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.

The churches in Tagaytay area

Staying for the weekend in Tagaytay need s a little bit of planning ahead specially if you're staying for Sunday mass.

We decided to have an early mass at the Pink Sisters chapel.Pink Sisters Chapel holds two masses every Sunday, one is at 7:30 am and at 5:30 pm. We went to the 7:30 am mass so that there will be less people, or so we thought. The Philippines is around 90% Catholic and people go to mass en masse. If you want to go to mass at Pink Sisters, come early to get a good parking space, the parking space outside the church is the best and the easiest to get in and out of.



In the afternoon, we also went to Caleruega in Nasugbu, just outside of Tagaytay. Not too far. Caleruega is a nice little church on top of a hill and it overlooks some fantastic views of the mountains. Many couple marry there due to its picturesque location. The church is small and very cosy. If you're planning an intimate wedding, Calruega is the perfect place.

Day two at Tagaytay - Sonya's Garden

As I have mentioned before, we are entertaining hubby's balikbayan cousin from Australia. Whenever we have balikbayans coming come, we often make it a point to take them to Tagaytay and Sonya's Garden.

Sonya's Garden still holds that allure of a "secret garden" although it's no longer a secret. It's nice place to have lunch in. All their dining areas have live vines and plants and flowers inside. Makes you feel like eating in a greenhouse. The salad of course is the reason why people come back. The lovely combination of the freshly picked greens, assorted local fruits, jackfruits, flowers and the crunchy pop beans with Sonya's secret salad dressing truly makes a one of a kind salad experience.





Sonya's has expanded so much through the years, I hope that they develop more of the gardens instead of just the dining areas and the bed and breakfast. After all, people not only go to Sonya's for the salad, they come also for the lovely flowers and plants that abound the property.

Shakey's at Summit Ridge Tagaytay

I know that Shakey's has been a part of our Philippine culinary lansdcape for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories of dining out was watching the pizza guy toss the dough and ladle on the special sauce and toppings while I watch mezmerized through the restauran't kitchen looking glass. We tend to take Shakey's for granted. What we sometimes forget to realize is that Shakey's is no longer a global brand as it was two decades ago. Shakey's has fallen victim to the global slump and so many management changes through the years that resulted to closing hundreds of their stores globally. The Philippines currently holds the most number of Shakey's restaurants in the world.

Is it any wonder that Balikbayans crave for Shakey's whenever they come home? Even though Shakey's is not a local brand originally, Filipinos have made it their own and has been a part of the Filipino dining culture since it opened here in the 70's.



On our first night at Tagaytay, hubby's cousin Gerry requested to have Shakey's for dinner instead of dining in more swanky places in the area. Shakey's is just within the Tagaytay Summit Ridge's hotel premises and it was so convenient to dine there.

We had a basket of Mojos, or crumbed potato chips as our Aussie friend Tony would say.



We had our usual Friday's Special of shrimps, anchovies and mushrooms with an extra topping of bell peppers. This is our favorite pizza in the whole wide world :-) No exagerration. Hubby was a happy camper.



We also had the Shakey's Special with probably all the toppings available in the Shakey's pantry. This pizza was a bit over done (or extra crispy, as we like to call it).



I love Shakey's pizza. Do you?

Summit Ridge Hotel in Tagaytay

As part of our Tagaytay adventure, our party of four is checked into the newly opened Summit Ridge Hotel. Owned by the JG Summit group. They offer 20% off for August. We made it just in time. Perfect!

Tagaytay is a great place to come for a short weekend vacation. Tagaytay is still considered "out of town" despite it being just an hour away from Manila (without traffic). Tagaytay is far enough, yet, close enough. You know what I mean? It's that perfect place to get away for a short while.

All rooms at the Summit Ridge Hotel in Tagaytay has a view of Taal Volcano. This is our view from our hotel balcony. Sweet!



The Standard rooms at Summit Ridge Hotel are very comfy and clean. The bed mattress is firm, just the way we like it.



The bathroom is well appointed and generously sized. basic toiletries are also provided.



Dig the shower head. I like it very much, it makes me feel like bathing under the rain.



One problem that we encountered with Summit Ridge Hotel is the low water pressure and temperature. Hot water is "lukewarm" at best.

Each room comes also with an LCD TV, free wifi (that's why I can blog while hubby is snoring away) and complimentary water, coffee and tea making facilities and a small fridge.

The best part without any doubt is the view and the lovely fog in the morning.



Summit Ridge also has a small commercial area adjacent to it, a supermarket, Starbucks, Shakeys and Pepper Steak to name a few. You won't go hungry here :-) Most stores close at 9:00 p.m.



Every stay at Summit Ridge Hotel has complimentary buffet breakfast for two. Their selection includes bacon, tocino, assorted breads, eggs, fried rice, sausages, cereals and fruits. I went straight for the bacon, he he he :-)

Overall, I would recommend Summit Ridge Hotel. It's the nicest hotel in Tagaytay, very accessible with nice facilities.

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!