capitulo iii in victoria, laguna

This is a way long overdue foodie post on a new culinary spot in Laguna.

I'm really excited about this one--kept telling my family to "have lunch naman one Sunday at Capitulo," or our kasambahay to bring her boyfriend there for a date. I'm just glad that Finally! Meron nang matinong pagdadalhan ang mga mga out-of-towners sa amin.

As a foodie myself, I consider it a major embarrassment that there is no place nearby that I could bring friends over for a decent meal. Next to my mom's kitchen, I'd probably bring a friend to Lucban, Quezon which is an hour and a half away. Not exactly an appetizing prospect for starving Manileños.

So you can probably imagine my excitement and relief at having this some fifteen minutes away from our house on a decent day's drive. (And c'mown now, there's really no traffic in our part of the province along the National Highway, save for funeral parties.)

Double that at having to share this maiden meal/review with my friend, Ria, who was, at this time, about to leave for a two-year scholarship in Yokohama, Japan. (Did I get it right, Ri?)

I "accidentally" fetched Ri from LB and sorta spur-of-the-moment decided to try out the new place in Victoria, Laguna: Capitulo III (pronounced: Capitulo Tres).

From Calamba en route to Sta. Cruz, the provincial capital, along the National Highway, you won't miss it: A fancy, even out-out-place calesa along the expanded road, right before the arch signaling you have reached Pila, Laguna. It is right across this slide-and-dive park, beside a newly opened M&W grocery, and sits pretty at the crook of a wide curve bending to the right.

Parking is great! It's right out front and very spacious, which is important for a wacko/stupid/eternally amateur driver like me.

You'd be a bit put off guard by a flashing electric sign announcing that the place is "open" but once you get inside and get seated, you'd totally absorb the Catagalugan feel that the restaurant aspires to convey.

The food and ambiance is inspired by the Catagalugan. The furniture is probably what you would expect at your lola's house in the probinsya, complete with the heavy wooden chairs and the frilly curtains you swear you would never buy but think fits this place wholeheartedly. But unlike your lola's abode, there are booth seats lining the walls so almost every one can get the much-preferred booth seat.

I'd post a picture but I'd prefer that you experience the discovery I enjoyed myself.

Capitulo III itself is inspired by one of the the greatest of Tagalog literature (or so my high school Filipino teacher, Ms. Advincula, claims), homegrown Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere. If you'd bother to read the back cover of the menu, you'd find out that the place is named after the novel's third chapter, entitled Ang Hapunan.

They take the theme further in naming the dishes, like

• Manok ni Narcisa, a pot roast of free-ranged chicken (which locals swear taste better) in soy sauce, bamboo shoots, castañas, water chestnuts and cabbage;
  
• Peninsulares, a hodgepodge of meaty greats chorizo de bilbao, honeycured ham and chicken lonnganisa with bottom mushrooms, chickpeas, shallots, rosemarie, thyme and sundried tomatoes;
  
• Indio Samarillo, a dish of grilled Tilapia fillet dry-rubbed with mint, basil and olive oil, and drizzled with orange vinaigrette; and,
  
• Doña Victorina, pork loin asado (dunno how that looks like though) simmered with hot cayenne and sweet peppers (the chili probably to pay homage to her hot temper, if I remember my Fil103 right).
  

But, uhh, I think someone should look this up in the dictionary. :)

Almost fooled me right there.

Now on to the food. Ria just had lunch and I had a somewhat heavy breakfast, so we opted to go light. (At least, I think I did.) :)

Ria ordered coffee to start things off. She's a coffee fiend and needed her daily dose. I adore their serving of coffee in white china, complete with the coffee pot and smaller pots for warm milk, which Ria swore, is surprisingly good because you can drink it by itself.

We ordered two salads because I couldn't choose. Bwahaha. Why choose if you can have both?

First served was their Fresh Seafood Mold (Php 145), a serving of shrimp bits, salmon chunks, and salmon slices in cream-cheesy dressing over crispy "romaine." The chef probably ran out of romaine though, so we had ours on top of cold cucumber circles.

Missing a cucumber on the fore. I'd've probably bit into it before I remembered to take a picture.

Wasn't really a bad deal, especially once we figured you had to spoon the seafood onto the cucumber and chew together, which provided for a unique mouth-feel experience. Otherwise, the lump would've tasted just like any mom's tuna sandwich mix. (Take note: It's "cream-cheesy"; not cream cheese. Two different things.) Just on the saucy side with the fish roe. Bwahahaha.

I enjoyed the Jardenero's Gourmet Plate (Php 110) far, far better. Ria and I had a blast dissecting the ingredients. The salad, so the menu says, is "a harvest from the backyard garden consists [sic] of various greens and petals - nutritious & medicinal - such as pako fern, pansit-pansitan, bonggavilla [sic again, isn't it bougainvilla? O, bongga!], cosmos, malunggay blossoms tossed in maple-red wine vinegar dressing." Faced with that, how could a curious mind not have a face-to-face, or in this case, face-to-mouth encounter?

This is just plain art. My salivary glands are responding.

Although reality could be a different thing. Don't get me wrong; I truly enjoyed eating pansit-pansitan (I used to "cook" this when my sister and I played house in our own backyard) and the orange blooms which I suspect are squash, although I can be mistaken on this. And the grapes, while not mentioned in that lengthy repertoire of greens, provide a crunchy tangy break to the leafy-ness of the salad. You just might get something not exactly what you ordered. Nevertheless, this is something I just knew I will go back for in the future.

For the "main" meal, Ria and I decided on getting the Arroz Valenciana (Php 220, good for three), a real feast of glutinous rice (malagkit, the sticky or starchy (delicious) kind) cooked in chicken broth mixed with chorizo, pork liver, chicken and shrimp.

I can't stop drooli--staring at this picture.

My mom does her own version, the so-called Poor Man's Paella, but Capitulo's version holds up. (And hey, if you want paella served na lang sans pawis-power, dito ka na.) There's probably no other way to describe it but yuuuummy (food critics all over the world are having heart attacks) and totally satisfies a quick paella craving. (I'm actually craving for a plate right now.)

It is reminiscent of my Tita Iding's famed Arroz Caldo, which my mom fortunately inherited and keeps safe from total oblivion. The rich, savory taste of chicken pleasantly meets the tongue through the equally rich rice (think of the calories later) and the squid and chorizo make for good company in the recesses of your yearning mouth. (How's that, Mr. Critic? Hmm, probably for Harlequin na 'to.)

The dish is good enough for three people to share if they ordered something else. But, as this can stand alone, it's probably good enough for two light eaters to share, or for a greedy one to keep to himself.

Of course, no meal is complete without dessert. I was thinking of getting a particular crepe, I forgot what it's fancifully called, but Ria turned my head into having buko pandan. And why not that, to totally complete the Tagalog experience?

Can pass for Snow White, eh?

This is probably the whitest buko pandan I've ever come face to face with. (And I knew when I'd blog about it, that would be the thing I'd say first.) No green gelatin here. It comes ala-mode, with a topping of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream and a sprinkling of pinipig. No big surprise here, except for its virginal color, but Ria and I agreed like we've never agreed before that the dessert could've been better had it been served chilled.

Including Ria's coffee fix, our total bill was in the vicinity of 600 bucks. No service charge. No parking fees. Just real food and the government's share in the meal. Totally not a bad deal. In any case, the quirky comfort rooms are a cute bonus. (Check it out while it's still in full, functional order.)

Just a warning in advance: Be prepared to wait for the food. Ria and I landed on site after lunch, around 2pm on their first week of opening so I guess things were running slow in the kitchen. Be patient and have friends around so you can chatter the minutes away until the food comes along.

Overall, considering the blah provincial restaurant scene, this is a 4 stars out of 5.

P.S. Capitulo III, as per my interview with the waiter, opens at 10am all days of the week and stays open until 10pm yata from Sunday until Thursday. Then they extend hours on Friday and Saturday and have bands playing in the house.

P.P.S. Food descriptions taken from Capitulo's menu. I don't want to be sued for infringing on copyrights if ever they do apply in this case.

P.P.P.S. Ria, this is for you. And for my other friends, please come and visit so I have an excuse to go back. I'm getting that crepe and will try the Paella Negra.