This lumpia has strips of coconut and cheese
Lumpia is a Filipino favorite especially at parties. A handaan is not complete without the savory and crunchy lumpia. This holiday season, expect piles of lumpia on the buffet table.
This fried roll comes in different types--the shanghai, sariwa, gulay, togue, ubod, etc. Aside from the classics, Filipinos continue to innovate and give this Pinoy dish a twist. One cafe based in Nueva Ecija serves a veggie lumpia with a filling made with vegetables, ham, coconut meat, and cheese. This unconventional lumpia is the cafe's best seller.
According to Caffe La Tea (also known as CLT Cafe) founder Happy Bonifacio, this lumpia dish is a family heirloom recipe. Her family originally used all vegetables, coconut, and cheese in the recipe but the dish her cafe now serves has ham in it.
“The recipe has evolved. The old recipe from my lola is pure vegetable but with the younger generation that doesn't eat vegetables, we had to incorporate something,” she explained during the opening of their new branch in Robinsons Gapan.
The lumpia is a favorite of the coffee shop's patrons. The coconut meat adds sweetness to the filling while the cheese adds creaminess to the fried roll. And like any lumpia, it has that satisfying crunchy bite. It is also served with spiced vinegar, which cuts the richness and balances the flavor of the lumpia.
CLT Cafe was founded in 2012 in Cabanatuan City by Happy and her sister and friends. They wanted a hang out place where they can drink coffee and also eat good food.
“We were the first full service cafe in the city. The brand was founded by my mom, her sister, and their friends. When my mom was working as a mall manager before, when her friends wanted to go out for coffee, they didn't have a place to go to. When they go out it's also dinner time so they want to have coffee and eat as well. There were coffee shops but they didn't serve food so they decided to open a cafe,” shared CLT Cafe president and CEO Mark Bonifacio.
Aside from the Buko Cheese Lumpia, the cafe also serves Crispy Binagoongan Rice and several pasta dishes like pesto, truffle, and gambas. The shop also sources its coffee beans locally, from Benguet and serves them in a variety of ways like latte, americano, mocha, affogato, and more.
A mall open to local businesses
CLT Cafe is one of numerous local businesses that have opened shops in the newly opened Robinsons Gapan. There's Twinkle, a wellness spa that offers massage and nail care services, founded by a local businesswoman from Cabanatuan City.
This mall chain is known for opening its doors to local businesses. Several regional malls around the country also house local stores. As its 54th mall in the country, this new commercial center in Gapan is no different from the other branches when it comes to supporting local brands.
Two popular bakeshop-restaurants have also opened in the modern mall. One is NE Bakeshop, located at the entrance of the mall's supermarket. It's a popular bakery based in Cabanatuan City that sells various baked goods like ube cheese rolls, ensaymada, and siopao.
Another homegrown favorite is Edna's Cakeland, a bakeshop that sells delicious cakes and pastries like cheesecake, red velvet cake, adobo and asado rolls, ensaymada, among others.
The mall aims to bring big-named brands to Gapan but at the same time familiar favorites in the province.
The Gapan branch is Robinsons Malls' 12th mall in Northern Luzon and second in Nueva Ecija. During the opening, mall goers were treated to performances by actress and singer Maymay Entrata, rapper and content creator DJ Loonyo, and rock band Mayonnaise.
Like most of its malls around the country, this new branch brings several international and local shops to Gapan, also known as the “Footwear Capital of the North.” The mall chain brings in its in-house brands like the Department Store, Robinson Appliances, Supermarket, No Brand, Daiso, Handyman, Toys R Us, Movieworld, Pet Lovers Centre, and Southstar Drug.
The new mall also houses big-named brands like Levi's, Bench, Penshoppe, Regatta, Oxygen, Forme, Macbeth, and Red Dot. Several food shops are also opening shops in the mall like Gerry's Grill, Botejyu, Conti's, Classic Savory, Hap Chan, Bo's Coffee, just to name a few.
MEANWHILE, CHECK OUT THESE HOLIDAY DISPLAYS AROUND THE METRO WHERE YOU CAN SPEND THE REST OF YOUR HOLIDAYS.
