Location: Liliw, Laguna, Philippines
Note: This is a part of my 2-day Pandin-Yambu twin-lake tour, Liliw shopping spree and food trip, attending holy mass at Liliw Church, overnight at Liliw Resort, religious visit to Nagcarlan Church and historic tour to Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery.
Liliw, which is a fourth class municipality in the province of Laguna is not only famous for its foot wears production but also for its cold water spring resorts and native homemade sweets. It is 17 kilometers away from Santa Cruz, Laguna's capital. I have visited this place for four times already and I like its cooler climate maybe because it is situated at the foot of Mount Banahaw. Its climate is like its neighboring town, Lucban.
And not only that, the town also grows fruits and vegetables where they sell it at cheaper prices. There are marangs, lansones, "pako" and many other fruits and vegetables.
Liliw, like Lucban, has narrow roads but one thing that you will notice is one stretch of street where it has footwear stores of all kinds. You can buy them at cheaper prices.
In my humble opinion, Liliw has more shoe and footwear stores compared to Marikina. Talking to a few owners, I was told that they are also exporting their footwear products. The reason their products are cheaper because they are of factory prices.
Like any other major tourist destination, Liliw has also some souvenir shops which sells like t-shirts, key holders, mugs, hats, wallets, kids apparels, accessories, plates, toys and many others.
The possibilities of buying a lot of pasalubong items in Liliw at very attractive price is just endless. You can have these souvenirs printed by your name or the name of the receiver to make it personalize in a very minimal cost.
Liliw is not a big town and these shoe and footwear street are just near its municipal hall and also its very old and historic church. Vendors of street food and fruits are everywhere and guests and tourists can have their own choice.
You might have run out of cash while in endless shopping in Liliw but there is no problem, there is an ATM station here of the Quezon Capital Rural Bank (QCRB) which is located along Gat Tayaw Street of Poblacion to withdraw cash. Of course, if you want your family to send you money, the Cebuana Lhuillier is just across Badong's Footwear Shop.
Aside from the endless food vendors, you may want to eat regular meals and just a few steps from Badong and adjacent to it is the Liliw Fastfood. I can't forget their crispy chicken. So yummy!!!! Meals here are affordable and will not even be more then P100. This is a famous fastfood of the Lola Anda where shoppers and visitors flock to dine in.
Another food craving destination that you should not miss in Liliw is the Arabela. They serve a variety of cakes, pastries and coffee --- these are delightful cravings that Arabela can offer you with a guaranteed satisfaction. Their store opens at 11:15 A.M. and closes at 7:00 P.M. If you have not dined here, then you miss a lot about Liliw. The owner of this shop is the uncle of of the owner of White House Bistro which is just almost adjacent to it.
The White House Bistro Experience
Dining at the White House Pavilion in Liliw was the best of my delectable experience and the ambiance was just to soothing. Very relaxing and welcoming with the couple owner hands-on in entertaining their guests not to mention with their very accommodating staff. This is the very reason why I am featuring here this restaurant.
I had the chance to chat with the owner where she narrated that the house was a former ancestral built in 1938 one converted into a restaurant by 2000s. It is an authentic Japanese Restaurant located along Gat-tayaw Street of Poblacion of Liliw. If you want to reserve for a slot for some functions there, don't hesitate to contact them at 0917 532 8075.
This restaurant is normally closed during Mondays and has operating hours of 8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. from Tuesdays to Fridays. However, it varies during weekends and holidays.
The following pictures were taken just to give you an idea how it looks like inside. Its interior design is very much of Hispanic and Filipino culture. Join me to peep inside it . . .
Our group of four who toured Liliw in the name of Judy Aguinaldo, Jessie Gines, Hara Yukiko (a Japanese friend) and I had been shopping separately in Liliw since we vary in interest and inclination. We did the shopping at 3PM and I even attended the holy mass at Liliw Cathedral or the so famous Saint John the Baptist Parish Church. Prior to that, we agreed to meet 6:00 PM in one place and surprisingly, we were pointing at one venue, the White House Bistro. Earlier at 3:30 P.M. then, I had been at White House Pavilion to take some photos for this blog but I did not suggest to the group to have a dinner here.
The gorgeous couple owners in the name of Christian Villegas Polistico and Marianne Polistico, were so accommodating. In fact, we had the chance to chat with them while we were having our dinner. Christian serves as the Head Chef. As per our experience, we highly recommend the tourists in Liliw to dine here with a price worth it.
According to Marianne, the present structure was a Polistico ancestral house since 1938. They converted it as resto bar in May 2015. For reservation, you can contact Marianne at 09175328075
Their array of menu are as follows:
FILIPINO CUISINE
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