One that really made a mark on our marriage celebration was our get-away to
Las Casas Flipinas de Acuzar last year. This year however was nothing extra-ordinary but one that was endeared like the many wanderings we had with our little girls. You heard it right, we spent our 18 years of marriage with our girls. We did all the planning but with little spending, since we are trying to lay aside some money for our two kids going to college.
Initially, we wanted to go to Taal and do some more trivial heritage tour. Ever since we got ourselves acquainted with ancestral homes from Cavite and Bataan, we could not seem to get enough of them. Antique houses are very much endemic in our country. In every region there would not only be one preserved house, especially if the house belonged to a hero, a famous person or just someone who wanted to retain how they loved seeing their house. So it was planned to see more of them, this time in Batangas.
But alas! Things didn't go as planned.
What supposed to be hours of driving with our favorite love songs on the background was replaced with endless singing of the movie Frozen soundtrack, "hirit and birit," here and there from the backseat. But we never minded. Seeing them happy along with the drive and knowing they will be safer with us can't be replaced with any other love songs.
With that, plans were changed. We booked a night stay at Wyngate, where we would only stay for the night. We were to leave the house early to pass by Meteora before going to Taal to explore different ancestral houses, I even draw out an itinerary, but then the sad news fell. Our Dana, was stricken with mild flu. She is diabetic, so we could not let pass any sickness without monitoring her blood sugar closely. Feared that her temp may get high while we were away, and that her sugar may also react to whatever virus she might have gotten, the Dad and I decided to bring her along together with the "bunso."
So this has what became of our two-day tour.
First Day:
1 pm - Leave the house
7 pm - Complimentary massage at Wingate
8 pm - Dinner at Robinsons Tagaytay
9 pm - Rest
Second Day:
8 am - Breakfast at Wingate cafe
9 am - Swimming at the pool
12 pm - Check out from the hotel
12 pm- Explore Memory Lane which was along the street where Wingate is.
12:30 pm Lunch at Rekados
2 pm - Buy pasalubong and head home
When we are with our kids, we make things simple and practical, cause most of the time when they are with us, they tend to request a lot of things, in domestic word - "magastos."
So after checking out, we went to
Memory Lane hoping to get some good grubs. However, my husband got irate because we were charged P100 for parking, which was refundable or will be deducted from the billed amount inside the restaurant cum store. Also, we got reprimanded while we were taking photos inside the restaurant and store area. Mind you, it was all lovely, the inside of the house will definitely give you a major blast from the past, as if you were taken to the 60's or 70's canteen. So disappointing.
Thanks to that experience, I would not have remembered a friend's recommendation, when in Tagaytay or Silang. All thanks to Joy Mendiola of
www.occasionsofjoy.com, I came to know Rekados. She told me about how she liked the place after talking to the owners when they got the chance to dine there after buying the furniture for their newly renovated house. I've actually seen it when we were driving home from our Christmas and New Year holidays, spent at Tagaytay. Drove passed it, I got dismayed for it seemed like a promising Filipino or Spanish restaurant. This time we were able to cease the moment and assay the place.
After parking our car at the right side of the area, we saw they have a pasalubong shop, and all the way to the left leading to the road is a local milk and mini-pasalubong shop. To my excitement, I almost forgot the kids were hungry already, I went through the colonial-styled gate leading to the al-fresco dining, while the three got comfy at the resto. I quickly headed to them and realized that the resto itself was already filled with conversational pieces tucked in so daintily at every nooks and crany of the place. I love seeing antique styles so the terra cota brick wall really caught my interest.
The main wall were adorned with vintage pieces, or some may be new, they somehow give out a sense of antiquated feel to it still.
Joy mentioned that the couple who owns Rekados are Christians (like us) and very amiable. Though I was not able to meet them there, I can tell that they may indeed be kind-hearted. As seen on this shelf, notable Christian paperbacks and self-help books were sitting snugly atop.
Not long enough, the male wait-staff approached us with the menu and gave us a cold glass of water immediately. How kind! You can tell already that they were trained so well and have mastered the art of hospitality, the Christian way. He spoke politely and waited for our choice answering every question I have for him and the resto. What do you know all my requests were granted with no ifs and buts.
Love, love the artwork on the menu, soo me and my other craft (profession/being a wedding planner)! Vintage and damask, in all hues and patterns will never get out-dated. Also, love the inside of the menu! We got surprised the prices were not steep and are all designed for sharing. They serve Filipino, Continental, Italian and some Spanish dishes. Occasionally, they would have lunch buffet.
While waiting for our menu, Bhogs and I left the kids inside the resto and went around the vicinity. You will be surprised how large the garden area at the back is, plus you get to see more interesting knick knacks and paddy whacks on some places.
Let me give you a short tour...
Huge chess pieces at the buffet area.
Restful spots under the trees.
Shh...someone's hiding...
I remembered the old rural comfort rooms situated out side the kubo.
Miniature wooden houses with front porch decorated with capiz windows and colored glass.
Recovered long seating swings from dilapidation... Spot the "mano-mano" olden sewing machine somewhere?
Stone stair path leading to a more spacious garden ground. This is open for garden weddings and other events, by the way, which was according to some staff.
Oh there's me, trying out how to make "bayo the bigas kuno", hehe.
This mini cottage has a dining set up inside so, you can use this for a more intimate meal with up to four people at no extra cost.
The buffet area on the covered garden which can be rented out for an event as well.
On that day, these are what were served.
Garden Salad
Paella
Potato croquettes
Penne in Tomato sauce
Kare-Kare
Asado
Fish chips
Kaldereta
Divine isn't it!
Unfortunately, we didn't avail of the buffet, the girls had their usual Spaghetti Carbonara (or any white sauce) while we had the usual Tagaytay food fare - Bulalo. When I'm with my husband, we could not stay away from the cholesterole-laden soup, it is a must when driving up Tagaytay. Good thing we didn't go to Mahogany Market this time, ah, don't you get so tired of the place, unless I'll be buying fruits and potted herbs on the market.
I need to mention a cup of roasted peanuts were also served on our table as we waited for our food. It didn't take more than 15 minutes to serve our food though, or maybe I didn't notice the time because I was busy checking out the whole vicinity.
Lookey, ze girl would not let go of the parmesan cheese bottle. One order of any pasta dish can serve up to two persons. So the Carbonara we ordered were divided into two for the girls.
Now time for some serious dining. Let me reiterate that Bulalo is my husband's Tagaytay food must-have and I coudn't bare see him get disappointed.
Walah! It was perfect for us. First, the dish was served on a heated bowl. Second, you can see how fresh the vegetables used and they were not overcooked. Third, they have sliced corn on the cob on the soup. It's not to often we catch a cob of corn on the Bulalo, and for one, the corn gives out a sort of sweet after note on every sip, plus, it's one good extender compared to chayote (sayote in Tagalog) or potato. Now the real judgement is in the soup base and the meat. From the aroma alone, one can easily test, if the beef is freshly cut or spoiled. Now it's in the tasting. The stock isn't that salty, it was just right to our taste, plus it was still clear, making sure that the stock have not been resting too long with the meat on the stove. Like what we suspiciously detect from most of the "bulalohan."
Of course, we had some cups of rice with it. Look how they serve their plain steamed rice.
We didn't get a chance to save rooms for dessert because we got some
Loumar's pies to eat at home.
On that note, I can safely say that we spotted a jem of a place when it comes to having Bulalo in Tagaytay. It is truly worth driving for in Silang. The menu is loaded with dishes that everyone will rave and have been craving for, so we are definitely coming back here and our usual side trip to Tagaytay or Silang will never be the same again.
Rekados
Address: Santa Rosa- Tagaytay Road
4118 Silang, Cavite
Phone:
(046) 443 2193
Email:
rekadosph@yahoo.com
Facebook::
www.facebook.com/rekadoscafeandrestaurante
