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.
