Sublime Sunday
At around noon today, we finalized that we'll be going .for a dip in a farm and resort not too far from our home. It's been cold these past days with even light rain showers today, but Little Man is adamant that "he wants pool". Let's see how he fares tomorrow. LOL.
Anyway, we don't want to prepare a lot of food and whatnot, so we just decided to order food from an eatery in town, famous for their pancit or rice noodles. We thought it would be best to pre-order, but instead of calling them, we went to the place itself and timed it just when the sun was about to set.
Chasing Sunset
Google said that the sunset would be at 5:46 PM today, so we left home a few minutes after 5:00PM. That way, we would have more time to watch the sunset.
As I said, it's been raining so there were a lot of clouds on the horizon. Nevertheless, it was still a sight to behold.
It's been many years since I've been in this place. By many, I mean decades. If I remember correctly I was still in high school when I was last here with my friends.
And it's nice to be able to see this place again, now with my family and young kids.
Balite's Eatery
Balite's Eatery has been here since the late 1980's. I remember as a kid, when you say, "pancit", that's almost synonimous to "Balite". Nowadays, they offer a wide range of menu, which includes the infamous Batangas Lomi and even pizza!
The restaurant, if you're coming here for the first time, is inside a residential compound. You'd feel like you're just coming to visit a relative's house. LOL.
I noticed that it is also still connected to the owner's house, but the restaurant itself is big. It can actually cater for events like birthdays, team lunch, or what not.
Batangas Lomi
Batangas Lomi is a noodle dish that our province is so proud of. Unlike other noodles/lomi from other parts of the country, Batangas lomi doesn't have veggies (apart from a sprinkle of spring onions) and is loaded with different meat toppings like chicken breast, lechon kawali, kikiam, eggs, ground pork rinds, and a lot more. Then eat it with soy sauce/calamansi/chili combination. 🤤
This big bowl serves 3-4 people. It costs Php 350 (~$6).
For the pancit, we chose the canton with sotanghon. It was delicious, with lots of toppings as well.
Finally, we finished eating and paid for the bill. Then we asked what we came here for - to preorder for tomorrow. Alas, they are not open tomorrow! LOL. Apparently one of the owners has a doctor's appointment and they need to close the restaurant for the day because no one will cook. Hmmm, disappointing. I think that's downside of a family-run business.
Anyway, still thankful that they took our order, one bilao (round wooden tray) that serves up to 10 pax. Unfortunately, that's all the order they can take.
It was a great time spent with the fam at Balite's. At least, we got a glimpse of the beautiful sunset, and felt the cold breeze touch our faces.
Although my father said that he knows a place that serves better lomi. Hmmm, he better take us there. 😜
All photos are owned by the author unless stated otherwise.
