I’ve never stayed overnight in Tagaytay. Its close proximity to Metro Manila makes it easy to just drive up, spend the day, and drive back as the sun goes down. Thanks to Summit Ridge’s invitation to try out their facilities, I discovered the merits of spending the night in Tagaytay.
Up until 2008, I’ve never set foot in Tagaytay. That changed in February 2008, and I found myself going back several times since. When Robinson’s Land gave me a complimentary stay at Summit Ridge, their hotel in Tagaytay I gladly took this as a great excuse to go back.
Not that I need much reason to go back — I’ve gone with friends up to Tagaytay on a whim and would go in a heartbeat. The place is overly commercialized and very touristy, but it’s only 2 hours from Manila (1.5 hours on a good day) and you get that much needed change in scenery (not to mention the cool mountain air).
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It was just one of those spur of the moment things, you know? Rey had this sudden urge to head up to Tagaytay to watch the sunrise and to have breakfast. I was more than willing to go — I’ve been cooped up inside the house for a week and I’m only to happy to get out of the house.
My dollie friends and I went out on a day trip to Tagaytay last Saturday. Tagaytay is the perfect summer getaway, if you can’t spare several days off work. The weather was gorgeous — the sky was blue with a scattering of fluffy white clouds, and while the sun was shining brightly, there’s always a fresh, cool breeze to keep the temperature down.
Five months ago, I lamented that I haven’t been to Tagaytay yet, though it’s only an hour an a half from Manila. Now as we start on the sixth month of 2008, I’m quite proud to say that I’ve already been to Tagaytay three times. First time was the trip with my sister-in-law and nephews (which I’ve yet to blog about), second was the Southern Sojourn with Verdana Homes and Our Awesome Planet, and the third was just last Saturday with friend from the Rice Bowl Journals forum.
We started early. Rather, we tried. We were set to meet up at 8am at Greenbelt 3, but seeing as I was still chatting to Anna D and Mela at 2 am, I had a feeling we’d be starting a bit late. Nevertheless, I left early. I was running on leftover energy from work, and I figured I better get to Makati before I doze off. The plan was to take the MRT then walk from the Ayala Station to Greenbelt. But as I was contemplating the walk, an empty taxi came and I hopped in. It was 7:03 am then. EDSA was pleasantly devoid of traffic. There’s a number of private cars and public busses on the highway, but traffic was light and when I stepped out of the cab, it was only 7:19 am.
Most of the group prefered to meet at Starbucks. However, since I was freakishly early and prefer Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’s food, I decided to have breakfast there and just head on to Starbucks afterwards. After scarfing down my order of Eggs Ben and finishing one edition of Bounce Magazine, Ming and Mela arrived and we headed to Starbucks where Peter was waiting. While waiting for Anna D to arrive, we tried figuring out how to fit a 35mm film on Mela’s pinhole Holga. Thanks to Starbuck’s tissue and Tazo brochure, I think we were able to do a decent job at it. Here’s to hoping it actually worked lol.
By 9:30, we were off. As Peter predicted, traffic was starting to build up on the southbound lane. Though it was moving, traffic slowed down in a number of areas, owing to the extensive construction in the South Luzon Expressway. After exiting at Sta. Rosa though, traffic became considerably light and soon enough, we were at Paseo de Sta. Rosa. It was still early for lunch, so we checked out the outlet stores. Speedo, Nike, Adidas, Levi’s and other store have considerable markdowns. I’m just happy that I only have enough money for the day, else I’d have gone on a major shopping spree.
After scouring all the stores, we settled for an early lunch at Kanin Club. It was lucky we did, because halfway through our meal, people started streaming in and the restaurant filled up. The group let me order, and I ordered my favorites from our previous feast: Crispy Liempo, Crispy Dinuguan, Chicken Curry, Loaded Fried Rice, Tinapa Fried Rice and KC Turon. I was glad to hear their murmurs of delight while eating each dish. Even Ming, who wasn’t Filipino tried and liked the dinuguan. He says he eats something similar to betamax back in Thailand, so eating pig’s blood isn’t anything new. We were so stuffed by the meal that we opted to just have the turon packed and eaten in Tagaytay.
We were all for lounging, and Peter knew just the place. The Cliffhouse is a bit further from the area where Starbucks and Leslie’s is. Though the view isn’t better, the ambiance definitely is. There weren’t that many people at Cliffhouse and there are chairs under huge umbrellas that protects you from the sun and the rain, which makes the place pefect to sit back and relax.
All that lounging around made us all sleepy, so we headed to Bag of Beans to get a shot of caffeine. We were welcomed by six or so kids and teens all vying for our attention and trying to sell us something. After wading through the bodies, we found the stairs that lead down to the garden. It was great being inside Bag of Bean’s garden. It was as if you’re in a different place altogether. Though Bag of Beans was along the national highway, you can just faintly hear the traffic as it whiz by. There are plenty of tables under the shade of trees, and lots of flowers and plants that give the place a vibrant hue. Those who prefer to get out of nature, can opt to sit inside the covered, screened area. Bag of Bean’s specialty was their English pies and local kapeng Barako. I would have loved to try the Barako coffee, but I prefered to cool down with an iced mocha and a beef and vegestable pie.
We were quite content to just sit and enjoy the atmosphere and the company of good friends, but Peter had to go home early, so we headed to our last stop. Mela shared that “you haven’t been to Tagaytay if you haven’t eaten a mushroom burger.” I’ve been hearing about this mushroom burger since highschool; a couple of high school friends would always eat at their branch in West Avenue or at their stall inside SM North EDSA’s food court. I’ve never been able to try it, so I was looking forward to trying one though I was already quite full. After all that hype, I was quite disappointed. The burger smelled really great, but it didn’t really deliver. The patty was too small, so when you bite into one, the dominant taste is the store-bought nothing-special burger bun. Curiosity satisfied, we piled back into the car and headed down to Manila.
This is definitely one of the best weekend daytrips I’ve had. Daytrips, though cheap and highly enticing, are often tiring. It involved traveling to and fro in the same day, then having a long list of activities. This Tagaytay daytrip, though short, was enough to de-stress everybody. Can’t wait to go back, guys! Amanda, Anna L., Argee, Angeli and Ain: you better be join us next time!
Directory of places we went to:
Kanin Club
Paseo de Sta. Rosa, Laguna
Phone: (049) 544-0332
West Gate, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa
Phone: 771-1400
E-mail: kaninclub@gmail.com
Cliffhouse Tagaytay
General Emilio Aguinaldo Highway
Tagaytay City, Cavite
Bag of Beans
115 Aguinaldo Highway
Mendez Crossing West
Tagaytay City
Phone: +63 46 413 4356, +63 46 413 2724
Mobile: +63920 954 6369, +63920 954 6370
Website: www.bagofbeanstagaytay.com
Mushroom Burger
Tagaytay-Batangas Highway
Kaybagal South, Tagaytay City
Tel. No.(046) 413-13-30
I’ve always lived in the North. Save for the couple of years that I lived in Makati, I never really ventured south. It’s too far, I always say. I wince at the thought of having to travel all the way to Fort Bonifacio or the Mall of Asia. Last February, when we went to Tagaytay, we passed several budding real estate properties, I kept on thinking, “I wouldn’t want to live here; it’s too far!”
Verdana Homes and Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet changed my mind though. Apart from the plans for a new business center right in the heart of the south, Anton showed us the best that the south has to offer.
After a short presentation at Verdana Homes Mamplasan’s clubhouse, we set off to our first destination: Ilog Maria Honey Bee Farm. Established by Joel Magsaysay and his family, this is a working farm. The most impressive aspect of their farm is how they’re actively working to lower their carbon emissions. They use energy efficient electrical appliances, utilize solar energy and even store and re-use rainwater. Ilog Maria, aside from producing and selling honey, also sells beeswax candles, mosquito repellants, and organic soap — basically anything they can produce with honey.
From Ilog Maria in Silang, Cavite, we headed back to Tagaytay for our first major food stop: Bawai’s Vietnamese Kusina. This unplanned restaurant is run by the Tatlonghari family. Each dish is personally cooked by Bawai — Yong Tatlonghari – herself, and each dish is simply fantastic.
We were all full and content with our hearty Vietnamese lunch, but we were excited about our dessert stop. Just down the road from Bawai’s was Chateau Hestia, a garden restaurant surprisingly made from recycled cargo containers. We were welcomed by one of its owners, Johannes Zegethofer. Chateau Hestia specialize in European cuisine, and they even produce their own wines and spirits. We sampled their sumptuous desserts, and their homemade dalandancello — limoncello made with our local dalandan.
Satiated with our lunch and dessert, it seemed everybody in the bus drifted off to nap during the long ride to Yoki’s House. A bit disoriented, we stumbled down the bus and through the huge gates. The sight of the 30-foot golden buddha shocked us all awake. It wasn’t that it was huge; it’s quite unlike the buddha we’re used to seeing. While the usual buddha has a smile, this one has a huge grin! Yoki has a huge garden, that includes a hydrophonic garden where they grow different varieties of lettuce.
Next in the list was T House, Tagaytay. I don’t really know how T House should be classified. Is it a bed and breakfast? A guesthouse? An inn? A boutique hotel? No matter how it’s classified, T House lives up to its name — tranquility. There are different clusters of rooms, each decorated accordingly and beautifully. We were welcomed by their staff with a cool glass of the most unique shake I’ve tasted so far: kamias. It has a pleasant flavor and not as sour as you would think.
As the sun was setting, we drove to our final destination: Kanin Club at the Paseo de Sta. Rosa. Anton said we’re going to have a feast, and what a feast! Though we were full from eating all day, we couldn’t stop indulging in all the dishes that they put on our table. Kanin Club gives traditional Filipino dishes a unique Kanin Club twist that made them an instant hit, and guaranteed to make you reach for that bowl of rice.
This is certainly one of the best food tours I’ve joined. And this, apparently, is just a sampling of what the south has to offer. The strong sense of community and the proximity to Tagaytay makes living in the south very appealing indeed.
Nina, going through quarterlife crisis, decided to stop talking about traveling and actually start traveling. Starting with a solo weekend trip to Cebu to a backpacking trip in Thailand and Singapore, she finally made it out of Asia and into Australia. After spending close to six months down under, she's happily settled in Manila (for now), intent to explore the best things the Philippines has to offer.
