My High School Best Friend is going back to Dubai so our friends and I decided to have our mini reunion/despedida in a local café in Lipa City.
Trivia: Lipa City is known as “Little Rome of the Philippines” and “City of All Seasons” due to former Mayor, now batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto but, Lipa City is also known as “The Coffee Capital of the Philippines” known for their famous Kapeng Barako (a liberica coffee species).
One of my BFF, Racy suggested we try Candle Light Café. Owned by Morten and Marichu Carstensen, Candle Light Café has two locations in Lipa City: one is located at the Ground Floor of Big Ben and the other one is located in KM 80 President Laurel Highway, Marauoy. The café and shop is the owner’s creation out of love for coffee and candles. Initially, the cafe came from their personal need since they felt there is no place near home and work where someone can sit down in peace and quiet, read the newspaper and have a cup of Joe. Also, since they are manufacturing candles, they decided to merge the two and voila, Candle Light Café was born.
We decided to visit their branch in Big Ben since most of us will be coming from the city. Their location is so easy to find because when you enter big Ben, it is the first food stall in the building just in front of Mercury Drugstore. I believe this branch is smaller compared to the other one but I must say, the place is equally beautiful for it showcase candle products by Doc’s Candles and artworks by the owner, Ms. Marichu Carstensen who is also the founder of the Lipeño Youth Art Club. No wonder the place is full of beautiful art piece.
Since there were no other customers when we arrived, we decided to take the opportunity to take snapshots with the amazing artworks and displays.
This unique framed portrait paint like chair in the picture below is so beautiful, not sure if it was also Ms. Marichu’s masterpiece. (I think I want one for my future home)
Since there were no other customers when we arrived, we decided to take the opportunity to take snapshots with the amazing artworks and displays.
This unique framed portrait paint like chair in the picture below is so beautiful, not sure if it was also Ms. Marichu’s masterpiece. (I think I want one for my future home)
My best friend, Charlotte posing beside the shelf with various candle display by Doc’s Candles
Me with Racy, Charlotte and Afril doing our pose while my godson, Brent (Afril’s son) was taking pictures of us.
Since we are not yet hungry, I ordered a cheesecake bar for our appetizer which costs 12 PHP each. Too bad I wasn’t able to a close up picture but notice the plate on the left side of the picture below (the cheesecake bar is covered with a yellow wrapper). It was not too sweet, perfect for starters.
After our half an hour chit chat, we finally decided to order. Here is the menu for reference:
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| Credits to Candle Light Café |
We ordered green salad, pesto pasta, kandinsky fries and a pitcher of mango juice. We prefer not to order coffee but I will definitely try their coffees next time and update this review.
Kandinsky Fries
According to the menu, it’s probably the best fries in Lipa City and YES, I totally agree. Fries swimming in melted cheese, beef and onions and the best part is, the serving is huge, not bad for 150 PHP.
Pesto Tuna
Their pesto pasta is tomato based (sun dried to be exact) and not basil. Served with fish chunks and toasted bread, the pesto tuna is delicious,so delicious we asked for seconds. I just hope it comes in huge servings but other than that, the pesto is perfection.
Green Salad
The green salad is delicious but I feel it needs vinaigrette. Take note, this is not your ordinary salad, it comes with pandesal (local salt bread). The serving is huge, good for 2 people sharing.
We really enjoyed our first Candle Light Café experience plus their staff are really nice. Over all, I give Candle Light Café 9/10 rating. We will definitely comeback because of their food and their Big Ben location is not too crowded, perfect for those who want to somehow escape the noise of the city. It’s nice to know that Lipa City has a local café this good, more reasons to come home every know and then.
If you want to visit them either one of their branch or buy candles from them, you may contact them at:
Phone number: (043) 981 8005
Email address: mortencarstensen!@gmail.com
Candle Light Café’s Facebook Page: https://web.facebook.com/candlelightcafe
Doc’s Candles’ Facebook Page: https://web.facebook.com/docscandlesphils
If you want to visit them either one of their branch or buy candles from them, you may contact them at:
Phone number: (043) 981 8005
Email address: mortencarstensen!@gmail.com
Candle Light Café’s Facebook Page: https://web.facebook.com/candlelightcafe
Doc’s Candles’ Facebook Page: https://web.facebook.com/docscandlesphils
