First Bite: Tagaytay Edition

I just had a realization! Starting with this entry, I will be posting "First Bite" editions regularly. Obviously, this is about the restaurants that I visited for the first time. Shocks, this is going to be expensive. :-(

Preface:
Like most of my posts, First Bite will not be strictly about food because I believe that every great discovery is a wonderful story! So, let's begin!

I did not have concrete plans to celebrate Chinese New Year except an early dinner at The Yard with my friend (so sorry Dre, this one was really unplanned. Promise we'll reschedule it!), but on Saturday morning, my sister Remy asked if I wanted to go to Tagaytay to have lunch. I said okay because I was assuming that it's the only thing we'll do. Turns out, my oldest sister Tin-tin was also in Tagaytay for a work-related seminar.

We were not sure where to go, but Remy had the idea of going back to an Italian restaurant that she once tried--Deli de San Honore. Waze was acting like a bitch last Saturday because she was so fickle-minded. Finally, after almost 2.5 hours, we found the place. It's a charming little restaurant along the way if you're going to Antonio's. You'll miss it for sure if you don't look on the right side.

To be honest, compared to other restaurants that I've been to in Tagaytay, this one is lackluster in decor, but its saving grace is their food. I ordered their weekend special--smoked farmer's sausage pasta and Remy had their bestseller--the pork chop.

Good value for money at Php 350. This is enough for 2 people. I love that their herbs and salads are sourced from their garden just outside the restaurant. It adds freshness and bite to the food. The star of this pasta though is the sausage--big chunks with a powerful smoky blend of meat and spices. I've never tasted any sausage like this before!

Remy's order--the pork chop. It came with brown rice and home-made pickled onion and pepper. This is probably the biggest pork chop I've tasted all my life! Perfectly cooked well done, the basil, thyme, and rosemary will explode in your mouth! This one is on another level of porkchop goodness! I super recommend this!

We finished lunch at around 2:30 PM, the same time my oldest sister called and asked if we've already eaten. Unfortunately for her, she just came all the way from Bicol and still arranging the sleeping assignments for their delegation. We told her that since DAP is only 26 minutes away according to Waze, we'll pick her up and have lunch. When we arrived at DAP, she wasn't ready yet so we let her settle first. When 4:30 came, all three of us are together and decided that we'll go to Bag of Beans near Rotunda, but since the traffic was so heavy, I made a U-turn and just went in the direction of Crosswinds. 

It's my first time in Crosswinds and too bad for us, there was no Bag of Beans in the area (blame Waze!) so instead, we settled for Cafe Voi La. It's at the entrance of Crosswinds, along the famous facade of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Although I'm not really sure about the concept of Cafe Voi La, it had a grand foyer and tall well-curated walls which remind me of Harry Potter. Their sitting area is vast, but made cozy by the colorful and huge throw pillows.

The interiors scream Moroccan, but the menu was more on Thai. 

I've never been to a restaurant before where there's a huge ceiling decoration. It made the place grander and complimented the Chinese New Year celebration that was scheduled later that night. Sad to say, we were not able to witness it. Instead, we crashed another party at Tagaytay Highlands. 

The best salted caramel cheesecake ever! 'Nuff said. Just go to Cafe Voi La and try this, and thank me later. It doesn't taste like any cheesecake I've tried before; and I should know because Geeboy made me try dozens of cheesecake throughout our decade-long relationship.

Presenting the three desserts that we ordered from bottom to top: black sticky rice with mango (not the best because mango was a little sour, but I like the rice because it was smoky sweet), salted caramel cheesecake (the best ever!) and Nutella cheesecake (also not a fan because there was not enough Nutella in it, sad). We paired these with coffee (my first time to drink the kind with artsy fartsy foam on top) and hot chocolate.

Over all, Cafe Voi La was a nice experience. I would still go back here to try their savory dishes. 

After our sweet merienda, we headed to Tagaytay Highlands. Damn, this place is so exclusive and it feels like I'm in another country. It feels and looks so far from the bustling Tagaytay that I often see along the road. 

But you may ask, how does a poorita girl like me get inside? Well, like I mentioned above, we crashed a party hosted by the Vice-Governor of our province. We just had to say her name and voila, the gates opened. I will not post any photos here during the party, but let me tell you that it was fun even if it felt like we were the only young ones inside the county club. About the food, well, it was not spectacular and nothing to rave about. Vikings is so much better! It ended around 10:30, just enough time to have a Skype call with Geeboy at midnight. 

And oh, here's our photo with Vice-governor Esther Hamor. And yeah, that's Remy, my sister.

So that's about it. It was a weekend full of unexpected, but very thankful still because I got to spend time with my siblings in a different place. Spontaneous roadtrips are really awesome! 

PS. My phone is totally dead and I have the biggest problem in the world right now. Hayst... #firstworldproblems