We ate an early lunch at 10:00am in Josephine’s Restaurant. Its address was in Km. 58 Gen. Aguinaldo Highway, Maharlika West, Tagaytay City. They serve a variety of Filiipino foods influenced by Western and Asian cuisine. Even if our family had a cottage in Tagaytay, we chose to eat out since this is a favourite Filipino past time. A typical Filipino eats about 6 times a day including snacks between breakfast, lunch and dinner. For our appetizer, we chose Crispy Kangkong (water spin ach covered with a light tempura batter and deep-fried to a crisp served with mayonnaise or spicy vinegar),
Sizzling Gambas (Shrimps marinated in rum and sautéed in pimientos and chili sauce) and Seafood Ceasar Salad. For the main course, the table was
filled with Palabok (Thin rice noodles topped with an orange shrimp sauce sautéed with pork and crushed pork rinds), Bicol Express (A hot combination of sliced green chili sautéed with pork and shrimps then simmered with ginger and coconut sauce), Blue Marlin sa Mango Salsa (A Blue Marlin Steak grilled to sweet perfection and complemented with diced ripe mangoes, cucumber, onions, and Chinese celery in a sweet vinegar), and many more
During the course of the day, we enjoyed indoor and outdoor swimming,
playing golf, badminton, bowling, horseback riding and sightseeing the Taal Volcano from the Tagaytay. This is certainly an affordable weekend day trip to benefit from. There are two 18-hole par 72 golf courses amidst hilly terrain and ravines. My cousins, dad and I played a little friendly game as Tagaytay Highlands is highly rated offering two of the best golf courses in the Philippines. Although I would say that the mosquitoes and little insects were quite irritating.
Sightseeing came next. We took a trip from Tagaytay to the volcano island in the middle of Taal Lake. The tiny brown volcano looked like a hat without a rim. My father fervently bargained with the Filipino bangka (small canoe) ride to the volcano from 8000PHP down to 5000PHP. The experience on the serene waters of the Taal Lake reassured me that I was safe from eruption due to the fact that the volcano was just sitting there quietly and peacefully. The tourist guide also showed great aplomb when it came to safety near the volcano. My relatives took tons of photos here as the view is very scenic, with all the blues and fog clashing with the volcano, making it look tranquil. About an hour and a half walk followed as we climbed up the mountain to see the view. Even if we were out of breath from climbing the steep mountain, the view was breathtaking especially with the cool climate there.
It was almost getting dark and so after eating a hearty merienda (afternoon snack) of chicharon (deep fried pork skin) and puto (white rice cakes), we headed to Antonio’s, a famous restaurant who produces the best special dinner you could ever have in Manila. There, we ate mostly western food such as Grilled Angus Beef Prime Rib Eye Steak with mashed potatoes, Spanferckel (Boneless, stuffed weaned pig herbs, fennel and potato served with sauerkraut, homemade apple sauce, horseradish cream and german mustard.) and Crispy Deboned Lamb Ribs on Garlic Egg Noodles with Hoisin Sauce. The chef, Antonio Escalante would even meet guests and ask how the food was. Antonio’s offers you the perfect food, perfect ambiance and perfect service. However before eating, we prayed to give thanks to the Lord for blessing us with food. Most of the Philippines is Catholic and so it became a ritual to our family to follow this tradition. Classrooms in both public and private schools even have a picture of the Virgin Mary and the president at the front of the room.
When we went back to our hotel, the Belagio, and we all dropped down and slept soundly on our respective beds.
No comments:
Post a Comment