It’s my first time to join Ipe on an Easter Vigil since I used to do this activity with my mom. But since my parents are busy with the campaign (no, they’re not running; my uncle is though), I decided to tag along at the Edsa Shrine.

Luckily, the vigil continued on to the procession and the Salubong, or Jesus and Mary’s first meeting after the Resurrection. Usually, the vigil concludes shortly after midnight, with the Salubong starting at around 5am. It’s the first time I attended a vigil/salubong in one; a good idea actually, since a lot of people don’t get to wake up early enough on Easter Sunday to go to the Salubong.

Bottom: fireworks mark the celebration of Easter

The long wait (got there at 7pm for the 9pm service), the long mass (took 2.5 hours even though they advertised it would be shortened to 1hour) and the procession took its toll and by 12:30, we were famished. Ipe was for settling into Rufo’s at Shaw but Sir Lito preferred Cafe Adriatico all the way at Malate so had to give in. 😛

Had the soup and adobo. Ipe was gushing about this adobo but I didn’t really find anything extraordinary about it. It was a bit bland and dry for my taste. The soup was nothing fancy either. But I did love the hot chocolate which reminded me of Vigan.

The cafe serves other types of food and prices are pretty average. I believe it’s actually the first cafe in the country which is why it has a lot of loyal fans. Y

A word of warning though – on our way home, we noticed a couple of thugs hanging around near atms, most of them with several balisongs tucked on the waistband of their shorts. So, if you’re planning to come here, better take a car and park near the establishment you are visiting. And don’t ever ever go to the atm, even with companions. Those thugs look armed to kill. I for one, would not want to go there again after seeing them.