LILIW: In the Land of Tsinelas!

Because it was only 15 minutes away from Nagcarlan, and we still have some time left of our Halloween "escapade", we decided to expand and visit Liliw, the "Land of Footwear" in the south. :) One thing I've noticed is that the houses and buildings in Liliw only occupies about 100sq m each of land. My friend said that this is because the town's land area is small, and to maximize space, houses and buildings are usually 2-3 storeys high. One would also notice the uphill slope when walking towards the St. John the Baptist church, so therefore I conclude the town of Liliw is on a hill :P

Tsinelas logo/replica of some shops

You'll never miss the place where they sell footwear, because it's one of the main roads of the town where the jeepney passes by, and several shops on either side of the road line the street. This is also the street where the Municipal Hall and the Catholic church is located.

Gat Tayaw Street lined with Footwear shops on either side

One could just trek by foot and be overwhelmed by so many footwear to choose from: tsinelas, sandals, pumps, shoes. You name it, they got it, and all are made locally with local materials. Price ranges from 100-300 per pair.

Friends say this is the most popular brand

And of course one could not miss the Catholic church, that is the St. John the Baptist church. It is known for its red-bricked baroque style architecture and elegant facade. 

St. John the Baptist

Arched gateway of the church

The town is also known for its mouth-watering uraro pastries and other candies. You can also find these along Gat Tayaw St. We bought our pasalubong for 3 packs/Php100 only. On tasting the pastries they were tasty, unlike those commercially sold in Manila :) so it's worth a try.

Uraro and Polvoron

And because I was so lightheaded from hunger and thirst, we asked one of my friend's friend (who is working in Liliw) where could be the best place to satisfy our bellies, so she recommended Arabela.  It was a quaint shop, with colorful pastels and lighting inside. The second thing you'll notice is that the ceiling is low, and you can see one of the tall waiters stooping. The shop is open from 11:15am until 7:00pm. They are closed on Mondays and open on holidays. The shop gets packed on lunchtime and even on the afternoon.

Store front

Since it was already 4pm, we ordered snack food: pasta and pizza. They also serve lunch, but I forgot their selections. Hehe. On their pizza menu their bestsellers are the Deluxe and Kesong Puti flavors, so I ordered Deluxe. It was a thin-crust pizza and had a passable flavor (meaning not that great and not bland either). And a piece of advice: try to mix the sauce well with the pasta so you'll have a most satisfying meal all throughout. 

One thing I didn't like from my eating experience here was some of the waiters were not that courteous (or friendly?), and the pasta plates had some sauce stains both on the inside and outside of the plates (well sorry for being strict, but we are paying good money here and even presentation should be worth it ^_^.. )

Service water with orange slices

Carbonara (yum!)

Baked ziti (yum!) :)

Beefy Lasagna (yes it tastes just like beef!) This was the least favorite.

Deluxe pizza (ok!)

Display of brownies (Php15/pc)

Cakes display

ARABELA

503 Rizal St.

Liliw, Laguna

Tel. No. (049) 563-24-95

HOW TO GET THERE

From Nagcarlan, ride a Liliw-bound jeepney (fare Php8). The first road that the jeepney turns to is the Gat Tayaw St. where several footwear shops are located. To locate Arabela, just look for Badong footwear, beside it there's an alley which will take you to the other main street. Arabela is located in front of the Generics pharmacy.