THE nippy weather, the crisp morning air and verdant sprawl have made Tagaytay City the quintessential urban slave’s favorite weekend burrow. Even on a soggy summer afternoon, this city remains calm and cool, with only the row of sunflowers lining the main highway warming up a hearty welcome.
This December, the magical lure of Tagaytay harks once more to the merry tunes of the Christmas season. Buckle up, enjoy the ride as Inquirer brings you some of Tagaytay’s favorite destinations.
Tootsie’s Home-Cooked Specialties
“I am not a chef. I don’t have any cooking degrees under my name. I am your house kusinera,” said Tootsie Marco, owner and operator of Tootsie’s Home-Cooked Specialties on the corner of J. Abad Santos and Aguinaldo Highway, Silang Crossing West, Tagaytay City (tel. 0917-TOOTSIE, 046-4834629).
Seating up to 90 pax, the restaurant that opened only this year is already serving to full capacity especially on weekends. Its secret? Good old-fashioned home-cooking; the kind, said its owner, a mother would serve to her children. This is food, she said, that passed the strict quality control of a mother.
The lengua, for instance, is a labor of love. Slow-cooked for up to six hours, boiled thrice over then simmered until the meat cooked in its own juices, every bite is so tender it practically melts in the mouth.
Many of Tootsie’s recipes are churned from Marco’s family recipes, tracing all the way back to her grandmother—and a good number of them are her own children’s personal favorites. Some of them have been given a new twist, thanks to the generous help of Marco’s good friend, chef Ed Quimson.
An innovative winning collaboration with the renowned chef is Turon Halo-Halo. Deep-fried the way the traditional turon is prepared, Tootsie’s version is also stuffed with leche flan and homemade ube, the star ingredients of halo-halo, and drizzled with its own langka sauce.
The Kansi Bulalo, another favorite, has the distinct piquant flavor of batwan sourced all the way from Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. Rare to other parts in the country, batwan is a souring fruit abundant only in this side of the Visayas region.
“Tootsie’s serves food worthy of a house guest partaking of a family meal. As a mother, I don’t scrimp on ingredients. These are dishes I know my children would like to eat,” Marco said.
Tootsie’s will soon come out with its own line of bottled gourmet sauce and sweets.
Country Suites Discovery Tagaytay
After four years, the Country Suites Discovery Tagaytay on 300 Calamba Rd., San Jose, Tagaytay City (tel. 046-4134567) is still the city’s barometer for excellent, hotel-standard service B&B inn. With the panoramic view of the Taal Lake and volcano, the intimate country home has only seven luxurious suites each draped in its own individual country-living theme.
Guests are pampered like royalty with complimentary wines with cheese and hors d’oeuvres during cocktail hours each evening, daily makeup and turndown service, daily complimentary breakfast, newspaper and parking.
Plump goose down pillows, a cup of hot chocolate with cookies at bedtime, a cozy fireplace and a staff who will dote on practically every guests’ whims—including out-sourcing a buko pie, for instance, and warming it in the oven prior serving.
All rooms are WiFi-ready, air-conditioned with cable TV, DVD players and telephone. The Oxford suite, the largest of the rooms in Victorian décor, has its own private fireplace and is the only suite with a bath. There’s also a main library with books and DVDs, and an entertainment area. A trek on Taal volcano is also offered.
Restaurant Verbena, with its Colombian chef David Pardo de Ayala, whips up some of the city’s finest country cuisines. A five-course Winter Solstice is offered for the Christmas season: Smoked Duck Breast, Creamy Onion Velouté, main course choice between Pan-Roasted Seafood and Baby Fillet Mignon, Gingerbread Spice “Panna Cotta” and special illy coffee or tea.
“We go the extra mile by getting to know our clients on a more personal level before they step into our hotel, such as knowing their favorite food or birthdays,” said Augusto Barrios, outgoing resident manager.
Domicillo
Home-shopping might not be on your itinerary when visiting Tagaytay City, but 100-percent unique, Filipino export-quality finds can be sourced at the city’s premier lifestyle center Domicillo on Unit 6, Cliffhouse, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Maharlika East, Tagaytay City (tele-fax 046-4132093).
Owned and operated by exporter Rene Alcala, Domicillo sells home accessories like mirrors, lamps, picture frames, jars, vases, wrought-iron votive candle holder, and home furniture such as faux leather aubergine sofa and outdoor, wrought-iron table sets.
Mirrors have always held a childlike fascination in Alcala. A few years ago, he crafted the Manila mirror to be up among the more popular Venetian mirrors. The Manila mirror, as its name suggests, reflects traditional Filipino design sensibilities in its usage of materials such as brown top shells or black lip shells, for instance, to create a stunning mirror unlike anything in the market today.
“This lifestyle center is a showcase of the Filipino genius and artistry. We don’t normally get to see items like these because they’re available only abroad. Through Domicillo, Filipinos can now have in their homes luxurious, export-quality home accessories and furniture,” Alcala said.
A coffee table, for instance, is made of laminated rattan material; a lamp from slivers of coconut shells; a lamp of laminated seashells. Bags, earrings, bracelets and even personal items such as scented oils are also for sale.
Domicillo recently opened a branch at L/3 of the swanky Greenbelt 5, Makati City.
Gourmet Café
Located on Km 52, Aguinaldo Highway, Lalaan II, Silang, Cavite, Gourmet Café (tel. 046-414-0138) is the farm-fresh, organic dining experience by the eight-hectare Gourmet Farm Inc.
Producer of ground coffee blends, teas, organic greens, spices and herbs, preservative-free salad dressings, pasta sauces, spread and dips, Gourmet Café makes a great stop for quick buys of healthy gifts or pasalubong to friends and families.
Gourmet coffees to choose from include Mountain-Grown Arabica, Barako Batangas Espesyal, Maynila Blend, Espresso Blend and Reserve, plus a Hazelnut-flavored selection. Ampalaya, pito-pito, sambong, banaba, lagundi and ginger teas, all known for their detoxifying ingredients, are available in convenient tea bags. Coffees start at P170/bag while teas start at P95/box.
Kitchen Exclusives are bottled salad dressings and dips ranging from Thousand Islands, Herb and Cheese, Honey Mustard, Garlic, Roman Garlic Spread, Balsamic Vinaigrette and Mango Vinaigrette starting at P100 per bottle.
Fire Lake Grill
A Malibu rum-poached pineapple carpaccio served with pink peppercorns, candied lime peel and homemade coconut ice cream in a brandy snap basket—this is the delightful dessert from chef Paul Huang, who likes to marry two opposing elements in his recipes whenever possible.
The peppercorn on a dessert, for instance, with its gentle sting, makes for a rather sweeter ending for this bestseller. Located on Unit 3, Cliffhouse Tagaytay, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City, Fire Lake Grill (tel. 046-4132069, 0917-5298421) has been awarded Best Restaurant by Philippine Tatler and is included in the coffee-table book “Manila’s Best Kept Restaurant Secrets” by Ines Cabarrus and Elian Habayeb.
Huang’s dish, as his restaurant name implies, is a reflection of his adventurous culinary style and creativity. “It’s about contrasts—volcano being fire and lake being cold water. Hot and cold, fire and water; hot food, cool mood,” Huang said.
He has worked in the kitchen of the 2007 Le Cordon Bleu Restaurant of the Year awardee chef Emmanuel Stroobant of Saint Pierre at the Singapore World Gourmet Summit; and Sage’s chef Jusman So who serves contemporary French cuisine.
Another of his creative concoctions is the dark chocolate and ginger ganache tart with vanilla-caramel sauce, walnut praline and candied ginger, where the oriental, peppery flavor of the ginger gives an interesting bite to an otherwise cloying rich dessert.
The linguine pasta with mushrooms, Italian garlic sausages in black truffle cream sauce, his newest creation, is already a winner among regular clientele.
Copyright 2009 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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