Viaje del Sol | Jay Herrera and Kinabuhayan Cafe

2^nd Stop: Kinabuhayan Café

One of the things I was really excited about our trip is the lunch at Kinabuhayan Cafe. I’ve heard a lot of great things about Jay Herrera’s Restaurant. It was even featured in Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, or so I’ve heard. As mentioned in my previous post, it’s a requirement to make reservations and pay for downpayment prior to coming here. I think it’s because Jay has to buy ingredients and prepare the dishes especially for the customers that are scheduled to come in. I don’t think he cooks meals for walk-in guests.

From Casa San Pablo in San Pablo, Laguna, we went back on the road headed towards the famous Kinabuhayan Café in Dolores, Quezon.  Travel time took about 30 minutes (as far as I can remember). We got a bit lost along the way, but just a tiny bit. On Jay’sFacebook page, he gave instructions on how to get to his place. And one tip you should really follow is that if you get lost, and you probably will, you should just ask for Jay Herrera and everyone will know where to lead you.

It’s easy to spot the restaurant when we arrived in the right alley. His cottage is huge and it stands out among the concrete structures around.  When we arrived at his door, Jay greeted us and immediately starts making conversation. He’s a great host, really kind and friendly.  He asked us to wait while he prepares our lunch. I didn’t mind waiting because it gave us time to explore his place.

The main cottage is where I think he lives. We went up the cottage and I was quite surprised to see that it’s completely furnished and modern. He even had a bath tub fit in the bathroom. He’s old radio stuff was still there. As it turns out, he was some sort of radio jock back in the days but he had to quit for some reason I don’t remember.

There are a couple of two story cottages in his garden for overnight guests. There’s a sitting room/dining room on the lower floor and beds on the upper floor. He has landscapes set up there too. There are other interesting artifacts around the corners of his property. It’s a common trait among all the places we visited in this province.

When Jay finally served our food, my first reaction was, “Ooh that’s pretty!” and the next thing was, “Is that edible?” But Jay immediately explained that everything on the plate was indeed edible. I forgot exactly what he called it, but it was Condon Bleu-ish, on top of a Risotto-ish dish served with fresh garden salad (as in, freshly picked from his garden). I was a bit skeptical but I did eventually eat a few flowers and leaves (or was it grass?). I just considered it part of the food adventure!

But the food adventure didn’t stop there! He also served dessert with more plants. I’ll describe it as I remember it – fresh melon on top of caramelized sweet potato with cream and a few more stuff from his garden. It was good actually. All the ingredients in the desert are a perfect combination of sweetness from the fruit and sourness of the berries.

All in all, it was a great food trip. The food was plenty for me but others cleaned their plate. The food tasted good what with all the plants included. To be honest, for Php750 per person, I think it’s a bit overpriced. They could’ve at least served drinks. I also thought we’d be eating at Kubli Springs which would’ve been awesome. I imagined it would be in his backyard or something because they’re almost always associated together. But we didn’t visit Kubli Springs until later that afternoon. But I'm still very thankful to Jay for being such a kind host to us. Even though my expectations were not met, I still had a wonderful time. 

The rest of our first day on our next post.