Tagaytay Food Trip

Once again my family decided to venture out of the city for a change. Because of logistics we just prowl the city most of the time. However, this time the intense summer heat provoked us to travel to the nearest and cheapest destination outside the metropolis. Around past 10am we were all cramped in our sedan cruising the SLEX towards Tagaytay.

Around 1130 am we were already at Tagaytay and comfortably seated inside the dining hall of the Antonio's Restaurant's "The Grill". For appetizer we had"Chicharong Bulaklak" and we concocted our own dip out of the available selection of various condiments on the table. The Chicharon is crunchy and tastes good making one forget for a moment the cholesterol and saturated fat one is going to digest for every piece.

To guzzle down all the food and quench thirst both my old folks opted for a Buko juice while my niece and I opted for a refreshing watermelon shake. Out of curiousity my lil' brother ordered for a mango shake with sago and his girlfriend had soda. I am always partial to watermelon shake I really find it refreshing. I even remember having 6 glasses of watermelon juice while eating at the buffet of Shangri-la Hotel Cafe unmindful that it will do me no good since it is eat all you can.

The entrees we chose have no theme at all it was purely based on what seems interesting base on the menu. We had Nilagang Bulalo, Crab Rice, Grilled Stuffed Bangus, Grilled Squid, Fried Chicken, and Ginataang Kalabasa. I enjoyed the nilagang bulalo, the meat is very tender and full of flavor. The only mild setback is it was not hot enough because I like it piping hot close to scalding my lips. I find the Crab Rice nothing extraordinary I can taste the egg more than the crab meat in the rice. The Grilled Stuffed Bangus is good ....I dont think you can't go wrong with bangus anyway for crying out loud. The Grilled Squid is a bit rubbery for me... this is the reason why I do not ask for it most of the time...I rarely find a restaurant that can serve a squid that is not rubbery. The most disappointing though is the ginataang kalabasa. It was served like a very gooey mashed potato... which I find very weird. Surprisingly the fried chiken is really good... the meat is very tender and the skin is crunchy.

One thing great about the whole business of driving to Tagaytay for lunch is the great vista that the Taal Lake and Volcano provides. If only for the scenery it was all worth it.

After lunch we dont know where to go and what to do. My brother made a little ocular inspection of the vicinity and found a Starbucks along the slope of the mountain with a great view of the Taal lake. We spent the rest of the afternoon idling at the two large couch reading YES and Time magazines that we brought with us. My dad had a large tea, while my mom opted for the Strawberry Frap, and the rest of us had their new drink Java Banana Chip Frap. We read, gulped coffee, ate cake, enjoyed the view and each other's company.

When we have read all the magazines we brought with us and drinked our coffee, we decided to call it a day in Tagaytay. On the road we can not help but be enticed to stop and buy some fruits at the fruit stalls that lined the side road. I always enjoyed gawking at these stalls I think they add color and rustic charm to the whole idea of driving out of town. Anyways, we ended up buying ...what else...watermelons and mangosteens.

We were already along the SLEX around 6pm and we decided to exit at Alabang and go to ATC. We stretched our legs and walked about in the mall. After a couple of minutes we decided to have dinner at Italliani's. We had Sicilian Chicken Salad, Pasta Cippiano, and Pizza. This time other than my dad's penchance for hot tea...we all had "bottomless" iced tea. After the sumptous dinner we brought some bread at Bread Talk and checked out the sale at Power Books. We then once again hit the road and reached home around 10pm.