Tagaytay reamins to be one of the most visited cities in the Philippines mainly because one can relax and experience a microvacation without driving or going too far from Manila. Aside from the cool climate and picturesque landscape, Tagaytay has been a favorite destiantion for foodies. Two weeks ago, we went up to Tagaytay to try out some of its awesome food. Here is a short guide for those planning to have a food adventure in Tagaytay:
1. Buon Giorno at Cliffhouse Tagaytay - Buon Giorno is an Italian restaurant located in Cliffhouse, Tagaytay. It offers a variety of Italian dishes and we get to try out the Spaghettini Aglio e Olio (Php 272) and the Spaghetti Vongole e Gamberetti (Php 302) which both tastes so good! They also serve their pasta with a free basket of garlic bread. Since Buon Giorno was our first stop in our food adventure, we only ordered pasta so that we wouldn't fill out our tummies too much - leaving room for our next destination.
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| Buon Giorno menu |
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| Spaghettini Aglio e Olio and a free basket of garlic bread |
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| Spaghetti Vongole e Gamberetti |
How to get to Buon Giorno: Ride a jeep with the sign "NBI" and alight at Cliffhouse. Cliffhouse is along Aguinaldo Highway, after Leslie's Restuarant.
Address: Buon Giorno
General Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City
Phone:(046) 413 2102
2. Carlo's Pizza - located in an area called One Destination. Carlo's Pizza offers one of the best tasting pizza I have ever tried. We ordered the Messicana Pizza which is a combination of ground beef, tomato salsa, green pepper, jalapeño chilies, cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. For the affordable price of Php 255 that is good for 2-4 persons, this pizza is easy on the wallet but makes your tummy happy.
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| Messicana Pizza |
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| Good food at Carlo's Pizza and a good view - what more can you ask? |
How to get to Carlo's Pizza: One Destination is just a few meters from Cliffhouse so you can also ride a jeep plying the "NBI" route and alight at One Destination.
Tip: Get a table outside for an amazing view of Taal Volcano.
3. Len's Kitchen at Mahogany - what is a trip to Tagaytay without trying out its famous bulalo? While there were a lot of restaurants throughout Tagaytay serving bulalo, we chose to go to Len's Kitchen at Mahogany since I read a lot of good reviews about this place. Len's Kitchen is located on a strip of carinderia-type eateries just opposite the Mahogany market so you can be sure that they use only the freshest meat in their bulalo soup. The bulalo is served piping hot, a perfect balance to the cool climate of Tagaytay. One order of bulalo is around Php 350, good for 2-4 persons. You can request to have the bone chopped up so that the bone marrow will mix with the soup. They also offer free dessert, unlimited bananas and pineapples.
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| Tagaytay's famous bulalo - yes it might make your cholesterol level go a notch higher but who can resist this anyway? |
How to get to Len's Kitchen: Ride a jeep with the sign "NBI" and alight at Mahogany. Landmark is a police station on the corner of Mahogany. Walk ahead until you see the strip of bulalo restaurants opposite the Mahogany market.
4. Bag of Beans - to cap off the food adventure, head out to Bag of Beans located near the Tagaytay rotunda. Bag of Beans is one of the most famous coffee shops in Tagaytay (even more famous than Starbucks, I think). It serves the rare alamid coffee (Civet coffee) which is made from the droppings of the civet cat. If you are not brave enough to order the alamid coffee, order their blueberry cheesecake instead. The cheesecake is so good and though it is priced at Php 150 per slice, you would still feel that you got your money's worth.
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| This blueberry cheesecake is so good, it melts in your mouth! |
How to get to Bag of Beans - ride any jeep that will pass through the Tagaytay rotunda. Bag of Beans is opposite 7-eleven and is beside BPI. There are several branches of Bag of Beans all throughout Tagaytay so their blueberry cheesecake won't be that hard to find.
5. Good Shepherd - for some pasalubong/ take home food shopping, don't forget to drop by at Good Shepherd in Maryridge. Good Shepherd is run by nuns and is famous in Baguio City. It's a good thing that we don't need to go up as far as Baguio City to get a taste of their famous Ube Halaya for they now have a branch in Tagaytay.
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| Good Shepherd heavenly goodies |
How to get to Maryridge Good Shepherd - From Olivarez Tagaytay, ride a jeep going to the "Terminal". Then from "Terminal", ride another jeep going to People's Park. Tell the driver that you will be alighting at Maryridge which is just a few meters after Picnic Grove then walk ahead until you see the entrance to Maryridge.
Other recommendations: You can also try out El Mare's buko pie near Tagaytay public market and burgers at Mushroom Burger. There are a lot of good restaurants around Tagaytay, ask the locals for their recommendations and I'm sure you will be returning back to Manila energized, refreshed and maybe a few pounds heavier because of your food adventure. :-)
