the driving duties. It was day trip with Tita Ising and Tito Sibing with us. Anyway, this trip was my first time to go to Baguio City with me behind the wheel. As everyone who drives up knows, there are three main routes to Baguio from the lowlands: Kennon Road, which ascends from Rosario, La Union. It was out of my options because it's too dangerous to use that road in the rainy season. The second route is via Naguilian Road, which makes my trip a lot longer because the beginning of the ascent is in Bauang, La Union (further north). The last route, and the one I took, was the Marcos Highway, now known as the Aspiras-Palispis Highway. This 47-km road starts from Agoo, La Union and is touted as the safest route among the three.  As I drove up and then down (on the same day; we were in Bagu
5 comments
Read more

How MALDI-TOF-MS makes mycobacterium diagnosis faster and more accurate

The laboratory I work in has plenty of instruments that help us characterise and identify microorganisms causing diseases in patients. One of my current projects is to validate an instrument called "matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometer" (MALDI-TOF-MS) in identifying members of the Mycobacterium  species. Many of these organisms are opportunistic, meaning they only cause illnesses in people whose immune systems are not strong enough to fight infections. Mycobacterium leprae  is known for causing leprosy, but we cannot grow this bacterium in culture media, so we cannot isolate it. Mycobacterium tuberculosis  complex, on the other hand, is a group of several species of Mycobacterium  that causes tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a disease that killed 1.6 million people in 2021 alone. It is a leading cause of death globally, second only to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Identifying the Mycobacterium species that has infected a patient is
Post a Comment
Read more

a crash course on traditional Filipino houses

On Dr Jose Rizal's birthday this year, I was back in historic Manila with Ate Bing, Ate Mary , and Manuel . But instead of visiting him, we opted to soak up on Philippine culture. Our first stop: the Cultural Center of the Philippines ' (CCP) Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino .  Aside from the musical instruments, I noticed the dioramas about Filipino homes. Filipinos living by the sea (the 'sea gypsies', Sama Dilaut or Badjao ) have boathouses; those who live in the mountains, like the Bagobos , have developed interconnected houses in the trees; Filipinos who live along the path of the strongest typhoon winds, such as the Ivatans , have developed houses of thick limestone walls; and people who live in calmer conditions used bamboo and nipa to construct their houses, like the lowlanders and the Agtas . Sama Dilaut 'lepa' and houses on stilts (in the background) Ivatan limestone house nipa hut Ifugao 'fale' Maranao '
Post a Comment
Read more