A quiet escape to Caba Garden Café
Surroundings can elevate a meal. When you’re dining under open blue skies, with the sound of rustling leaves and just the right breeze, even great food tastes better. That’s exactly what Caba Garden Café, a cozy gem tucked away in San Pedro, Laguna, offers those looking for a quick and refreshing break from city life.
Metro Manila has no shortage of excellent restaurants. The local food scene continues to thrive, with concept dining and culinary pop-ups pushing the envelope. But sometimes, we crave more than just a good menu. After a while, dim lights and cramped interiors with stucco walls can dull the appetite.
So we packed up and headed south, taking the Kia EV6, the brand’s all-electric crossover, on a weekend escape. The pairing of a sleek, responsive (read: fast) car with the pursuit of a slower, quieter afternoon wasn’t lost on us. In fact, it made perfect sense.
Garden calm and Filipino comfort
Caba Garden Café feels like a well-kept secret. Just an hour or so from Manila, it opens up into a peaceful, tree-lined haven overlooking the fairways of the Hallow Ridge Golf Club. Only recently have they begun welcoming walk-in guests, but I was told weekends can get quite busy. A reservation is definitely a good idea.
Their menu leans into Filipino comfort classics, and all are definitely hearty. We ordered the crispy bagnet kare-kare (P550), chicken satay with bagoong rice (P450), and capped it off with their ube halo-halo (P190, solo; P360, family).
Everything is made for sharing, and somehow made better by the open-air, garden setting.
While the restaurant is Instagrammable in its own right, it’s the manicured lawns and sweeping, scenic landscape that truly draw in those looking to elevate their social media feeds.
The drive that completes it
Of course, getting there was part of the charm. The Kia EV6 offers a smooth and enjoyable driving experience.
Stepping inside feels less like entering a vehicle and more like entering a well-designed space. The driver’s seat glides into position, the dual curved display gently wraps around your line of vision, and the rotary dial gear selector clicks with satisfying precision. It’s part spaceship, part sports car. More importantly, everything is completely intuitive.
Being an electric car, it drives silently and confidently agile. It handled the winding roads and steep inclines on the way to Caba with ease. The instant torque from its electric motor gives it an almost intuitive feel. We left with just 60% charge, took a few scenic detours, and made it back with energy to spare. No range anxiety. Just clean, calm cruising.
What surprised us most about the EV6 wasn’t just how effortlessly it handled. It was how it made us feel.
There’s something deeply reassuring about knowing you're emitting less, consuming less, and contributing to a cleaner future. All without giving up performance, comfort, and style.
Space to breathe
Caba reminded us that sometimes, you don’t have to go far to feel far away. Paired with a car that leaves no fumes, no noise, and no guilt, it made for a genuinely grounding afternoon. One of those slow, quiet days we all need more of, and one we’re already planning to repeat.
Disclaimer: The electric car was lent by Kia.