Sweet Greens Garden Cafe: The Pride of Negros Occidental

Lacson Street is one of Bacolod's two main roads. Along that path are the Negrense capital's most prominent landmarks including the Negros Showroom and the Provincial Capitol Park & Lagoon. Then there's Sweet Greens Garden Cafe, a haven of Bacolod cuisine and Negros Occidental delicacies not to be missed if you find yourself in Bacolod.Co-owned by Tima Lacson and Millie Kilayko, Sweet Greens initially started as an actual garden, a horticulture business that eventually grew to include ceramics and other ornamentals. The cafe was originally meant to be a support facility of the garden but both ladies didn't foresee its resounding popularity.A small group of TV and print media people was recently invited to sample some of their specialties. It was a fine, cool March night, perfect for sampling cuisine amidst a backdrop replete with plants and flowers.We were first served their lumpia or spring rolls with glasses of fruit punch. According to "Foods of the World," lumpia was borne of gambling tables, an unusual provenance any way you look at it. Strongly superstitious that luck changes if anyone gets up from the gambling table, gamblers thought of coming up with something filling enough to nibble on without having to hedge their bets, so to speak, by leaving the table. Spring rolls fit the bill-easy-to-eat, unfussy, and fairly substantial.Sweet Greens Garden Café's rendition of the spring roll, said co-owner Tima Lacson, uses heart of palm or "ubod," with a special recipe to make this gambler's delight uniquely theirs and uniquely delicious. True enough, we picked a few more lumpias after consuming our first roll.The punch was the perfect complement, as Sweet Greens' version of a blend of tropical fruits included a good splash of white rum, fermented from Negrense sugarcanes. We were still in appetizer mode when co-owner Millie announced that dinner was ready.And what a dinner it was. We were served binacol, a soup generous with chicken, herbs, vegetables, spices and lemongrass. Sweet Greens' recipe was handed down from Celsa Lizares-Kilayko, Millie's grandmother, who used fresh bamboo to cook the soup, giving it a distinct flavor.The shrimp balls we were served came with a dipping sauce of mixed spices. The heavenly sardines originated from Daniel Lacson, cousin of former Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson. The recipe calls for pressure-cooking the fish in olive oil, liquor and spices. The Arroz Valenciana a dish often served during special occasions, was another special treat. Like all arroz (or rice) dishes, a few mouthfuls go a long way.Our night didn't end there, as both Tima and Millie encouraged us to learn how to make a piaya. This is arguably Negros' most popular delicacy, a flat piece of bread stuffed with a sweet filling.Making one isn't hard at all. A medium-sized ball of dough is first flattened with both palms and then a filling is inserted in a center opening and then sealed. Next, it's dunked in a platter of sesame seeds. Finally, a rolling pin is used to flatten it some more before it's slapped on what looks like a crepe pan, sans oil or lard or butter. Patience isn't needed here, as it only takes about 10 minutes for the piaya to be ready.There are plenty of available fillings for the piaya. Mango is popular and so is banana. For us beginners in the art of making piaya, our hosts provided us with muscovado, a dark brown sugar. They said that other fillings require a few more procedures that are way past simple skills.So next time you're in Bacolod, don't forego the chicken inasal. But don't forget to try out other yummies as well. Sweet Greens did just that for us.