Tagaytay roadtrip

So after my internship duties in San Juan, Batangas, my friends suddenly invited me to a Tagaytay road foodtrip. To say I was excited was an understatement, seeing as I had been enclosed in clinics and hospitals for almost a year.

Before going to Tagaytay, we set our itinerary up. It was supposed to be as follows:
1. Abundant place - home of the giant palitaw
2. Green ATS Bulalohan and Restaurant
3. Pink Sisters Convent
4. Puzzle Mansion
5. Giant ferris wheel
6. Bag of Beans Cafe

Pretty hectic, huh? Anyway, they fetched me at Robinsons Ermita around 9 in the morning so we can still enjoy Tagaytay more. Here's how it went.

First, we went to Abundant Place - home of the giant palitaw. We almost just passed through it because the signage wasn't really visible. When we went out of the van, that was when I was awed at how homey and pretty the place is. It was decorated with lots of seashells and vines, it almost looked like a man-made paradise garden! The place was very cool (breezy) and it was very relaxing. They even have a store where they sell man-made stuff out of wood, bamboo etc.

Me and my friends at Abundant place. :)

Now, off to the food.

To be perfectly honest, my expectations when they said it is "giant" is really... giant. Like plate-ish size. So I was pretty underwhelmed when I saw that the palitaw is just like this:

The plate is just 6-inches in diameter.

Yes. The giant palitaw is comparable to just 2 regular palitaws melded together. As for the taste, it tastes like normal palitaw, a bit on the sweet side but you can still taste the coconut shavings coating it. The palitaw, when bought a la carte, is 45 pesos, but when you add hot chocolate (which was the one recommended by the owner), it goes up to 120 pesos.

Back then, I was still a student so I was iffy in spending so much. However, due to the coaxing of my friends, I tried the hot chocolate too.

It is easy to say that their hot chocolate was one of the best hot chocolate I have tasted so far. You know that the drink wasn't cut short of tablea because the chocolatey flavor and the aroma was so rich and strong but it wasn't overwhelming. The owner was also right when she said that their palitaw matches with the hot chocolate, it really is a match made in heaven!

They also served us with taragon tea which I think was very refreshing, tbh. I even asked if I can get some so I can make my own at home. :p

Overall:

Environment: 5/5

Food: 4/5

Value for money: 3.5/5

Next we went to Green ATS Bulalohan and Restaurant. My friend told me that the bulalo there was to die for, I just didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing (you know, with the grease and what not :p).

We were placed in a simple table with chairs in the middle of the restaurant. However, we wanted to enjoy the view more so we asked if we could transfer seats. The waiter said we should order at least 1,200 pesos if we wanted a cabin-type seat. We looked at our orders and since it will be at least 1,200, we asked to be transferred. 

The view from the cabin to which we transferred. :)

We ordered sizzling vegetables (200 pesos-ish), daing na bangus (250-ish pesos), roasted chicken (280 pesos-ish), and fried bulalo (500 pesos).

Almost everything in this place tasted good! The best thing I have tasted though, was the fried bulalo. Seriously! Maybe it's because the beef was crunchy instead of soggy unlike the other bulalos out there. The beef was so savory and yet it was so chewy and soft (and guilt-inducing). The soup base for the bulalo was very tasty too! It is almost like a very tasty nilagang baka. :)

The daing na bangus also didn't fall short of my expectations. I think it is marinated, seeing as there is an underlying taste of soy sauce and calamansi in the bangus. The fried chicken was also good too, albeit being on the dry side. The skin was very flavorful and crunchy (yes I know, very caloric too!), however, the flesh was dry (as I said before) and not as tasty too. The sizzling vegetables was nice, it was what I expected from it, though it could've been better if it was sauteed a bit before it was sizzled. Just to bring more flavor, I think.

We paid 1,400 pesos for the food, and we were sooo stuffed after. Considering that we were 6, and we were hungry, it is safe to assume that the food and the place was worth it.

Overall:

Environment: 5/5

Food: 4.25/5

Value for money: 5/5

Next, we ventured to the Puzzle Mansion because they said it is also a nice tourist attraction. When we went there, the sun was sooooo scorching hot and the desk person said we needed to pay 100 pesos per person (I think?) if we wanted to view the gigantic puzzle pieces down the cliff. I didn't see anything significant in the puzzles so I backed out, telling them I'll just wait in the car. Some of my friends suddenly didn't want to as well, so we just bought dessert from there before heading to our next destination. I completely forgot what dessert we bought (it was pricey too!) but I remember enjoying it with my friends.

Next, we went to Pink Sisters Convent to buy goodies. Much to our luck, there was a mass ongoing when we went there, so the roads going to the convent were closed and we had to walk to go there. We initially planned on finishing the mass and buying foodies after, but my friends (and me, partially) wanted to explore more of Tagaytay so we left, there were also no seats left so...  Do not judge me! T.T

Next we went to the giant ferris wheel at SMDC (or was that there? I forgot!) It was actually my first time to ride that ferris wheel from SM, they have it in MOA too but I didn't want to spend that much if it is just in Manila.

I really didn't know what the fuzz was about, tbh. They said it was air-conditioned, so I expected it to be cooler. However, only my feet was cold. We were drenched in sweat the entire time we were there. There was nothing special in particular too. Yes, maybe the Tagaytay scene was a magnificent place to take a picture of, or maybe it is a good place to propose or confess to a loved one because there were songs playing inside the cabin, but... I don't think it is worth the money.

For one, I'd have to either: 

1. ride in daylight, see the sceneries, and experience the heat of the sun. or 

2. ride at night, experience the coolness of Tagaytay weather and not see the sceneries.

It's never a win-win situation.

Oh well, here is the scene from the top of the ferris wheel. Maybe the only thing I got from this experience is I got to scare the hell out of my friends (they were soooo scared of moving while our cabin was on top, so I tried shaking it and they screamed and freaked out haha!)

Next, we went to Bag of Beans.Yes, those were my excited friends. Haha~

Chris initially wanted to taste the Cafe Alamid (cat feces coffee) but when he learned that it is 1,500 per cup, he didn't feel like it anymore. Haha! I asked the waitress what their best seller is and they said it's caramel macchiato. I haven't tasted any caramel macchiato aside from that of Starbucks, so I didn't know where to compare. Since the girl said it is one of their best sellers, and I am assuming she is much knowledgeable than me in these kinds of stuff, I ordered that.

They actually took a loooong time to make our orders. The place was open too so there were lots of mosquitoes biting my leg. T_T The place was dimly lit that it almost provided a serene atmosphere, perfect for intimate conversations, if only without the mosquitoes. :)) So around 20 minutes have passed, and that was only when our drinks started coming in.

The taste? It wasn't special at all. I didn't find anything special in it. Even the presentation and the taste was just ordinary. Maybe I am just not into caramel macchiato, but it was really underwhelming. It tasted like regular coffee with sugar. :c Maybe I'll try their other food next time, I'll shy away from macchiatos from now on too, I didn't enjoy that one in Starbucks as well.

So, we finished our road trip around 8 in the evening. They also went to buy dinner at a burger place but I just stayed in the car (I had no money left huuuh). I arrived home 10 in the evening and slept immediately after.

Are you also into long road trips that include food hunting? Do you have other recommendations for Tagaytay food places? :)