PALOMPON, LEYTE | CAFÉ UMBERTO
For
two hours of travel time from Tacloban City via a private vehicle to Palompon,
the dirt road presented no signs of fancy commercial establishments. It’s not that we’re expecting some but the
imposing rural landscape of vast rice fields, plowing farmers, water buffaloes (carabaos) in aid and aligned coconut
trees on the side streets became a constant reminder that we are in the rural
area.
Nearly
ten in the evening, we passed by a plaza that sits in the middle of the town and
where locals and visitors alike dine on monobloc
chairs and tables; smoke from grillers hovers the vicinity. It was a scene that we expected - hawker
stalls of barbeque in a rural
setting. But we moved for indoors.
Surprisingly,
there is an Italian restaurant at Palompon, Leyte and it comes by the name of
Café Umberto. There we settled for our
first dinner on this part of the province.
Pasta,
pizza, panini, sweets, espresso,
sandwiches, ribs and steaks. These are
the staples. And I still opted for
chicken barbeque with rice.
Understaffed
yet still manageable, our orders just came in time. Nevertheless, it would be advisable to
increase manning to be able to attend to the increasing number of customers
especially that Palompon, Leyte is gaining popularity as a tourist destination.
Brightly
colored graffiti and interiors like any ideal coffee shop makes up this Italian
Restaurant. Though Italian by choices
offered, cuisine is definitely prepared their own version.
How
about the cost? It costs cheap actually,
that with the varied dish that each one in a group of 7 had, it only costs a
thousand pesos. Serving size is medium
and can be good for sharing. Others may
say the cost is quite high for a provincial rate’s meal but this is incomparable,
being an Italian cuisine.
Café
Umberto is highly recommended for visitors who wants to splurge a bit while in
the rural areas or for those who find comfort food on western cuisine.
We
left the café contented necessarily giving us a good night sleep.
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