Never did I expect to find a sanctuary like the Green Earth Café in a bustling city like Naga. I expect the usual dishes of using coconut milk as a base whenever I head towards Legazpi, Naga or Sorsogon. It was a nice discovery to find a vegan café which offers many choices ranging from the “EnsaladangPnoy” to a “Cholaymasala”—my favorite Indian dish made from Chick peas or garbanzos with a curry sauce and eaten with Nan (unleavened bread).

But it is not only the range of dishes that will surprise you. You will find out that the owners, Pepe Obias and his wife Nancy, actually grow everything on their farm and even make their own tofu, bread and muffins.

Ready for a completely vegan meal? The dishes are so tasty, you will change your mind about the “boring” vegan meals you may have had in the past. I was so happy from salad to dessert!

Pepe Obias, now 57, started eating a strict vegan diet when he realized he was spending so much money on medications for rheumatism, arthritis, high sugar and the like. Rather than converting slowly—as in first pescetarian, then lacto-ovo—he headed straight to “only plants” which is also the belief of Michael Pollan, famous author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The Botany of Desire. In his words, “remove the cause” of your aches and pains, which turned out to be the food he was eating.

First to go were processed foods, meat and everything “I did not understand or could not pronounce [the referring to nutritional facts in food labels and ingredient lists in food products]. If you don’t understand it, don’t buy it,” he says.

In just two weeks after starting a vegan diet, he stopped taking medications and also stopped feeling aches and pains and since then, he has never felt better. His whole family with wife Nancy and their children—a twin, one boy and one girl—all subscribed to the vegan diet. They went through books, researched on the Internet, and tried many recipes which led them to start the Green Earth Café in 2006 in a sidestreet in Naga City, just off the National Highway.

He and Nancy have a farm in Pakil, Camarines Sur, at the foothills of Mount Isarog. It is a 4,000 square meter paradise where he grows all his vegetables. Of course, the farm is an organic farm, using only natural pest management techniques and growing only vegetables that he can use in the café and that he himself eats. He does not even have a freezer in the store—note that he only picks what he will use and never has to freeze or store anything for long periods of time.

He has learned to make his own tofu (soybean cakes) and hardly buys anything from the outside except for muscovado sugar and wheat flour. When we arrived at his restaurant, he was crossing the pathway with a tray-full of fresh lettuce and some tofu cubes and we immediately pointed to it and said, “We want that!” To which he replied shyly: “Yes, it is available inside the café.” Little did we know, what he was carrying was his lunch and when he sat with us for some chitchat, we realized he is such a quiet man who would strike you as shy and reticent.

Asked who his customers were, he expectedly said “the AB market, foreigners and Indian nationals who look for vegetarian choices.” The place is a warm and cozy sala of a home adorned with signs about “going vegan,” signs about a video show called “Eating,” and you can tell by the books and décor that the owners truly practice what they preach.

Dessert? Yes, there are just two choices: Banana peanut “ice cream” or a variant Banana Peanut Mango. Is it ice cream? Nope, as they do not use any dairy in their meals. The dessert treat is Cavendish banana, pureed with lots of ice until it becomes a thick creamy consistency, then topped with roasted peanuts and mango cubes, if you wish. I finished the huge scoop and did not feel too full as it had no cream or milk. Just right after a completely vegan lunch.

Pepe was an NGO worker before becoming a full time farmer-entrepreneur and Nancy still works for an NGO called Save The Children. I am impressed with their focus on their having turned vegan and their desire to share it with many others. They hold cooking classes to share their recipes and also cater at events to spread the word about going vegetarian.

This memorable lunch capped my Naga visit in a very pleasant way. Now, Naga is not just about coconut milk and vegetables. I now look forward to Pepe’s concoctions and creations and I know I will be visiting him again very soon.

Chit Juan is a founder and owner of ECHOStore sustainable lifestyle, ECHOmarket sustainable farms and ECHOcafe in Serendra and Podium malls. She also heads the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines and the Philippine Coffee Board Inc., two non-profits close to her heart. She often speaks to corporates, youth and NGOs on social entrepreneurship, women empowerment, and coffee. You can follow her on twitter.com/chitjuan or find her on facebook:Pacita “Chit” Juan. Email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .