Antonio's Tagaytay

Hubby made reservations for us at Antonio's last Saturday, as an early Valentine's day date. Antonio's is a hidden and exclusive dining experience in Tagaytay. A hidden oasis, if you will. A place for your palate to experience the rich, sinful and decadent dishes that chef Antonio has concocted and personally developed for his loyal patrons to enjoy, savor and remember long after you have left his magical restaurant.

Most of all, your sense of taste will go into overdrive for the lovely and delicious selection from the menu.

Each set meal from Antonio's come with a salad of the day (mixed greens, beets, radish, blue cheese and a raspberry dressing), soup of the day, (which was a molo soup with tomato puree or tomato oil, I can't put my finger on it), your choice of entree, your choice of dessert and coffee or tea.






The Squid Ink Garlic Bread is black as coal but was surprisingly very tender. Be prepared to have black teeth after :-)



If you don't want to order the set menu, Antonio's has a wide selection of appetizers and salads to choose from. I think I will try the bone marrow next time. But I will eat oatmeal for a week after that, he he he.

Hubby and I ordered a nice selection from the appetizer menu. I wanted to try all of them. But alas, I manage to restrain myself.

For starters, hubby and I ordered the Truffle Baked Oyters. This was absolutely divine. They oysters were huge and fresh and the topping of cheese and herbs (and yes bacon) was just enough.



I ordered the Scallops Tasting, scallops cooked two ways. One is poached and the other one is breaded and fried. I liked them both and would prefer to have ten more servings, if I can. I absolutely love the dressing on the scallops, it has some lemon, parsley and cilantro, very refreshing. I reckon that will go with salads as well. Gave me an idea for a new dressing.



Our favorite is the Grilled Portabello Mushrooms with Foie Gras. Oh so heavenly! The sauce is absolutely fantastic and creamy. The portabellos were cooked perfectly, tender and a little bit smoky, and the foi gras, so buttery. Oh my. I get hungry just thinking about it.



For the main course, hubby ordered the Grilled Beef Fillet, Gratinated with Shrimp Bisque on Tagliatelle. A surf and turf kinda deal but taken to a higher level. It took a while for our orders to be delivered but hubby was appeased when he took a bite. Well worth the wait he said. The beef was cooked perfectly. It was very tender and juicy.



I had the Seafood Sampler which consisted of Grilled Pink Peppered Chilean Sea Bass on Boiled Potato, Saffron-Kafir Sauce, Prawn Thermidore and Pan Seared Scallops on Celleriac Mashed, Truffle Cream Sauce. I love all three but my favorite is the Pan Seared Scallops, which was so tender and buttery. I love it.



For dessert, I had the Mixed Berries with Chantilly Cream. This was so beautifully presented. The chantilly cream was just right, no too sweet and very creamy. Just the way I like it.



Hubby ordered the Panna Cotta with Chocolate and Caramel Sauce. If I wasn't there he would have probably eaten the whole thing in one gulp!



Dining at Antonio's is a feast for the senses. Your eyes will feast on the wonderful verdant dining areas and gardens. Your sense of smell is teased by the lovely smells coming from the kitchen and lovely fragrant flowers that adorn its secret passages in the garden. Your sense of touch is highted by the lovely flowers and shrubs and rich textures of the wooden banisters, Antonio's imposing doors and a lovely assortment of plants, shrubs and flowers. Your sense of hearing is also spoiled with the gurgling sound of water fountains, chirping of birds and lovely chatter of your companion.

Antonio's was voted as one of the best restaurants in Asia, and righfully so.

We even met Chef Antonio, he approached us while were taking pictures of his lovely restaurant and talked about the improvements that he is doing on the property. He also talked about a new lamb dish that he will soon introduce on the menu. Let's see if I remember it correctly.. It's lamb rubbed with special herbs and spices, vacuum packed, to seal all the wonderful flavors, poached in warm water (warm because he said you can still dip your finger on it) and then grilled to medium. I don't eat lamb but they way chef Antonio described it, made me a convert.



Chef Antonio was so gracious, he even invited us to check out the rest of the property including his home located at the back. We are really glad that we took that offer. The garden out back is bigger than the restaurant and his home looks really wonderful and homey, reminds me of a resort in some exotic place in Thailand.



Chef Antonio's pug even uproached us to be petted and posed for a picture.



I highly recommend dining at Antonio's...now!

Bawai's Vietnamese Kusina

We had an early dinner reservation at Bawai's Vietnamese Kusina. Please book in advance when you want to dine there, they can only accomodate a few number of people. The restaurant is part of a family home thay they've opened to the public. For reservations, you may call +63920BAWAI. Bawai's is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for lunch and dinner.

For starters, we had the spring roll, Goi Cuon. Spring rolls with mixed vegetables, noodles and shrimps wrapped in rice paper and dipped in a special peanut sauce.



We also had the Goi Thit Thom, a salad of mixed vegetables, shrimps and pork strips in a lime, patis (fish sauce) dressing.

Me and Gerry had the Pho Bo. Flat Noodles with some beef shavings, herbs and mung sprouts. We liked this dish very much. It's not too light and not too heavy either. Quite perfect for an evening meal. The soup is fantastic.



Hubby ordered the Bung Bo Hue again. Vermichelli noodle soup with beef stips and pork knuckle. You can specify how spicy you want your noodles. Hubby likes his "mild".



Tony had the Ga Xao Xa, caramelized lemongrass chicken. I reckon it's like Vietnamese Chicken adobo.



Bawai never disappoints.

Crepes at Cafe Breton, Cliffhouse Tagaytay

If you regularly visit this blog or my facebook page, you will notice that we looooove crepes. After our lunch at La Esquina in Splendido, we headed off to Cliffhouse to have dessert, coffee and tea.

It's nice to transfer places when dining out. Our objective was to take Gerry and Tony to as many places in Tagaytay as we can so that they will get a feel of the place and see as much as our time allows.

As usual hubby had his banana split. We didn't take a photo of it anymore since he always orders that or any dish with tons of ice cream.

I had a Mango Crepe with condesed milk. This is one of my favorite combinations. When I make crepes at home, I also do this specially when mangoes are in season.



Tony and Gerry shared a Blueberries and Cream Crepe. Dessert crepe with Mantecado ice cream, whipped cream and Blueberry preserves. Very decadent and sinful :-)



Gerry ordered the Cafe Mocha as well. All coffee in Cafe Breton is made with Kapeng Barako, or local Batangas Coffee. "Barako" in Tagalog means "manly" or "muscular". As the name Kapeng Barako suggests, the coffee is very robust and packs a punch.



Our diet (of sensible eating) was thrown right out of the window, just for this weekened... I hope!

Cliffhouse is a nice place to have a vantage point of Taal Volcano. It's not crowded like the other places.



Cliffhouse is also a very nice place to have lunch or dinner. Buon Giorno, Cafe Breton and Fire Lake House Grill are all excellent places to have your meals.

La Esquina at Splendido

Hubby's cousin Gerry and his partner, Tony flew in from Australia this week. We invited them for a weekend in Tagaytay. As an Australian, Gerry's partner Tony, is still getting used to the humidity here in the Philippines. Tagaytay is a great way to spend the weekend, away from the heat and the noise and crowd in the malls.

Our first stop in our weekend adventure was to have lunch at La Esquina in Splendido. Splendido is a sprawling property with a golf couse, clubhouse and some pretty swanky homes. I always thought the you cannot go to Splendido unless you forked in a few million bucks to buy property. When I learned that there are two restaurants there that are open to the public, I was quick to book us a lunch table at their Spanish restaurant, La Esquina.



La Esquina is situated right beside the golf course at Splendido. Our table had a fantastic view of the golf couse and the surrounding mountains. What a great view while having lunch.



La Esquina offers classic Spanish cuisine. For starters, we had the Chorizo Splendido. We unanimously vote this as a perfect dish to start your lunch. The chorizo was so good. The chorizos are a little spicy and it has a hint of vinegar in it. I just love it. I may have to come back just for the Chorizo Splendido.



Next, we had the Pollo Croquettas, or chicken croquettes. This is flaked chicken breast rolled in milk batter and fried. The Pollo Croquettas are so yummy and creamy. The dish comes with a Hollaindaise and a marinara sauce. The Pollo croquettas are so goog by themselves even without the sauce. If you must have the sauce, the Hollaindaise is very good as well.



Hubby and I shared the Caesar's Salad. The Caesar's Salad was not very good. I suggest to choose another salad. The dressing was not very creamy and the serving (even if not shared) is very small.

I had the Bacalao Alla Viscaina. A fish dish with Marinara sauce. I suggest to skip this as well. The fish is very salty and for the price of P400 plus, it's simply not worth it.



Both hubby and Tony had the Steak Charlemagne. Steak Charlemagne is a tenderloin steak in mushroom sauce served with mashed potatoes and buttered vegetables. Both hubby and Tony finished their off quickly because they were hungry. The steaks were ok, according to hubby.



Gerry and the rest of us also shared the Paella Christina. If you order paella, it takes an hour (no kidding) to have it done. Be sure to pre-order so that you don't have to wait like we did. Paella Christina has seafood and chorizos in it. The paella is very good with just the right balance of flavors, and yes, we finished the entire thing. This is just the half order but it's good for two to three people.



Splendido is a nice place to visit. Be sure to go to the viewing deck to get a nice view of Taal volcano and the golf course.



All in all, I would still recommend to eat at least the appetizers at La Esquina in Splendido, despite the mishaps with the Bacalao and the salad. The view is spectacular and the service is superb. Despite the long wait for the paella, the taste was worth it (I must say though, Amalia's Paella is still better). Be sure to try the Chorizo Splendido and the Pollo Croquettas. You're gonna enjoy eating them. The restaurant is a little pricey if you have the Paella, Steak Charlemagne and the Bacalao but, the some of the entrees and appetizers/tapas are competitively priced.



Happy dining!

Cable Car and Hawaiian Barbecue in Tagaytay

My brother invited hubby and myself to join them in Tagaytay last Sunday for some grub and take the kids to the cable car in Picnic Grove.

We haven't been in Picnic grove for like 15 years or so. We heard that they have a cable car there and a zip line which were going to be fun for the kids and the adults, or so we thought. First of all, that place is packed with people. I will not recommend anybody to go to Picnic Grove, ever! You wouldn't enjoy the cable ride because it's very slow and they charge P200 per head. We didn't try the zip line either because hubby didn't want to leave his camera. The cable and zip line equipment are crudely built, so there are safety issues. Anyway, don't even bother going there, complete waste of time and money. Jologs' haven, he he he.



After such a disappointing cable ride, we went off to have dinner at Hawaiian Barbecue at the Boutique hotel along the highway.

Hawaiian barbecue is always a hit! Tagaytay's version is better than Boracay's :-)











I love what it says on Ashley's shirt:

"So spoiled....
So young....
So what!"

:-)