Sweet Escape

I love nothing more than eating and sleeping. This weekend I got to enjoy my favorite pastimes in Tagaytay, spent at a lovely resthouse at the heart of Tagaytay. Despite its proximity to the main road, the surroundings were serene, and featured a spectacular view of Taal.

Looking out to the view of Taal from the veranda, one can almost forget that less than 1km away were vehicles passing by nonstop. It was a perfect getaway.

In my book, a trip to Tagaytay would be incomplete if it didn't involve good food. That night, upon arriving at Tagaytay, our hosts took us to Dinner at Antonio's (pun intended). I had Grilled Gindara, Prawns, and Scallops with Chorizo Rice. The gindara, prawns and scallops were grilled to perfection. The gindara and scallops were so tender they seemed to melt in my mouth. I would have preferred my rice not to have chorizo or to have less of it but it didn't really matter. I also had a taste of my sister's Chilean Sea Bass with Truffle Mashed Potato. And like my gindara, the sea bass was cooked perfectly. And the richness of the mashed potato was just right. For drinks, we had the House Juice Dalandan, which was refreshing and provided a good contrast to the richness of our food.






















For dessert, we had the Dark Chocolate Souffle,
Panna Cotta and Tartufo Nero. Not being a dessert person,
I don't have much to say about them
except they were quite good.
(Pardon the over/underexposed photos).


















It might have been the sumptuous dinner, or the airconditioned room, or the inviting bed, or the drive to Tagaytay, or all combined, I was ready to call it a day before midnight. I had an uninterrupted, restful sleep. People who know me would say that I don't need an excuse to sleep soundly. No argument here. I do have the "talent" to be able to sleep whenever, wherever ü

The following morning, we enjoyed a hearty brunch at Tootsie's Home-cooked Specialties. I had the Tapa del Pilar and hot chocolate. I was not disappointed.














The tapa was savory and the hot
chocolate, made the way I like it. The turon (banana fritter) (not in photo)
was unlike any other turon I've had in my life and my companions
liked it immensely. I found it too soft for my taste though.



Noon was spent buying more food to take home. Bangus from LZM and pies from Bag of Beans. By mid-afternoon, we headed for the Cliffhouse Tagaytay and settled on Buon Giorno for a late lunch. I decided that I was not done stuffing myself and ordered the Rib-eye, together with Mushroom Soup and Dalandan Shake. The "muscular arm" of the mug amused me, but the shake didn't, which was a bit on the bland and watery side. The soup was great though, and my steak, juicy and flavorful. I had some salad too, but nothing extraordinary there.























Back at the resthouse, I managed to grab a little shut-eye, a nap once again induced by good food and cool room temp and of course, my talent. But as the sayings go, "All good things must come to an end" and "Time flies when you're having fun". And soon, it was time to leave. I was transported back to reality, to the hot and humid weather of Manila, longing for a trip back.