All I knew last Saturday was we were going to New Manila to help Maricris look for a place for the discussion of Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything that she’s going to moderate. Well, I asked Joko where we’re going and I just heard her say, “Hwababababa Lab.”

Potek, ano daw? In my head, I decided to call it the H-Lab.

We arrived at our destination– 10a Alabama St, E. Rodriguez. The gate made sure that we were in the right place.

So we went it and saw these shoes before seeing the lab with a name we can’t pronounce. Assstiiiggg. Can’t wait to do this to my old Chucks! :p

The left wing has the tea lab called HAUSBESETZER. So hindi pala Hwababababa. :p Hahaha! According to google, hausbesetzer means squatter in German. I wanted to ask Jetro Rafael (one of the owners of Haus and owner of the resto Van Gogh is Bipolar) why they chose this name, but I was shy to because he was busy gardening. He’s nice but I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt his time with the little oregano plant. :p

The lab’s cabinets are filled with tea, biscuits&crackers, artsy items and other interesting stuff like a set of Make Your Own Absinth and moisturizer in test tubes. The long table has a wide array of tea flavors and munchies. There aren’t a lot of choices found in the menu– only 2 kinds of pasta, a rice meal, a sandwich, several kinds of sausages and quite a few beverages.

The fridge has carabao milk ice candy, Goldschlager in test tubes, ginger beer et cetera. No prob if there aren’t a lot of food yet because the place is new, and really, even if there were only 2 items in the menu, I’d still go there for the art and the ambiance.

All the rooms in the house have contemporary art pieces by Resurrection and by RAA Design that are for sale. I like the room with matchboxes and postcards. 🙂

I sat on this chair because they told me Jericho Rosales bought it and it’s just waiting to be picked up. Hihihihi! *kiiliiiig*

I had coffee with carabao milk in the garden. This section is still under construction but I loved it anyway. 🙂

I would love to go back to Hausbesetzer on a rainy day to enjoy its offbeat coziness some more. I’d probably bring my addicted-to-caffeine/gaga-over-aesthetics friends, Yo and Jap. 

I suggest you bring your friends to 10a Alabama especially those who are like me- in dire of little adventures here in the city! And if you need more adventure, you can check out the house in front of 10a Alabama. 

Makes me wonder if Alabama St. used to be known as Balete Drive.

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I only had biscuit and crackers and coffee in Hausbesetzer. Will definitely be back to try the pasta and sausages!

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listening to: The Fratellis – Chelsea Dagger