Patis Tito Garden Cafe

My sister convinced my dad to drive all the way to San Pablo Laguna for her birthday lunch last September.  She's been to Patis Tito Garden Cafe once or twice because of work.  At that time the place was still called Kusina Salud.  She enjoyed the food so much that she wanted to share the experience with us.

We reached the restaurant at around 1pm.  Our stomachs were already grumbling since we skipped out on breakfast.  We immediately scanned the menu and gave our choices to the waiter.

We dug into our Ensaladang Pako as soon as we were done taking photos.  It was fresh and crisp.  I loved the cheese and the crunchy bits that were sprinkled on top.

Ensaladang Pako P190
classic pako salad with tomato slices, onion tossed in patis kalamansi dressing topped with shredded salted red egg and cheese 

I may have bitten into some chilies when I sampled the Inasal Diablo.  They really meant it when they said it was spicy.  I liked the kangkong with bagoong that came with this dish.

Inasal Diablo (spicy) P245
Fire grilled half-sized chicken marinated in ginger chilies, lemon grass and kalamansi, garnished with annatto oil and served with our sauteed kangkong and Visayan fermented shrimp paste, homemade papaya atchara and soy kalamansi dipping sauce

The Spaghetti Ala Viscaina was a big hit for all of them.  I wasn't that amazed by it.

Spaghetti Ala Viscaina P155
with tomato sauce and smoked fish 

I could eat the Pan Fried Bangus Belly all day.  I loved the softness of the fish plus the soy kalamansi sauce.  I also munched on the tomatoes and onions.

Pan Fried Bangus Belly P290
crisp pan fried Pangasinan bangus stuffed with pan seared tomato and onion slices in soy and kalamansi sauce, topped with our homemade pickled mustard leaf 

The Beef Salpicao ala Pobre was pretty good too.  I think I ate a lot of potatoes and scooped up a lot of that sauce.

Beef Salpicao ala Pobre P225
soy and kalamansi marinated local Laguna beef sauteed in garlic and chilies.  topped w/ potato chips

Surprisingly, softdrinks were not on their menu.  I decided to stay away from the Lemongrass Kalamansi Tea (P80) that my dad ordered.  It's like eating blue cheese, it's an acquired taste.  Other cold drinks were the Fresh Mango Shake (P80), Homemade Lemonade (P75) and Fresh Kalamansi Juice P65)

We were so hungry that we wiped out everything.  We couldn't take in any dessert yet so my sister and I roamed around and took some pictures.  Mom and dad flipped through some magazines.

Huge portraits of the owners, Filipiniana designer Patis Tesoro and her husband Tito.

We went up to the second floor/balcony of the main dining area.  There were some tables, chairs and couches set up there.

The view from the balcony.

We tried the beautifully plated Turon con Latik.  The sauce was too sweet for me.

Turon con Latik P95
turon of banana and jackfruit w/ native coconut caramel and toasted sesame seeds

The only thing I remember about the Frozen Mango Icebox Cake is that the chocolate tasted like Hersheys chocolate syrup.

Frozen Mango Icebox Cake P105
layered cake of butter cream, laguna broas and fresh ripe mango

Although most of the food tasted really good, I doubt that I would drive all the way here just for a meal.  However, if I were going to Tagaytay, Quezon or somewhere down south, I would love to include this in my itinerary.

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Patis Tito Garden Cafe

formerly Kusina Salud

285 Bgy. Sta. Cruz (Putol)

San Pablo City, Laguna

0906-4439092

Once in San Pablo, just go straight along Maharlika Highway towards the direction of Quezon.  You will pass Meralco and Mitsubishi.  A few more minutes and you will spot Phoenix gas station, turn left there.  After you pass a small bridge, you will see the Patis Tito signage and entrance to the compound.  It took us more than 2 hours from Ortigas area since we got lost.  The map we had didn't include the newly built Phoenix gas station.

One more thing, found this at the bottom of the menu.  "For the convenience of our senior customers, prices do not include VAT.  Non-senior customers will be charged VAT.  A service charge of 10% will be added to the total bill."

*last photo by Rica de Ramos