I'm in Love with the Skies of Manila

On a good day, this is the type of sky that you get to enjoy in Manila.

Aren't these clouds absolutely beautiful?

But sometimes, even if it gets cloudy, the sun always shines through.

Don't they look majestic? :)

La Cocina de Tita Moning

Right after my walking tour, I was chauffeured to La Cocina for lunch!

I don't know why, but I was the ONLY guest for lunch today.

And it feels kinda weird when all the staff are standing there ready to serve you. Maybe this is how it feels like to be an aristocrat? So before lunch was served, I was given a short tour around the mansion.

The interior is beautiful and the food is really good but - this lunch costed me an arm and a leg and instead of taking the taxi, I took the bus home! Haha.

Upon arrival, I was treated to some bread and chilled Lemongrass Juice.

See, I took a bite before taking the photos :) it was very delicious.

The family room where I was seated before lunch was served.

The stairways, there are 3 levels to this house but the 3rd level is off limits to guests.

This is called the Ballerina Room because two of the Legarda daughters are ballerinas and here they showcase all their belongings.

It's probably the Spanish's influence? Or the American's? Everywhere that I've been to and like are usually furnished with all sorts of chandelier and I have to confess, I love them, they're so shinny and pretty and I really love the interior of this place. However, the Legardas no longer live in this house, instead, the servants do now.

The main dinning hall, there are a few dining rooms to chose from depending on the amount of pax per table, and those blue china on the walls? Each of them is uniquely hand painted and lined with gold. No servants are allowed to touch them and they have to be washed by the Legarda children themselves.

And lunch is ready - table for one. :)

There was a note left on the table explaining the histories of the China plate that I was using, also, they encourage patrons to use this bell whenever the needs arrises. Of course I don't need to, all of them were watching me while I eat! They even know what I wanted or secretly desired (like how I wanted more side dish of spinach and brown rice to go with the main but was too shy to ask for more because I don't want to waste any food).

I was really struggling with lunch, not because it doesn't tastes nice but because it was very rich and filling as how locals would describe Filipino food - comfort food. But of course what I ordered wasn't purely local, they're infused with Spanish influences.

My onion soup - I wanted something not creamy so that I can eat dessert, but they put bread crumbs and cheese in the soup and made it very filling but it is undoubted, the best onion soup I've ever had, comforting indeed.

Fresh Papaya Salad with Jamon Serrano, Fresh Carabao or Mozarella

Cheese, Basil from La Cocina Herbs Garden and a Honey Calamansi Vinaigrette.

La Cocina famous slowly roasted Pork with its own cracklings candied sweet camote and organic brown rice. I felt like I've gone back to Medieval times eating out from China and steel plate.

Now, this dessert is really something - Banana in Mille Fille drenched in Rasberry Chocolate sauce. I couldn't finish it because it was really sweet but I was glad to have ordered it.

Their own Herbs Garden.

Verdict - it was the most romantic lunch I've ever had even though I was all alone. Can you imagine if you were there with your significant other? Sigh...such romantic I am.

Walk This Way - Intramuros

"INTRAMUROS, the old capital of Manila, was built in 1571. It remains a monumental, if ruined, relic of the Spanish period in Philippine history. It is a city within a city, separated from the rest of Manila by its crumbling walls. This ancient capital had well-planned streets, plazas, the Governor's Palace and churches. However, many buildings were reduced to shambles in World War II."

You can never predict the traffic in Manila. My walking tour is scheduled at 9.30am and I left for the LRT at 8.15am. I was late, it took me 1.5 hours to reach Intramuros and I had to wait 3 times before I got onto the LRT/MRT (because the passengers were already full to the brim and beyond the maximum capacity) and had to practically run to Intramuros. I thought I was late but the beauty of being in Manila is everyone is always late and the tour started at 10am, I was so disappointed when I thought everyone had left without me so I was sitting in front of the steps of Manila Cathedral enjoying the breeze and catching my breath and determined not to let it ruin my day when Carlos Celdran suddenly appeared!

I was so happy when I saw him. It's really an adventure to take the public transportation to Intramuros and I really dread having to go again because I've been there 3 times(for different reasons)!

Though a little bit pricy but his tours are definitely highly recommended, it feels like a walking theatrical experience! He's very entertaining and he has different soundtracks and props for different occasions during his tours! Amazing! Below was when he was talking about the Americans in Manila. He even put on the American accent while he was impersonating General McArthur.

St. Augustin Church and some of the interiors. We're not supposed to take photos, at least, not with flash anyway, but all the Pinoys *snap snap snap* with flash...

You get to make 3 wishes when you're in St. Augustin Church, what would you wish for?

Plaza San Luis

After the 2 hours walking tour, Carlos Celdran treated everybody to a glass (or as much as you want) of Halo-halo. Aww...isn't he nice? Also, because he said, Filipinos are just like Halo-halo, you're not a true Filipino unless you've decorated something to death like the Jeepneys! So Halo-halo is a combination of various sweet condiments in ice, just like our ABC.

So what did I do after the tour? Treat myself to a sumptuous meal of course!

Does Anybody Need Help?

Cafe Ysabel

"Cafe Ysabel is the restaurant of Center for Asian Culinary Studies."

A 9 months cooking course costs about US 70-80k. Not only it's one of the best cooking school in Asia, it is also highly raved by food connoisseurs even Anthony Bourdain and Bobby Chin came and had a review at this restaurant.

Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well that night, after an overly stuffed weekend, my tummy was feeling crummy.

However, the freshly baked bread paired with this 'Special Secret Ingredient Olive Oil' is indeed very yummy and special.

I ordered the Angry Sauce pasta -shellfish, salami and rich Naples sauce spiked with peppers, vodka and brandy. The name is so cute isn't it? The flavour is indeed very good and it's not as peppery or alcoholic as I expected and the seafood is so amazingly fresh and cooked just right. Now I understand why people loved eating seafood, especially when it's fresh and cooked just right. Sadly, I couldn't even finish half of it and also skipped dessert.

Salmon ala Griglia - grilled fillet with red wine sauce and kalamata olive puree.



Grilled Salmon in Miso sauce.

Peter Pan Pie – chocolate ice cream, butterscotch and Belgian chocolate in a cookie crust.

Crepes Ysabel – our chef's own rendition of this luscious dessert.
It's actually crepes with mango and Vanilla Ice-cream.

The food presentation at Cafe Ysabel is amazing!  If I could stomach more, I would've definitely ordered more stuff and taken more photos, look, even my photos turn out crummy, I guess it really wasn't a good day for me to eat...

BUT! What is great about this place is the school provides short courses for food enthusiast like me! And it's CHEAP! So I'm definitely coming back to take some lessons when my schedule permits! Muahahhaaa....

Happy Valentine's Day!

So what did you do for the weekend?

Well, I went for a road trip! Where else but to the beautiful Tagaytay again!

The drive was quite jammed, I think everyone was planning to go for a romantic getaway over the weekend.

First stop - Antonio's. I was really looking forward to lunch because I was hungry and the drive was a little bit crazy.

I'm too hungry! And this time they added parsley on top of the olive spread. Yummers.

My friends ordered the Valentine's Menu Set and it comes with both white and red wine and I ordered the Dalandan juice, a popular local juice. It tastes so much better than lime or orange juice. I had like 4 glasses!

The salads, I can never get enough of the salads, they taste just too amazingly out of your expectation! The combination of the vinaigrette with blue cheese and the greens and the fruits? Woah...it's one hell of a ride for the palette. Simple yet bursts of flavours!

Lime Sorbet - right before the soup and the main course.

Look at my beautiful rack of lamb. The sauce was a little tad too salty, but it tasted great with the pumpkin rissoni! I love it so much!

Gnocchi and pumpkin rissoni.

Ah hah! For all chocolate lovers out there, have you tried Spicy Chocolate? My my, it does burn your throat a little bit like how old ginger does.

I never liked poached pear, but Antonio's poached pear with Vanila ice-cream is perfect. *Swoon*

Supper - What's left of the 600gm steak that comes with the Valentine's Menu Set.

Eating at Antonio's has always been an experience for me, not only the food is affordably priced for that kind of quality, it is also very highly recommended for those who intend to visit Tagaytay.

Day 2 :

We tried to wake up before the crack of dawn the next day just to watch the sunrise but it was a cloudy day and ain't no see no sunshine.

Breakfast by the lake was quite cool.

Right after breakfast, we need to take the boat to the opposite island for a short hike up to the crater.

We stayed at this quaint little B&B called Flamingo Lake Resort which has only 4 rooms.

The trail towards the top was very dusty. On a full day, up to 1000 tourists hike up to the top, we were early, it was only 7am so we didn't have to suffer much from the dust.

The view from midway.

Finally we reached the top after 35 minutes - let's take a break!

On the left is the lake in the middle of the crater, look up front, you can see Taal Volcano, on the far right opposite the island is where we came from.

What is amazing is that, here you see the lake in the midst of the crater, then you see Lake Taal surrounding the island. So it's like a lake in the middle of an island surrounded by another lake in the middle of an island.

Ah, the hammock, just perfect after the hike.

After that, we went to Tagaytay Highlands, it's actually a Private Country Club but since our resort is affiliated to the Country Club, we had special invitation passes. It's not the greatest photo ever but the place is almost as big as Cameron Highlands and it's private, you can only enter if you're a member or you have a special invitation card. It's like a small town, kinda feel like a combination of Cameron Highlands+Kota Tinggi. And on the peak, you have a full view of the whole Tagaytay and you could also see Manila at the far end.

There are 3 golf courses, different properties spread throughout, the cabins, the bungalows, the condominiums and the apartments, various recreational sports and business facilities, cable car services, 20 restaurants.. etc etc etc.

So we went around looking for a place to eat and everyone raved about the Tagaytay Highlands China Palace so off we go in search of good Chinese Food. And of course, the food is as good as it looks! :)

Well I must say, all I did over the weekend was indulging in good food, so don't be surprised when you see me next! Double than what I used to be - Ooops. Hehe. :)