Bag of Beans (Tagaytay)

We were pleasantly surprised to visit a "relatively new" branch of Bag of Beans. We chose the one nearest to Twin Lakes in Tagaytay and found out the Antonio and Charito Bag of Beans branch was the Twin Lakes branch. They said they moved 2 years ago.

It's been 3 years since we visited Tagaytay and wanted to visit our favorite spots. We chose Bag of Beans for brunch and so we could enjoy the view of Taal Lake. It's a bit far than other restos, but with an active volcano it's always better to keep a safe distance. 

The boys ordered fish. Sweetie got tanigue. I regret not trying it, but it smelled to delectable.

Miggy got fish and chips and he was happy to find out it wasn't the usual Dory. I also regret not trying it...

I was too busy enjoying the country breakfast plate I got. I didn't feel like eating rice at that time and thought it was a good idea to get pancakes with bacon and sausage, haha. It gave me enough fuel to finish visiting Sonya's Garden and Mahogany Market.

And we all shared a plate of carbonara to fulfill the birthday noodles tradition!

You can also buy pasalubong at Bag of Beans. We just got a bread sampler since we planned to visit Sonya's Garden bakery. On hindsight, I should have bought some raisin bread at Bag of Beans. Well, it just means there should be a next time!

P.S. It was my friend, Juned, who introduced us to Bag of Beans way back. It was only the main branch at that time. 

Road Trip!

I've wanted to go on a roadtrip for awhile now. There's been no good time for it since we're busy with other things. Last Saturday, I asked the boys if they wanted to go out of town. We were undecided since Typhoon Francisco was set to arrive.

We made the decision to proceed on Monday night since the weather forecast showed a low chance of rain. We left around 9 in the morning on Tuesday and took the short trip to Tagaytay. We headed first to eat brunch at Bag of Beans. The usual branch from Twin Lakes we used to visit moved to their own place. It's now called Charito and Antonio Bag of Beans which overlooks the Splendido area. 

After brunch, we headed to Sonya's Garden to buy some bread. We also love eating there, but since it's been 3 years since we last visited Tagaytay we split our time across what we wanted to see. Well, we spent more at Sonya's than for brunch since we got some pasalubong for our friends (haha). We agreed we won't wait long to go back, haha. 

And then we went to our other favorite place, Mahogany Market, to buy fruits, veggies and some plants. We got dragon fruit, banana, avocado and dalandan. I was happy to buy some dalandan so I can make my annual Spanish adobo. Sweetie got some veggies since my kitchen is open again (it's not so hot anymore to cook!). 

I managed to control myself and just got "a few" plants, haha. Just some marigold and Gumamela (hehe). I'll try to re-pot them in the next few days. We're starting to look like a jungle now. Mom would be pleased. 

Going on a road trip felt like a reset. We all needed it since we've been busy with home and health stuff. It's a never ending cycle, so it was a good break. We couldn't do overnight trips anymore since we have 8 fur kids who will get mad at us. A whole day trip to Tagaytay is a good idea. Maybe next month we could go to Binan again to buy some Chef RV goodies! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Visited Tagaytay After 4 Years

It's been a few days since we've been plunged into despair. I wasn't feeling well when I woke up this morning, so I went back to sleep. It was after lunch when I woke up. I went through this phase last year after I had my second PE. My doctor said it was PTSD. I guess it's been triggered and I just hope it doesn't last. 

I've had to safeguard my safe space the past few days to protect my health. I'm lucky I'm surrounded by friends and my Ates and Kuyas in my neighborhood. They have been providing support and company. That's how I've been coping. There's so much misinformation out there, so it's best to take everything with a grain of salt. 

Just before the elections I was finally able to get together with some friends. We met up in Tagaytay and ate at Sonya's Garden. The last time we got together was in November 2019 and we also had good food back then. Good thing the crew at Sonya's Garden allowed us to stick around even after their lunch service. It was really great to see my friends in person and we spent it reminiscing and laughing at old memories. 

Laughing probably helped burn everything we ate at Sonya's Garden because we ended up having merienda at Bag of Beans (Twin Lakes). The last time I was there was in 2018 and the place had aged well. Saw the Taal Volcano and it's so different now from before. Still beautiful, but it will probably take a long time before it goes back to it's old glory. 

I was soon tired and needed to rest. We planned to be home by 5 in the afternoon, but it was already 7 in the evening when we finally left for home. We wanted to go back to the hawaiian bbq place, but it was already closed. We decided to have dinner at RSM (new one near the rotonda) since we needed to stretch our legs. It was a huge place, but there was just a handful of customers. It was a good rest stop for us and we ended up bringing home more food haha. 

It was good to look back at happy memories today so I could get going. I'm making myself busy by spending more time with my plants and sewing. Hopefully my veggies would finally be productive and I'm targeting to finish my tshirt memory quilt blanket soon. 

Hope you are all feeling better and coping well. Remember, Papa God loves us. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Places with Cool Weather in the Philippines

Baguio is one of the few cities in the Philippines that enjoy cool weather. The temperature can sometimes go as low as 6'C. The only other places I've been to in the Philippines is Benguet, Buda, Lucban and Tagaytay. Aside from going to the beach I love going to these places just to take a break from the heat in the city.

Baguio

Going to Baguio is easy. You can just take a bus and then in about 6 hours you're there (best to take the late evening bus). I've been visiting Baguio since I was a child and I remember during that time water heaters didn't really exist yet and I'd cry everytime my Mom would bathe me. It was just so cold! I enjoy Baguio a lot more now since I can take warm showers and there's a lot more food places to try and more sites to visit. Do visit the Ketchup Community to satisfy your hungry tummy.

Benguet

Ah the land of strawberries! Benguet is where our veggies come from and the farmland is a sight to see! I'm going back tomorrow to finally see the strawberry farm full of strawberries!

Buda

Buda is a town in between Davao and Cagayan de Oro and is a great place to stopover for a meal. The trip from CDO to Davao is about 6 hours. I've only been there once since my uncle wasn't too happy about me traveling by land from CDO to Davao. The place though is like Baguio when I was still a child and would be a great hideaway if I had the chance to go there again.

Lucban

Lucban is my Dad's hometown and is located in Quezon. We used to go there a lot to visit relatives and to enjoy the cool weather. Lucban has great heritage sites (it was occupied by the Japanese during the war), fantastic food (pancit habhab!) and it's where I received healing (Kamay ni Hesus). And one thing I love most about Lucban is the longganisa!

Tagaytay

I go most often to Tagaytay though since it's just about an hour away from where I live in Manila. We usually head there just to get some cool air and relax and see the sites. But since you can only take as much photos of the Taal Volcano (it hasn't really changed in my lifetime), the best thing to do in Tagaytay is to eat! You can experience a wide variety of cuisines and visit cafes just to chill.

Feeling the heat? Relax, visit a cool place in the Philippines!

Tagaytay

Tagaytay is just 45 minutes from home so it's a great place to go to for a quick whole-day getaway.

We brought my sister and aunt to Tagaytay last weekend. We left at around 8 in the morning and had time to grab some breakfast at McDonald's SLEX. We arrived at our first stop - Sonya's Garden at past ten in the morning. We went around a bit and got some goodies in the country store and spa shop. I got a takatak -- wood chime that sounds like the street vendor's takatak box. I've yet to hear it takatak though since it hasn't been windy the past few days.

Lily in her pond?

Next stop was supposed to be the Flower Farm, but it was closed so we headed to Leslie's Restaurant for lunch. The bulalo was absolutely delightful! It was exactly how my Dad cooks bulalo. I think I'm going to be just like Markku who raves about Leslie's bulala everytime he gets a chance. I want bulalo!

Beef bulalo... the meat's hiding under the veggies.

Our trip wouldn't be complete without dropping by Starbucks and taking photos of the Taal Volcano. It was a gloomy day, but we were lucky the sun peeked through the clouds after we got some fraps.

For pasalubong shopping, we went to Mahogany Market. My aunt went crazy over fruits and I went crazy over plants and flowers. I have been toiling over my garden the past few months, trying to overcome my very brown thumb. I've admittedly killed a few plants already, experienced pesticide poisoning, but I'm keen to become a green thumbed gardener. And to show my commitment, I've actually started a new blog on gardening -- Gardening for Noobs. My Mom has just been rolling her eyes at my efforts, but she's been a great mentor, and she's my plant emergency room/hospital hehehe. 

One day I will have my own plantation!

I hope to go back before the year ends! =)

Food Binge: Breakfast at Antonio’s, Mannang’s, Gilly’s Island, Max’s, Café Nemoso, Miggy’s, Coffee Bean, Café M, Bubba Gump

I just realized that I’ve been binging on food again in the past week. No wonder I can’t wear my skinny jeans again! Argh! Gotta get those uber funny looking love handles burned before Bohol!

Breakfast at Antonio’s (Tagaytay) – Had a coffee break and pancakes with a friend on the way to Punta Fuego. The chocolate chip pancakes were so rich and filling! The ultimate sugar rush! On the way back to Manila from Punta Fuego we had lunch at Antonio’s again. I had the misfortune of eating their spaghetti. Grrrr! I'm still wondering why it had so much carrots in it! (My friend says it was used as an extender.) My spag’s better. But the place is so nice and romantic! (Mental note: bring a boyfriend next time!).

Mannang’s (Mall of Asia) – Regular Asian food. Sarap. Iced tea though had lemon in it and I’m allergic to citrus. We had to take out the calamares since the serving was so big. Well, nothing special then.

Gilly’s Island (Mall of Asia) – Miguel and I just had dessert. I had the mango pie and Miguel had the oreo cheesecake. Why is it I never learn not to order dessert from bars? They’re always, always, always frozen!

Max’s Fried Chicken (SM Bicutan) – Max’s never fails to fill me up and satisfy my craving for chicken. Jufran plus Max’s Fried Chicken = simply the best lunch with one’s family.

Café Nemoso (Better Living) – This is where I showed Sasha the sowsi way of eating barbecue, and their grilled hotdogs are the best! Dibah Jayvs? (barbecue photo by Sasha Manuel).

Miggy’s (BF Homes) – Still my favorite Mexican food place. I love their burrito! Too bad their Better Living branch is gone.

Coffee Bean (Greenbelt) – Note to self: their cakes aren’t good. I’m also allergic to their coffee. Geeez.

Café M (Greenbelt) – Really nice place for meetings, the waiters just walk by as if you don’t exist. My ka-meeting said that sometimes you have to ask 5 waiters to get your drink. Big pancake servings though. Service though wasn’t good, I had to wave my arms wildly to get the attention of the waiters.

Bubba Gump (Greenbelt) – Shrimps! Shrimps! Shrimps! I love shrimps! But I love my Tita Olive’s shrimps cooked with 7-Up better.

I think I’ll be sticking to homemade cooked food this week. I’m going to be financially and horizontally challenged soon if I keep eating all around town!