Calauan: Home of the Sweetest Pineapple

We all felt spent the next morning after a walkatour of our adoptive city during the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle/Sampaguita Festival. It was a Sunday, and we just wanted to stay at home the whole day doing nothing. However, when preggy Yeyette suddenly craved for some guinataán cuisine served in a rural setting, we all regained our strength and excitement. She and I both thought of only one place near that is capable of serving such meals in a refreshing backdrop. And that's none other than Iskargu in Calauan! As for our kids, it's travel time once again!

One might think that Iskargu is a Tagalized form for escargot, a dish of cooked land snails. However —and quite humorously—, the name of this restaurant is a portmanteau of ISdâ (fish), KARne (meat), and GUlay (vegetables). If you think that this establishment was creatively named, wait till you get inside and see the awesomeness of its interiors!

The trip to Calauan from our place was just about an hour: a 30-minute jeepney ride to Calambâ, and from there, another 30-minute bus ride to Calauan (via buses going to Santa Cruz). Vehicular traffic was surprisingly light everywhere, even in Los Baños (or maybe because it was a Sunday?). That's why we arrived just in time for lunch. We were thankful that our favorite spot in Iskargu was not taken...

And this, my friends, is our favorite spot in Iskargu!

It was just our second time in Iskargu. The first was the day right after Momay's ninth birthday last year. We immediately fell in love with the ambiance! Iskargu is an avant-garde restaurant somewhat similar to a bahay cubo, but with creatively designed interiors: an innovative mix of modern and traditional materials and decors. All around the restaurant is a relaxing view of vast green rice fields. Behind it are the mountains of Atimla and Calisuñgan (spelled as Kalisungan nowadays). And to top it all: excellent and mouth-watering Filipino comfort food! Of course Yeyette got what she wanted!

Our fare: guinataáng tilapià, guinataáng cohól, guinataáng calabáo, and calderetang cambíng. We downed them with fresh buco juice with meaty strips of coconut meat. Sometimes, you gotta love pregnancy cravings.

The soothing vista of the mountains of Atimla (left) and Calisuñgan (right) are in full view as we enjoyed our lunch from our favorite table. Only a verdant field separates us from the two peaks. I hope to climb both someday with my wife and kids. Seriously.

We stayed for another hour in Iskargu right after lunch, just enjoying the cold breeze of amihan coming from the rice fields. The boys were so excited with the greenery surrounding the restaurant. Krystal was busy elsewhere reading some magazines and checking the place around. Yes, there's more to see in Iskargu than its deliciously cooked food! As for me and Yeyette, we still got to do what we had initially planned — do nothing. =)

It was a cold afternoon! Not just windy but downright cold, making that impromptu visit more memorable and satisfying!

Juanito insisted that I take his photo underneath those hanging white flowers. He's starting to be like his mom: a photo addict!

Right after a relaxing stay in Iskargu, we proceeded to the town proper, about 30 minutes away from the restaurant. We went to the población (town proper) not just for a walkatour but to hunt for pineapples, Calauan's specialty fruit.

Walking along Calle M. Roxas vda. de Soriano. This street was named after the granddaughter of one of Calauan's founders: Iñigo de Azaola.

Behind Momay, Juanito, and Jefe is a town landmark: the giant pineapple cement sculpture standing at the center of the town plaza. This serves as a homage to Calauan's sweet sobriquet — "Home of the Sweetest Pineapple".

Dark, foreboding skies over the town church. But it never rained that day, just a slight drizzle (with a very cold air).

Iglesia de San Isidro Labrador.

Afternoon Mass.

Juanito and Yeyette in front of the municipal hall.

At the Calauan-San Pablo Highway just beside the town church are some stalls selling freshly picked pineapples.

Maybe it's just us, but the pineapples of Calauan are surprisingly sweet, much sweeter than the average pineapples that are sold elsewhere. Usually, this fruit has a strong sweet-sour flavor. But in Calauan, the pineapples are generally sweet, without the itchy aftertaste. For this unique quality of the fruit's flavor, Calauan earned the coveted monicker "Home of the Sweetest Pineapple".

Momay and her Ate Krystal are thrilled with their pineapples!

Looking for the best.

But why is this municipality called Calauan instead of, say, "Piñahan", "Las Piñas", or anything close to its major agricultural produce? What's in a name?

Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, early Tagalog settlers already referred to this place as "macalauang" meaning "rusty" because of a spring* whose waters covered its rocks with rust-colored deposits. This implies that the spring waters have "iron bacteria". Others posit that the spring water came into contact with naturally occurring minerals underneath the ground as a result of ancient volcanic activity. The second theory could be more acceptable because of Monte Maquiling's proximity to Calauan.

About a decade after the Spaniards arrived, the conquistadores established a settlement around the site of the springs in what is now called Barrio Mabacan. At the onset, it was called Hacienda Macalauan, a 7,000-hectare property given to the cultivation of export crops (probably including pineapples). But it was only in 1860 when the parish of San Isidro Labrador y San Roque —Saint Isidore the Laborer and Saint Roch— was established upon the erection of the first town church. However, for still unknown reasons, the church was relocated to the present town center in 1925, on a land donated by Andrés Soriano y Roxas (the same guy who once led the precursor to today's San Miguel Corporation). And the original church? It's now in ruins, its surroundings now embraced by an eerie forest. And the new church now bears only San Isidro as its titular patron. I have no idea why San Roque was left out. Nevertheless, his image has a special niche at the church's main altar.

Speaking of Soriano, his clan and Calauan go way back. This all began with a creole ancestor of his: Domingo Roxas y Ureta. Together with Frenchman M. Vidie and Spaniard Iñigo de Azaola, Roxas managed one of Luzón's leading plantations during the Spanish times. And it was probably the only hacienda in La Laguna that was privately owned (other haciendas in the province were managed by Spanish friars). In 1939, Margarita Roxas y Ayala vda. de Soriano, a granddaughter of Azaola and the widow of Spanish engineer Eduardo Soriano y Sanz, subdivided the hacienda and sold it to their tenants. To honor this gesture and other philanthropic activities of the Sorianos, at least two roadways were named after prominent family members: Calle M. Roxas vda. de Soriano and Calle Andrés Soriano, named after Margarita's son. The first is very short, just beside the town church. But the latter is a scenic one which leads to the backwoods and picturesque farms of Calauan.

Calle Andrés Soriano.

Incidentally, Hacienda Macalauan Incorporated, a Soriano-owned property and business, is situated at the scenic Calle Andrés Soriano. The beautifully landscaped property is dedicated to dairy farming and the selling and breeding of imported cows (particularly Holstein Friesian). They are also the producers of our favorite milk drink.

After our walkatour of the town proper, we proceeded to Hacienda Macalauan. I once had the privilege of visiting it two years ago. I thought of brining my family there to cap off our tour of Calauan. Unfortunately, when we got there, the guard told us that they do not accept visitors on Sundays. We might as well go back there some other time.

Oh, well. Might as well enjoy the place.

Waiting for the darned cow to run after us. It would have been a fun run if it happened!

We're going somewhere over the rainbow.

By the way, just in case you're wondering where and how this "rusty spring" that I was talking about earlier looks like today, then click here (but hold your breaths first!). And to view all the photos of our impromptu trip to Calauan, click here.

See you on our next viaje! ¡Hasta la vista! =)