Charitos by Bag of Beans ~ TKO by Coffee

My-ex and I decided an impromptu joy-trip one weekend and found ourselves in Tagaytay.  We were feeling a bit romantic, having the alone time, without our extra baggages (our beloved but super "kulit" duo ~ awws you know who I mean), that we knew right away that lunch would be extra-romantic (meaning no fast food!) and yes a tad more expensive.

Restaurant hunting in Tagaytay is never a problem ~ good restaurants abound. 

We finally settled in Charitos operated by the well-known Bag of Beans. 

Unlike the Bag of Beans branch located at the Aguinaldo Highway, Mendez Crossing, Charitos is spacious with ample parking. 

Charitos is gorgeous ~ it has wide open spaces with a view of Taal volcano (unfortunately, the weather was gloomy that day and we only got glimpse of the famous attraction). 

Decoration is a bit eclectic, but more of the Victorian side.

I ordered Fish and Chips (P380), tender lightly coated fish fillet, with side salad and potato wedges.

My ex meanwhile herbs marinated Roast Beef (P450). 

I took bites and found it tender and really flavorful.   

For the finale (You can't say you have been to Charitos without) Bag of Bean's house blend coffee (P130) and  blueberry cheesecake (P160+).

VERDICT:

• Charitos by Bag of Beans is charming. It is perfect for a romantic or a special occasion date with your better half.  A clear view of the Taal Volcano below would have been the topping on the ice cream.
• It is bit upscale, but we didn't mind paying extra since service was A+ and food great.  
• We had a wonderful lunch at Charitos and would not mind coming back for more.

Happy customers :P

CHARITO BY BAG OF BEANS

Maharlika East, Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway, 

Tagaytay City, Cavite, Philippines

Contact no: 046 4831279

Red Lemon Grill - View Park Hotel Tagaytay for our hungry tummies!

Tagaytay is a huge foodhub, there are so many good places to eat and with the cool Tagaytay ambiance and the majestic Taal Volcano as backdrop (hmmm). 
 
For this Tagaytay trip, our tummies led us to View Park Hotel's ~ Red Lemon Grill.  It specializes on Asian cuisine. 
 
My eldest Beef Tapa Rice Meal (P150). I guess it was good since he finished everything and did not bother share.
 

 

• Chopsuey (175) is one of the house specialties.  It is special and tasted way better than most that I have had. The ingredients were fresh and the sauce thick and savory. 
• Lechon Kawali (P180) was also good.  It quite melts in your mouth and each bite makes you want more (I call it the evil lechon kawali).
• Calamares (P190) was just okay for me.  My youngest loved it though. 

 

Then finished with a cup of Signature Hot Chocolate(P125) from Adam's Café (View Park Hotel's coffee shop located right next to Red Lemon Grill). 

 

The hot chocolate was a perfect end to a wonderful dinner.

 

 

 

VERDICT 

• Sorry no view of here. The restaurant is located on the other side of Taal Lake.
• The place is quite small too with limited seating and parking spaces.  We came in a little early for dinner so we got good seats.
• We love everything we ordered ~ food is delicious, with hefty servings and classy presentation.  Price is very affordable.
• Staff are amiable and attentive.
• They have an acoustic night, when we came (Saturday). I am not just sure on other days.  It would have been nice to stay a bit and chillax while having a bottle or two of cold beer (but we have whining and tired kids that night, so we left early).  

 

Thumbs Up for Red Lemon and Grill.

We would love to come back and taste their other specialties.  

 

Red Lemon Grill - View Park Hotel

3500 Tagaytay-Calamba Road, Sungay East

Tagaytay City

Contact Number 046 4130862

 

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Looking for something Italian?  Check-out AMOROMA RISTORANTE.

 

 

Amoroma Ristorante Tagaytay ~ Authentic Italian!

 

The place is a bit unassuming from the outside and I would not have dared venture inside, if not for the beautiful reviews I have read from the other bloggers!
 
The inside of the restaurant, however, tells a different story.
There were obvious efforts from the owners to transform the place into a bona fide little Italian restaurant: 

... upon entering using the back door access from the restaurant's parking,  you would we delighted with the sight of numerous Italian Renaissance paintings that adorned the halls, a real working wood fired brick oven is also something you would not normally see elsewhere,  red checkered plaid pattern tablecloths and Italian music at the background would surely complete your dining experience.

 

 

 

 

There is a notice posted by the kitchen window: Orders are prepared fresh, simply put... "you shouldn't eat here if you are already hungry and famished, since it would be a while before they have your orders finished and served". 

 

When our food finally came, there were no frills and plating was almost nil,  honestly not very attractive.  Hohum...

 

 

Until we took a bite and unanimously agreed that this is by far one of the best pizza we have had... the waiting and the simple plating became forgivable... 

 

 

 

L-R/T-B: We ordered 5 Italian cheese pizza, carbonara, focaccia bread in pesto genovese dip, crab and shrimp stuffed pasta in tomato and cream sauce and creamy mushroom soup (not on photo)

 

 
VERDICT
 
We are happy we decided to stop over for lunch.  Amoroma Ristorante (literal translation "I Love Rome") succeeded in giving us a taste of Rome.
 
Pricing is a bit steep for most Juan, but I think the price was worth it.  We love everything that we ordered and would not hesitate to come back.

When in Tagaytay and if you are craving for authentic Italian cuisine, do not hesitate and seek out Amoroma Ristorante. Highly recommended.
 

Amoroma Ristorante Italiano is located in Tagaytay City.

Address: Calamba Road, Tolentino East, Tagaytay City

Contact Numbers: (046) 696-3582 / (0916) 3829883

Latest Dining Discovery in Tagaytay City ~ Morielli's Inn & Diner Restaurant

Tagaytay never runs out of hearty food stops and family friendly restaurants that continue to impress.

In our last Tagaytay escapade, my family experienced for our ourselves,

Morielli's Inn & Diner Restaurant.

 

It is a very charming restaurant, that offers exciting twists to your otherwise so-so traditional dishes.

 

 The menu selection is varied and all looks delectable. We had to settle with the chef's specialties.

 

My family ordered the pepper rice surprise, soft tacos, Pampanga pizza, carbonara and "turon with ice cream" for dessert.  

 

L-R/T-B: (a) Restaurant facade, (b) Interior, (c) While waiting for our order, one of the crew offered to take our family picture and (d) My youngest enjoying his turon.

 

L-R/T-B: (a) Pampanga Pizza, utterly delicious, (b) Carbonarra, egg base, (c) Pepper Rice Surprise, my husband can't have enough and keeps on saying, how delicious this meal is. He devoured on the entire plate, (d) Turon with generous slices of banana and langka inside.

 

VERDICT

The restaurant's tag line ~" Eat Much, Laugh Often and Love Much", speaks much of the owners passion for cooking and sharing this love affair with food to others to enjoy.

Morielli's is a special restaurant that offers lovingly prepared food served by truly warm and pleasant personnel.  


The fast service and personable crew (specially Rachel) tops the extraordinary experience.

NOTE:

• Come in hungry and order the house specialties.  We would definitely be back to try their breakfast.

• Our food order were on the spicy side, I would not recommend for small children.  Please ask the crew for food suggestions for your little ones.

 

• Morielli's also has rooms for rent.  Rachel was nice and gave us the grand tour.  They have four 4 bedrooms with a common living room area.  Each room has 2 queen beds, which I think would comfortably sleep a family of 4. Please check their website for the room rates or call them personally and ask for discounted rates.

 

Morielli's is located at Calamba Rd. cor. St. Francis Rd. Tagaytay.

 

 

Viewsite Restaurant and Seafood Inihaw - Go the extra mile!

Looking for a place to eat in Tagaytay for lunch is hell ~ oh, especially if you are picky and want a table with a view! 

You would be lucky to get in and be served right away.  We had to drive a couple of miles outside Tagaytay's busy main highway, to finally find a decent (and not full) place to eat with a view.

AMBIANCE:  Laid back and rustic, like most of the restaurants in Tagaytay, with a very good view of the famous Lake Taal and Taal Volcano. 

Like most Tagaytay Restaurants they also have local entertainers, who were amazing in belting out fairly new English and Tagalog songs.  My youngest sang with them, when they started singing the Filipino hit song "Pusong Bato" and Bruno Mars' "Lazy Song" (hahaha, I was about to request for Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball").

FOOD:  We ordered, Inihaw Platter (Included grilled sugpo, tuna belly, grilled pork, talong ensalada), pansit and chopsuey.  The waiter gave us free bulalo soup (plus additional refill, hehehe!!!). 

PRICE:  Less expensive than Leslie's, RSM, and other main road Tagaytay Restaurant, but comparable in taste and quality.

(Oh need, I say more?)

 

VERDICT:  Obviously under rated!  

 

Go the extra mile and try out Viewsite Restaurant. You would enjoy the food, the entertainment and the free view.

 

 Recommended for families and balikbayans!

 

 

Viewsite Restaurant and Seafood Inihaw is located at Batangas Highway Mendez Crossing West, Tagaytay City.

Taaleña Tagaytay "Tarana"!

 

Taaleña Restaurant Tagaytay is tucked some few meters away the busy Tagaytay's Aguinaldo Highway.  It is quite easy to miss the place, if you are not looking hard enough.

 

We were just glad to have discovered it. 

 

Compared to the roadside restaurants  ~ Josephine's, Leslie's and RSM, Taaleña is more laid back and rustic. 

 

Food and service were comparable to other frequented restos in Tagaytay, but somehow, I enjoyed my food here at Taaleña way better.

 

 

 

 

We over ordered, not knowing how huge their servings were.  We got pansit, calamares rice, tawilis and  lumpiang sariwa (so takaw)!

 

Servings was quite hefty - perfect for huge travelling families. 

 

Our order was enough to feed 6 hungry men (and we were just 2 adults and 2 kids).

I normally don't like dried fish, but with Tagaytay's tawilis I can always make an exception.



My boy was all smiles, when his watermelon shake arrived!



 

We were meaning to try their desserts - but I guess you know we weren't getting any, after finishing our initial order :(  Maybe next time!

 

Taaleña is located at Casa Taal, Silang Crossing, Km. 54, West Tagaytay City.

Tootsie's Tagaytay - our latest favorite hang out!

 

I read about this home-styled cooking restaurant from the internet. For our last trip down South (or is it up?) of the Metro, a visit to the well reviewed Tootsie's Restaurant was an obvious must!

 

Indeed Tootsie's exudes a homey appeal.  It is just a small restaurant (with an extension wing) with very limited sitting. 

 

Since we came in at such an odd time for a lunch at 4pm (traffic was disastrous and it took us 3 hours, plus some mustered driving skills to navigate our way up to Tagaytay), there were very few people dining, however, I can just imagine how crowded this place must be during peak lunch and dinner time. 

 

Our driving ordeal left me and my boys rather famished. I wanted to order Tootsie's best seller lengua, but I am not sure if my kids would like it.  We ended ordering instead, another Tootsie's specialty adobo flakes (which my husband loved to the last bite), fresh lumpiang hubad and fish with potato fries. 

For dessert we ordered their special halo-halo turon and ube palitaw.



Tootsie's Fresh Lumpiang Hubad was delicious, but serving portion quite small...  

Adobo flakes is highly recommended!



My boys love the fish and fries... 

Their halo-halo turon (with ube and leche flan filling) were quite special!  Not your ordinary turon...

The ube palitaw was very filling! 

Service was quite slow, considering there were very few customers.  Given food is quite pricey, free appetizers (peanuts or bread sticks) would have been nice and most welcomed especially by hungry boys!

VERDICT:  Order their house specialties and you will never go wrong!  A trip to Tootsie's is well worth it, however, do make sure that you are not so hungry because you could be waiting for quite a while! 


Tootsie's Tagaytay is located at J. Abad Santos cor Aguinaldo Highway Tagaytay to the side of the Tagaytay ridges.
(046) - 4834629 / 0917-TOOTSIE (866 87 43)

MEMORY LANE chuvaness

 

 

Memory Lane is a country diner, mini boutique and beauty salon rolled into one! 

It is owned by actress-singer Jolina Magdangal ~ I can just imagine, how busy this place must have been during Jolina's heyday. 

 

The place is located along Magallanes Drive, Tagaytay City and could be a little difficult to find since it is tucked a few miles away from the busy main road.

 

 

 

The diner is cute and cozy, however, since it is also parlor and a gift shop, I found it quite overwhelming.  Not to mention the various knick-knacks from the 50s to 70s era that adorned the place. 

the entrance

 

the diner

wooden bird houses

 

 

 

the gift shop

movie posters from the yester years

 

 

We ordered salpicao, seafood hotpot and fried banana split ice cream for dessert.

 

 

 

 

Food was on the pricey side, but it was okay since my boys  finished their meal!

 

My boy gamely poses by the garden.

 

Cute!  Unfortunately not for sale :(

 

My hubby was a bit disappointed, Jolina was not around when we came that day. He would just have to be contented with this Jolina look alike mannequin (hindi talaga pinatawad - hahaha!).

Very relaxing!

 

 

Java Jazz, Tagaytay

I was doing my usual web surfing, searching for hidden secret places to visit. I chanced upon this place called Java Jazz in Tagaytay. I was truly taken by the good reviews about the place, that I made Java Jazz, Coffee Shop, a must for our next Tagaytay itinerary.

You got to keep your eyes open or else miss the signage!

The Coffee Shop is also an Art Gallery. The paintings were displayed on the floor. Something unique about this Coffee house, is the floor seating. Although, I honestly couldn't make much sense out of it. It was difficult and uncomfortable seating on the floor after awhile and I got to the raise the question of "is the mat clean?"

I got a bit excited ordering, I really thought this place is special (again based on the reviews I have read). We ordered chocolate, coffee (which as I was told the house specialty), club house sandwich, veggie lasagna and ice cream cake (it was just plain ice cream).

However, when our food arrived, I was honestly not satisfied.

I don't understand the hype I have read from praises and comments I have seen on the net.

My son did not even finished drinking his chocolate!

(the kids enjoyed the exhibit though)

I don't think I will be back anytime soon. For some coffee indulgement time, I would suggest you go to the tested Bag of Beans!

Java Jazz is located at 442 Tagaytay, Calamba Road, Sungay West, Tagaytay City, Cavite
Tel. No. (046)8602699

Ming's Garden Tagaytay

(My boys at Ming's Garden Coffee Shop entrance)

 

It was a perfect day to start my 35th birthday! We are off to spend a weekend at The Canyon Woods Resort in Tagaytay.

 

On the way to the resort we stopped at the Ming's Garden, owned by former president Fidel V. Ramos' wife Ming Ramos.

 

(Inside the coffee shop, while waiting for our delicious suman.

The souvenier shop as background)

We go to Tagaytay quite often, but never had the chance to check out this place, until now.  The place is serene and gives a feel of a laid back country-garden atmosphere. The garden is well kept, restrooms are clean, and staff are friendly.  

 

The garden houses a coffee and "pasalubong" shop. We weren't really hungry, but the menu card picture of a yummy "suman" so grabbed my husband's eyes.

We ordered "sumang yapos" in coco syrup, siomai (my kids are addicted to siomai so this is a default order), club sandwich, "halo-halo", tea and kapeng barako (to go with my husband's suman). The "halo-halo", "suman" and "kapeng barako" did not disappoint us!

 

My kids had a blast running around the garden and spent a good deal of their time watching the Koi fishes, in a man made pond beside the coffee shop.

Before leaving I got a couple of hanging plants for our gazebo for only P50 a piece, truly a steal.

I am certain this will a regular stop over whenever we go to Tagaytay. We will be back!