Cordillera High

A trip to U.P. never fails to give me my fill of little pleasures. There are college memories to go back to all the time and, on some occasions, a few surprises along the way, surprises that mean more reasons to come back again and again.

Yesterday, that surprise was Cordillera Coffee, a laid back al fresco cafe by the side of Vargas, shielded from the afternoon sun by the museum's walls and pleasantly cooled by tall age-old trees standing close by. The backdrop of greens was picture perfect. But where was my camera? My three-year old daughter Indie posed and posed anyway. My Nokia was no different from my Nikon as far as she was concerned. The staff was clearly amused.

I must admit we grown-ups got carried away as well. The pictures had the feel of Baguio so what the heck! Like Indie, we smiled and smiled at the camera or my phone rather for more than 10 minutes. The desserts could wait. We just had Fruits in Ice Cream from a stall in SC (that's Shopping Center) after all.

Then it was time to order. Everything on display looked tempting and promising. I had the feeling the taste would live up to the presentation so I just had to have some, diet or no diet. My husband Nubs and I took no time choosing. It was the unusual but interesting Orange Poppy Seed Cake for us.

It was soft and the fluff was just right. The orange flavor was distinct, sweet with a mild delicious hint of citrus-ness. Eating the candied orange slice on top was hands down the best part, the icing on the cake I'd say. I loved it! So did Nubs. So much so that by the time my sister Gert and her friend Inah, who both had a hard time deciding what to try, came back to our table our cake was gone save for a few bits.

The girls got the Blackout Cake for themselves which was actually dark chocolate cake. The appearance was typical of its kind so I assumed it would be just as mediocre in the mouth. And was I wrong!

It was rich but not intoxicatingly so. Its sweetness was tempered by the slightly bitter flavor of dark chocolate. There are chocolate cakes that are so decadent one has to take quick gulps of coffee after every bite or simply set it side because one couldn't take too much in one go. These, believe me, won't happen with Blackout.

The girls had coffee with their desserts. Gert found it okay, not so bad, not so good. But hey, that was "coffee for a cause" so what could be better than helping extend a hand to the farmers who grew the beans? I thought it was cool and grand at the same time. Too bad my neurocirculatory asthenia wouldn't even allow me a single cup.

Nubs read the papers between sips of tea. The two girlfriends exchanged chikas. Indie and I took a walk. The air was lovely. The afterrnoon slipped by without us noticing. Time seemed to have stopped for a while there and we all forgot about the things that we all had to do. It was like being transported to another place where the steady hum of the city felt remote and far away, where the minutes and the hours seemed to linger, oblivious to the day's passing.

Cordillera proved true to its name.