While travel time to Baguio in the north has been shortened considerably with the opening of three expressways, pit stops are still important for motorists.
In these oases, they can stretch their legs, take a leak or stave off hunger.
These stopovers also have convenience stores where one can stock up on last-minute necessities like soft drinks, ice, bottled water, chips and toiletries.
Frequent travelers have their favorite pit stops based mainly on the choice of restaurants or the cleanliness of the public toilets.
If you take the Mindanao Avenue exit, the first you will see is the Petron North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) northbound (Marilao) stopover followed by Shell Select, Total and Petron Lakeshore—the last is in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Clean toilets
Shell Select is the biggest and perhaps the one with the most well-maintained toilets located at the back just across Lutong Bahay, a two-story restaurant serving Filipino food.
On a recent trip to Baguio, we stopped at Shell Select and were glad to see a clean and recently mopped floor, working toilets and running water. The urinals were also spotless.
Once you enter the NLEX that connects to Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and the Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEX), there are no more pit stops except for the rank toilets located next to the tollgates.
S.O.U.L. Café
The TPLEX ends in Binalonan in Pangasinan. Once completed, it will skip Binalonan, Pozorrubio and Sison, bringing motorists closer to the foot of Kennon Road.
We had lunch at S.O.U.L. (Spice of Urban Life) Café in La Union and were delighted with the food that was tasty and unpretentious.
A huge Bonuan bangus is butterflied, fried, topped with a generous amount of golden garlic and placed on a sizzling plate.
The Sinigang na Malaga is presented in soup tureen with lots of plump, skinless tomatoes, greens and siling haba.
Breakfast is served all day with favorites including longsilog and even a Dr. Seuss-inspired one consisting of (pesto) green eggs and ham.
Each breakfast meal comes with a choice of coffee, iced tea or native chocolate served in a demitasse.
The restaurant is nondescript with only a huge sign above the door to identify it. Inside, the walls are painted with fanciful vines and one side has various pasalubong for sale like civet cat coffee, sukang Iloco and jams.
There is a second floor with low tables where one can eat while seated on woven mats. The toilets are clean and well-maintained. On the walls are artistic depictions of flowering ipil-ipil trees that mimic the view outside the window.
The restaurant has been open for well over a decade and continues to draw motorists who want a good meal before heading up to Baguio. Our bill for five adults was a reasonable P1,500.
Leeza’s Restaurant
Another popular eatery is Leeza’s Restaurant on the right side of the northbound highway in Sison, Pangasinan. It’s so popular, it recently opened an “annex” across the street serving the same clean turo-turo fare.
The fish dishes, grilled catfish and paksiw na ulo ng bangus (stewed milkfish), were delicious and inexpensive. A whole grilled hito costs P100 or P120 depending on the size; we ordered two large ones.
It also serves seaweed salad and a wider selection of pork viands like binagoongan, bagnet, grilled barbecue and liempo. Our lunch bill, again for five adults, was just under P900.
The place is not air-conditioned but nonetheless draws a lot of motorists. It also has a pasalubong area and a small fruit stand selling citrus and huge macopa (Java apple).
The toilets are serviceable but definitely not for the queasy. The urinal is one long dingy trough attached to the wall.
There is a tip box for donations supposedly for the maintenance of the toilets, but no funds seem to have been used for that purpose.
Fortunately, there is a sink with liquid soap and running water near the dining area so people can wash up without having to enter the toilet.
If you’re planning a road trip to Baguio or further north to Ilocos Norte, take your time and have some lunch. You’ll get there eventually.
The toll fees for private cars taking the SCTEX, NLEX and TPLEX are P104, P218 and P216, respectively.