Tootsie's, Tagaytay

Tootsie's is very visible if you're driving around Tagaytay. I don't remember an instance that we don't pass by this restaurant when we are in this city.



After a while, we stop ignoring the resto, intrigued by the happy diners inside, seen from the road everytime we passed by, finally we walked in.


Upon entering the entrance of the place, my daughter grabbed a magazine from the rack. Flipping over the pages while walking to the table, she was proud of her "freshly found news", and blurted out_" look this resto is featured in this magazine! It must be good!"

Sold by the idea of the magazine, my daughter had right away fell at home with the place. In fairness, it was really homey. It was like you were just in your own dining room. The sofas have literally injected the ambiance.



The menu said nothing new to us, it was all Filipino dishes and obviously with their own original concoction of each dish.

And since everything seemed familiar, we ordered a family favorite_Karekare.

An expert on this dish, everyone said it was ok, only we didn't like the bagoong.Tasted like it was not sauteed the way we wanted it.




As per suggestion of the waiter we had a must try (according to him) Tadyang ng Baka. Except for me, who was turned off by the obvoust fats, the rest of my family loved this. I tried a little of the lean part, dipped in the condiments, and liked it too.

Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay

Taal Vista Hotel remains as my family's preferred accommodation in Tagaytay. It is nice and fresh.






Although the room seems to carry the old original designs, we feel at home with its simplicity and the quiet ambiance that whispers relaxation.



The dining options at Taal Vista are interesting enough to stay in the hotel for dinner and thus an acceptable excuse to refuse the invites of the countless restaurants outside.You could dine here al fresco or at the grand resto inside.



No matter how cold the pool is, my daughter Kyla can't resist the pristine blue water of the pool.




Heading to the main dining room for breakfast. TaalVis offers one of the best buffet breakfasts in town. A fusion of Asian and Continental, the buffet tables are full of choices to indulge and get energize for the rest of the day.



The game room, though not grand , is enough for the whole family to play and have fun!



Ofcourse, Taalvis is the best site to commune with the picturesque sights of Taal Volcano and the Lake.

Nurture Spa Village, Tagaytay

One of the best places for self pampering in Tagaytay is the Nurture Spa Village. If you're longing for exquisite spa and wellness, this the one. Alamost hidden, the location was revelaed to me by my spa addict cousin.



As habit dictated, the first thing we did was to forward to the resto which happened to be located at the entrance of the spa. Aruga Cafe is a fusion of Asian cuisine.



The kids ordered red sauce pasta, while I had a taste of their famous green salad with oriental dressing, per expert cousin recommendation. We wanted to try some of their dishes in the menu but most of them were not available due to the wedding event they were busy about that afternoon.



The place by the way is not only an beautiful spa but a garden wedding venue haven. Right before our eyes, that afternoon, we witnessed the transition of the spa turned into a dreamy wedding garden.







Yet, I was not convinced with our negative experience of their resto. I don't think it's fair for the guests to share the overlapping of the reception and dining shortages.



But the place is truly  relaxing. The air is fresh and green. We stayed for ahile and explore the place while waiitng for the spa menu.





Thsy offer outdoor and indoor spa. They also have room accommodations if you wish to turn your day into a full spa vacation.



As for us that day we enjoyed the Paraiso Garden Joy, an outdoor spa treatment. Heavenly!

Tagaytay City

Tagaytay is our preferred weekend getaway because of its proximity to Manila. Since we live not so far from this highland, an unplanned trip/out of the blue  trip would always send us up to this city in the sky.
Relatives and friends would randomly bring us along w/o asking if we had just spent the recent weekend or holiday in Tagaytay, which were usually the case.


Nevertheless, Tagaytay is always a welcome vacation to us. Be it just the four of us (husband and our girls), or an outing with the whole clan and firends. The city is not so big but everytime we are there, it doesn't cease to amaze us.