Snapshot on the road: La Mesa Ecopark

La Mesa Ecopark, Quezon City

A Taste of Mushroom Burger, Tagaytay

With all the people looking for healthy alternatives, different vegetarian and semi-vegetarian restaurants have sprung up all over the cities. One of which is Mushroom Burger in Tagaytay City. I was not able to go there when I had a Tagaytay food trip last March but I vowed to return just to try out Mushroom Burger. I have always wanted to visit this place ever since I heard of it. Quite intriguing really specially for people who love mushrooms - just like me! 

Last week when my family attended my cousin's wedding in Batangas, we passed by the Mushroom Burger restaurant and I mentioned to my sister how I would love to try out the food there. She got intrigued too and gladly volunteered to drive us to Tagaytay this weekend.

I was so excited when we entered the restaurant and I saw how simple the interiors were. When we arrived, there were only a few people dining but towards lunch time, we see a lot of people coming in mostly families. After we selected our seats, my brother and sister headed to the counter to check out their menu. These are some of the items that we ordered:

Mushroom Royal - the patty is a combination of beef and mushroom topped with cheese  as well as mushroom and egg omelet. This costs Php105 including fries and drinks.

Mushroom Sandwich - purely mushroom, this cost Php85 including fries and drinks.

Chocolate Mallows Tornado sundae - this costs Php35

Mushroom burgers, fries and sundae

They also have other selections such as noodles, chicken and rice meals for those who is not a fan of mushrooms. You can choose to dine inside but there are also some tables outside. There is a playground and a wishing well outside to keep the kids entertained. I can say that this restaurant is a really good place to hang out and bond with family over delicious mushroom burgers and fries.

Culture mushroom display inside the restaurant

Mushroom Farm - this is a restricted area but I hope they will allow people to see it also

Address:
Mushroom Burger
Km 60, Brgy. Kaybagal
Tagaytay City

Check out their website here.

Tagaytay Food Trip

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.

Buon Giorno menu

Spaghettini Aglio e Olio and a free basket of garlic bread

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.

Messicana Pizza

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.

Website: http://ww.carlospizza.net/index.html

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.

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.

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. 

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. :-)

Batac: Home of the best empanada

Part of the reason why I wanted to go back to Ilocos is because I wanted to try the famous empanada from Batac.  Empanada is a meat pastry consisting of papaya, monggo, longganisa (sausage) and one whole egg wrapped in an orange colored flour wrapper.  This was for me, a complete meal in itself.  Ilocos has a lot of versions of empanada and I have only tried the one from Laoag which also has an orange colored wrapper.  Vigan's version though has a light brown color.  But they say the best empanada comes from the city of Batac.  So in my recent trip to Ilocos, I made sure that we stop over at Batac.

Apparently, empanadas in Batac are quite easy to find.  Situated near the Marcos Museum is the Batac Riverside Empanadahan which houses several outlets selling empanadas.  It seems that the local government is really promoting it.  I even heard that they have an Empanada festival here celebrated every June 23rd.  

Among the most famous empanada here are from Glory's Empanada owned by Gloria Aduana Cocson.  Determined to help her husband raise their family, she perfected her empanada recipe. Through her hardwork and determination, her empanada business grew and it became so popular that Gloria was awarded the prestigious "Kalipi Award" on 2003 and the rest as they say, is history.

Of Windmills and Rocks

When I drafted my travel plans for 2012, Ilocos has been one of my top choices.  I have been to Ilocos before but there is something out there that has kept me coming back.  Who can resist its beautiful landscapes, the abundant history, devoted and loyal people and the very famous bagnet and empanada?

A lot of people go to Ilocos because it's quite easy to get there.  One can either take atleast a 7-hr bus ride or hop on a plane and be there in about an hour.  There are a lot of places to explore and though I have been to Ilocos before, I still felt excited when we went out of the plane and greeted my Ilocana friend.

Ilocos is divided into two parts - llocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.  Ilocos Norte's capital is Laoag City while Vigan City is the capital of Ilocos Sur.  Aside from having very beautiful and  historical landmarks, Ilocos is also known as the birthplace of one Philippines' most controversial presidents, the late Ferdinand Marcos.

Our group hired a jeepney for the duration of our trip and paid the driver Php5,000 for the entire two days.  It was a bit expensive but we figured out that it was our best option since we only have limited time.  I've heard there are free shuttle buses from Laoag City airport going to the city proper so it would be easy to plan out your itinerary once there.

Our first stop was the Bangui windmills or officially known as the NorthWind Bangui Bay Project.  It was my first time to actually go near the windmills and it was a lot bigger than I have imagined.  The windmills stand tall facing the South China Sea. The windmills of Bangui has turned Ilocos' ingenious idea to use wind power to supply electricity to the nearby towns.

View from the Bangui windmills viewdeck

The windmills up close

Big waves crashing along the shores

Bangui souvenirs

Our next destination was the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation.  The rock formation is characterized by a white limestones thus the name, "Kapurpurawan" meaning white in Ilokano unlike the rock formations in Magasang and Macadlao.  The provincial government has constructed a walk way going to the rock's view deck so it's a lot easier to reach it now.  But one still needs to go through the back side to actually reach Kapurpurawan.

The road that leads to the rock

Kapurpurawan Rock Formation

 A nice scene to cap off our first day in Ilocos:

Sunset in Kapurpurawan

Coron Escapade

For a much-needed r&r, Palawan is one of the most obvious choice for an urbanite like me.  As the plane touched down the F. Reyes airport in Busuanga, I can almost smell the scent of the sea and dreamt of white sand beaches.

Coron lies at the northern tip of Palawan and is said to be part of the Calamian Group.  Palawan has two airports and one must book Busuanga if you are to go to Coron.  The other airport is in Puerto Princesa, the gateway to the Underground River.  Travel time is approximately 1 hour.

We availed of the tour package from DIY Coron.  Jayjay, our tricycle driver picked us up at the airport and lead us to Darayonan Lodge where we stayed for a few days.  The room that we got is a quite big and spotlessly clean.  We even had an extra bed where we put most of our stuffs.  They didn't charge us for the extra bed!

When you avail of the services of DIY Coron, part of the package include airport transfers, island hopping, accommodation with breakfast, tour around town, lunch during your island hopping and snorkeling gears rental.  I didn't have any problems with them.  Owen and his staff, Judith have been very helpful.

Part of the itinerary during that time were climbing the 700+ steps to reach the giant cross at Mt. Tapyas, dipping into Maquinit Hot Springs, snorkeling in the clear emerald waters of Siete Picados and Twin Lagoon, basking into the beauty of Kayangan Lake, Banul Beach and Barracuda Lake (there are no more barracudas here, so it's safe) and diving into a shipwreck (which I am just such a chicken and didn't dare to do).

During the trip, I was able to see the unspoilt beauty of Coron.  Yes there are some tourists but I just admire how the people kept this little piece of paradise free from garbage and commercialism.  I can just lie in the sand and be as close to nature as I want to be.  This is beach bumming at its best!

How to get there: Cebu Pacific and Airphil Express has regular flights from Manila to Busuanga. Check out their websites for the schedule and promo prices. :-)

Recommended eats: Try the kare-kare and buttered lobsters at Kawayanan Grill Station located at the town proper.  Also don't forget to try some cashews at the Coron Harvest store.

Recommended sleep HQ: Darayonan Lodge

Recommended tour package: DIY Coron by Owen Ferrer III.  He has a lot of packages that you can choose from and you can even customize your trip if you want.

What to bring home: Souvenir items such as shirts, keychains or magnets sold on stores located in the town proper.  On your last day in Coron, you can also pass by the public market to get some dilis (anchovies) and dangit.  They are quite cheap out there.

In pursuit of the sun in Macadlao

Aside from Magasang, there is still another rock formation in Biri, Samar that is on our list.  We left Villa Amor at 4:30am to catch the sunrise at Macadlao Rock Formation.  There was still no electricity during that time so the whole town was still dark and the only light that I saw were the ones coming from our habal-habal (motorbike) as we traversed the road to the rock formation.  Our guide told us that the landscape in Macadlao is reminiscent of that in Batanes so I'm sure that it will be good.  I have always loved to shoot sunsets but it was my first time to shoot during sunrise.  I know that it's going to be beautiful and I am excited.

The habal-habal stopped and I can already see Macadlao though it seems a bit far away.  Armed with our guide's flashlight, we walked through the mangroves and an almost knee-high water.  Our imaginations wandered and thought that it was like a scene from a movie where something can just come in from the mangroves and pull us off the track.  Yeah, it was a bit scary that's why it is advisable to get a guide if you plan to get there when it's still dark.  Before we reached the rock formation, I slipped and fell on the water!  Luckily, I was able to raise my camera or else the sunrise shoot would be over for me.

One needs to walk through the mangroves to reach Macadlao

We had to hurry because the sun was already showing itself.  Our guide showed us where the best spot is and we clicked our shutters.  The sunrise in Macadlao was one of the most beautiful things that I ever saw in my entire life.  Yes, it was an effort to get there but I'll just let these photos speak of how beautiful the place is:

Our knowledgeable guide who was just as excited to see the sunrise as we are

The sun slowly showing itself

Sunrise in Macadlao

Waves crashing to the shore offers a magnificent view

Me standing on top of what our guide calls as the "Lion King" spot

Mt. Bulusan can also be seen when you're in Macadlao

After the sunrise shoot, we went around the rock formation and took more pictures.  We saw some fishermen who are doing their daily catch.  There were also a lot of birds, egrets, I think roaming around.  Macadlao is also beautiful when the sun has already risen.

The area around Macadlao is also beautiful when the light sets in

One can also see Mayon Volcano from afar

Birds flocking and eating small fishes

Looks like th "Grand Canyon"