February 8, 2012

Meandering

entrance to Patis Tito Garden Café
Patis Tito Garden Café is located in the City of San Pablo in the province of Laguna, about 85 kilometers away from Manila.
 

main dining room of Patis Tito Garden Café
Featuring Filipino cuisine in an al fresco garden setting, the main dining room is one large covered patio with coconut tree trunk pillars supporting a high ceiling. Many of the wood cutout details are made by local artisans, and the room is full of a wonderfully eclectic mixture of Filipino and Asian furniture, crafts and art.
 

portraits of Patis and Tito Tesoro in the main dining room of Patis Tito Garden Café
The café is owned by Patis and Tito Tesoro, whose portraits adorn one wall of the dining room. Patis is a well-known fashion designer who specializes in Filipino formal wear using fabrics from natural and handwoven fiber. She was in the café when we had lunch there on Saturday, and she came up to us to introduce herself and chat a bit, but I was too shy to ask for a picture. The rest of the time, she spent puttering around her garden.
 

patio just off the main dining room of Patis Tito Garden Café
Just off the main dining area is an intimate patio with garden furniture and a stone sculpture of an Asian goddess.
 

whimsical pond-themed fountain at Patis Tito Garden Café
At the foot of the statue is a whimsical pond-themed fountain. I'm glad the water wasn't running, else we might not have seen the koi and lotus.
 

entrance to the garden from the dining area of Patis Tito Garden Café
How can one resist a stroll through the garden when the entrance beckons so beguilingly from the dining area?
 

garden paths at Patis Tito Garden Café
The meandering paths are an invitation to lose oneself in the gardens of Patis Tito Garden Café.
 

moss-covered statue at Patis Tito Garden Café
More Asian stone statues can be discovered in the garden. I especially love this moss-covered one.
 

rooster mosaic on the floor of Patis Tito Garden Café
When walking around Patis Tito Garden Café, it is important to look down too. The fine feather details of this rooster mosaic is just amazing.
 

silver pheasant at Patis Tito Garden Café
Tito and Patis Tesoro are bird lovers too, and the garden has plenty of large cages with a variety of tropical birds. They had several kinds of pheasant, which I'd never seen before, and I found the bold, graphic coloring of this silver pheasant particularly striking.
 

house with woodcut details at Patis Tito Garden Café
There are several buildings at the back of the garden which are off-limits to guests. Some are obviously storage and work rooms, but this lovely house with woodcut details is probably the apartment of some of the Tesoro's live-in staff.
 

store and Tito and Patis Tesoro's apartment at Patis Tito Garden Café
Tito and Patis Tesoro also have their own apartment within the compound, in a house built in a traditional Filipino architectural style. The main living quarters are on the second floor, and the first floor serves as a storage area and provides much-needed air circulation in this tropical country. The first floor is now a store which sells Asian and Filipino jewelry, fabrics and one-of-a-kind treasures.

And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the food—it's the reason why we went to Patis Tito Garden Café, after all. Come back tomorrow for a vision (wish I could say "taste" instead!) of our delectable meal.

6 comments:

 gmirage said...

So glad to see you back! Lovely and classic place...hope to get a view of this too...we're not too far.

http://www.viennadailyfotos.com/2012/02/wednesday-windows-4-cottage-window.html

Anonymous said...

A place close to poetry.

Please have you all a good Wednesday.

Oakland Daily Photo said...

Hope you'll show us photos of the store too. Would love to see the jewelry and fabrics.

Olivier said...

c'est un endroit magnifique, un vrai paradis sur terre

Cezar and Léia said...

Dear Hilda,
It's a wonderful and charming place, your pictures are great, thanks for sharing!
I love the close of that fountain, it's wonderful!
Hugs
Léia

Lowell said...

One could spend several days just wandering about in the lushness drinking in all the beauty and taking photos, of course!

Thanks for sharing these pictures - they make me want to hop on a plane and visit the Patis Tito Garden Cafe and the gardens...