View Park Hotel's Red Lemon Grill and Adam's Cafe

Are you in search of tummy filling alternatives to your usual Tagaytay staple native restaurants? 

We came to know of View Park Hotel's Red Lemon Grill by accident as we were traversing Tagaytay-Calamba Road from 8 Suites, which was our Tagaytay home for the weekend.  


Red Lemon Grill is a modest restaurant operated by View Park Hotel.   The restaurant serves fusion Italian and Asian meals. 

Indoor sitting capacity is limited with added few outdoor benches for guests who would rather enjoy the Tagaytay's weather out in the open.


We were there on a Saturday night dinner.  And we were delighted to learn that they have an acoustic band that starts playing around 7pm.


We had chopsuey, calamares, lechon kawali (sorry, I forgot the name of the food my eldest ordered).  Everything was delicious.  Servings was hefty, yet well within budget. 

Their special chopsuey and melt in your mouth lechon kawali are highly recommended.

 We ended dinner  with brewed coffee, from Red Lemon Grill's adjoining coffee shop ~ Adam's Café.

Adam's brewed coffee was perfect against the chilling Tagaytay weather. 

VERDICT 

• Thumbs up for Red Lemon Grill and Adam's Café.
• Everything we ordered tasted great and price was about half the costs compared to other nearby restaurants.
• Coffee was also excellent.  I recommend Adam's Café as an easy alternative to the always full packed Bag of Beans.
• Unfortunately, the restaurant has no view of the famous Taal Volcano. But that was okay, since our accommodation at 8 Suites already has a majestic view of Taal. 

Red Lemon Grill and Adam's Café  are located at

3500 Calamba Road, Sungay East, Tagaytay City

phone number: 584-4090

email address: inquiry@viewparkhotel.com

For additional inquiries you may also check View Park Hotel's website at www.viewparkhotel.com.

Amoroma Ristorante Tagaytay ~ Authentic Italian!

 

The place is a bit unassuming from the outside and I would not have dared venture inside, if not for the beautiful reviews I have read from the other bloggers!
 
The inside of the restaurant, however, tells a different story.
There were obvious efforts from the owners to transform the place into a bona fide little Italian restaurant: 

... upon entering using the back door access from the restaurant's parking,  you would we delighted with the sight of numerous Italian Renaissance paintings that adorned the halls, a real working wood fired brick oven is also something you would not normally see elsewhere,  red checkered plaid pattern tablecloths and Italian music at the background would surely complete your dining experience.

 

 

 

 

There is a notice posted by the kitchen window: Orders are prepared fresh, simply put... "you shouldn't eat here if you are already hungry and famished, since it would be a while before they have your orders finished and served". 

 

When our food finally came, there were no frills and plating was almost nil,  honestly not very attractive.  Hohum...

 

 

Until we took a bite and unanimously agreed that this is by far one of the best pizza we have had... the waiting and the simple plating became forgivable... 

 

 

 

L-R/T-B: We ordered 5 Italian cheese pizza, carbonara, focaccia bread in pesto genovese dip, crab and shrimp stuffed pasta in tomato and cream sauce and creamy mushroom soup (not on photo)

 

 
VERDICT
 
We are happy we decided to stop over for lunch.  Amoroma Ristorante (literal translation "I Love Rome") succeeded in giving us a taste of Rome.
 
Pricing is a bit steep for most Juan, but I think the price was worth it.  We love everything that we ordered and would not hesitate to come back.

When in Tagaytay and if you are craving for authentic Italian cuisine, do not hesitate and seek out Amoroma Ristorante. Highly recommended.
 

Amoroma Ristorante Italiano is located in Tagaytay City.

Address: Calamba Road, Tolentino East, Tagaytay City

Contact Numbers: (046) 696-3582 / (0916) 3829883

Relaxing Stay at 8 Suites Tagaytay

It was a busy work week for me and hubby and needed a quick get-away haven to relax and unwind.

So we got ourselves, what seemed to be a perfect deal from a group buying site and before we knew it: our bags were packed and we were dragging the kids off to 8 Suites by Fat Jimmy in Tagaytay.

Traffic was light and we reached our destination just in time for the 2pm check-in.  There were no visitors when we came in and for a moment it felt like being welcomed to our own vacation home (libre mangarap).

8 Suites is a bit far-off Tagaytay City proper. It is difficult to reach without your own transportation, which also meant it was heavenly peaceful and tranquil. 

 We were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful 8 Suites is. 

And its location overlooking Taal Lake was enough reason to choose this place and stay.

As the name suggests, this bed and breakfast place only has 8 rooms. There are 3 room types: deluxe, superior and premier. 
 
We were ushered to a deluxe room, with 2 queen sized bed that can fit 4 adults comfortably. 

Our room has a balcony that overlooks the majestic Taal Volcano ~ I would honestly not mind to just laze around and do nothing with this view.
  

Our deal came with breakfast, which we opted served at the dining area.   We can't say much about the food as they were just okay.  But that was forgivable, as we did not come here for the food anyway - It was no big deal.     

VERDICT:

• It is a bit costly, but the view is really breathtaking.  If you can get your hands on promos, don't think twice.

 

• The room we stayed in, is decent and clean. Aircon worked well and the water temperature and pressure were very good.

• Food is average. If you want decent meals, you can head to nearby restaurants 5-10 minutes away 8 Suites.  I highly recommend Morielli's and Red Lemon Grill.

• There are no hotel amenities. No recreational activities, game rooms, swimming pool or gym. You can, however, borrow DVDs from the reception area or lounge by the balcony.

We left 8 Suites refreshed and rested. 

We will definitely be back.

LOCATION:

Lot 7, Ridge View Subdivision,

Barangay Iruhin, Tagaytay City

 

Manila Office (T : 655-0194 / M: 0922-8753088)

Tagaytay Office (M: +63(922)874-4088)

Email: eightsuites@gmail.com

Latest Dining Discovery in Tagaytay City ~ Morielli's Inn & Diner Restaurant

Tagaytay never runs out of hearty food stops and family friendly restaurants that continue to impress.

In our last Tagaytay escapade, my family experienced for our ourselves,

Morielli's Inn & Diner Restaurant.

 

It is a very charming restaurant, that offers exciting twists to your otherwise so-so traditional dishes.

 

 The menu selection is varied and all looks delectable. We had to settle with the chef's specialties.

 

My family ordered the pepper rice surprise, soft tacos, Pampanga pizza, carbonara and "turon with ice cream" for dessert.  

 

L-R/T-B: (a) Restaurant facade, (b) Interior, (c) While waiting for our order, one of the crew offered to take our family picture and (d) My youngest enjoying his turon.

 

L-R/T-B: (a) Pampanga Pizza, utterly delicious, (b) Carbonarra, egg base, (c) Pepper Rice Surprise, my husband can't have enough and keeps on saying, how delicious this meal is. He devoured on the entire plate, (d) Turon with generous slices of banana and langka inside.

 

VERDICT

The restaurant's tag line ~" Eat Much, Laugh Often and Love Much", speaks much of the owners passion for cooking and sharing this love affair with food to others to enjoy.

Morielli's is a special restaurant that offers lovingly prepared food served by truly warm and pleasant personnel.  


The fast service and personable crew (specially Rachel) tops the extraordinary experience.

NOTE:

• Come in hungry and order the house specialties.  We would definitely be back to try their breakfast.

• Our food order were on the spicy side, I would not recommend for small children.  Please ask the crew for food suggestions for your little ones.

 

• Morielli's also has rooms for rent.  Rachel was nice and gave us the grand tour.  They have four 4 bedrooms with a common living room area.  Each room has 2 queen beds, which I think would comfortably sleep a family of 4. Please check their website for the room rates or call them personally and ask for discounted rates.

 

Morielli's is located at Calamba Rd. cor. St. Francis Rd. Tagaytay.

 

 

Viewsite Restaurant and Seafood Inihaw - Go the extra mile!

Looking for a place to eat in Tagaytay for lunch is hell ~ oh, especially if you are picky and want a table with a view! 

You would be lucky to get in and be served right away.  We had to drive a couple of miles outside Tagaytay's busy main highway, to finally find a decent (and not full) place to eat with a view.

AMBIANCE:  Laid back and rustic, like most of the restaurants in Tagaytay, with a very good view of the famous Lake Taal and Taal Volcano. 

Like most Tagaytay Restaurants they also have local entertainers, who were amazing in belting out fairly new English and Tagalog songs.  My youngest sang with them, when they started singing the Filipino hit song "Pusong Bato" and Bruno Mars' "Lazy Song" (hahaha, I was about to request for Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball").

FOOD:  We ordered, Inihaw Platter (Included grilled sugpo, tuna belly, grilled pork, talong ensalada), pansit and chopsuey.  The waiter gave us free bulalo soup (plus additional refill, hehehe!!!). 

PRICE:  Less expensive than Leslie's, RSM, and other main road Tagaytay Restaurant, but comparable in taste and quality.

(Oh need, I say more?)

 

VERDICT:  Obviously under rated!  

 

Go the extra mile and try out Viewsite Restaurant. You would enjoy the food, the entertainment and the free view.

 

 Recommended for families and balikbayans!

 

 

Viewsite Restaurant and Seafood Inihaw is located at Batangas Highway Mendez Crossing West, Tagaytay City.

Ilog ni Maria Honey Bee Farm (road less travelled)!

I have read such good reviews of Ilog ni Maria from the internet. So, on our way home from our last Tagaytay trip, me and my boys decided to give this much reviewed stop over a visit.

 

It took us a while to find the place.  We had to stop for a couple a times and ask locals for directions (who similarly doesn't have a clue about what we are looking for).

 

 

When we finally saw the signage, we were led to an unpaved narrow (one-way) road.  It took us another 3-5 minutes to reach Ilog ni Maria.

 

 

We finally saw the farm entrance and a small shop, displaying the farm produce. 

 

I hurriedly took a small native shopping basket and began prowling the place for "pasalubong" and possible giftable items.  I got healing massage oils and propolis throat spray. 

 

My boys love night massages and Ilog Maria's massage oil were just perfect. 

 

Products and price, I think are comparable to other organic/eco-shops we have in Manila. I was expecting something extra (I think, this is a long way from home, after all.).

 

We were running a bit late and rain clouds seem readying a heavy downpour and had to cut our visit short.

Alas, we were  unable to tour the rest of the farm... that could have made the extra mile travel to Ilog ni Maria more worthwhile. 

Maybe next time!

For details on how to get to Ilog ni Maria, please follow this link.

Taaleña Tagaytay "Tarana"!

 

Taaleña Restaurant Tagaytay is tucked some few meters away the busy Tagaytay's Aguinaldo Highway.  It is quite easy to miss the place, if you are not looking hard enough.

 

We were just glad to have discovered it. 

 

Compared to the roadside restaurants  ~ Josephine's, Leslie's and RSM, Taaleña is more laid back and rustic. 

 

Food and service were comparable to other frequented restos in Tagaytay, but somehow, I enjoyed my food here at Taaleña way better.

 

 

 

 

We over ordered, not knowing how huge their servings were.  We got pansit, calamares rice, tawilis and  lumpiang sariwa (so takaw)!

 

Servings was quite hefty - perfect for huge travelling families. 

 

Our order was enough to feed 6 hungry men (and we were just 2 adults and 2 kids).

I normally don't like dried fish, but with Tagaytay's tawilis I can always make an exception.



My boy was all smiles, when his watermelon shake arrived!



 

We were meaning to try their desserts - but I guess you know we weren't getting any, after finishing our initial order :(  Maybe next time!

 

Taaleña is located at Casa Taal, Silang Crossing, Km. 54, West Tagaytay City.

Taal Vista Hotel Tagaytay

 

We are frequent Tagaytay travelers, but this is the first time we have actually stayed at Taal Vista. 

 

We got a Premier room at the Lake Wing with a grand view of the Taal Lake. 

 

Reviews weren't exaggerating, when they said it is a long walk to the Lake Wing of the hotel, but it was well worth the extra walk. It was a cozy room with a balcony with Taal Volcano as the backdrop! 

 

A sip of a regular 3-in-1 coffee, almost tasted brewed (hahaha!) and expensive, while seated at the balcony! 

 

Who cares about the room, when you have this as your view?

 

 

Bed was comfortable, but not heavenly...



They could have done a lot better in terms of toiletries... Ace Suites were way better than this!
Also their towels are quite worn out and needed replacement.

Bathroom is 3 way - I am not a fan though! It has no door (I honestly thought it must have broken and instead of repairing management decided to just take it out :P)!

The shower, sink and toilet were separated only by smoked-glass doors.

RATING:

• LOCATION - Perfect
• SERVICE - AAA+++ Check-in  and check-out were a breeze, Staff were all very attentive and efficient!
• PRICE - On the expensive side
• ROOM - Average
• GROUNDS - The hotel grounds is expansive.  Garden is well manicured, picture perfect and overlooks Taal Volcano.
• AMENITIES - There is an outdoor pool, gym, kids' play room and activity/game room, however, these were all located on the old wing (it was quite a walk from where we were staying - it was really far!) of the hotel.  Never got to try any of them.
• FOOD - Just good.  I was expecting better :P

The location makes up for the little peeves. I don't mind staying again and paying a little extra just for the view, which was really breathtaking especially on a clear sunny morning.

 

Taal Vista Hotel is located at  Kilometer 60, Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City
Contact Number: +63 (2)917-8225 and +63 (46) 413-1000

Tootsie's Tagaytay - our latest favorite hang out!

 

I read about this home-styled cooking restaurant from the internet. For our last trip down South (or is it up?) of the Metro, a visit to the well reviewed Tootsie's Restaurant was an obvious must!

 

Indeed Tootsie's exudes a homey appeal.  It is just a small restaurant (with an extension wing) with very limited sitting. 

 

Since we came in at such an odd time for a lunch at 4pm (traffic was disastrous and it took us 3 hours, plus some mustered driving skills to navigate our way up to Tagaytay), there were very few people dining, however, I can just imagine how crowded this place must be during peak lunch and dinner time. 

 

Our driving ordeal left me and my boys rather famished. I wanted to order Tootsie's best seller lengua, but I am not sure if my kids would like it.  We ended ordering instead, another Tootsie's specialty adobo flakes (which my husband loved to the last bite), fresh lumpiang hubad and fish with potato fries. 

For dessert we ordered their special halo-halo turon and ube palitaw.



Tootsie's Fresh Lumpiang Hubad was delicious, but serving portion quite small...  

Adobo flakes is highly recommended!



My boys love the fish and fries... 

Their halo-halo turon (with ube and leche flan filling) were quite special!  Not your ordinary turon...

The ube palitaw was very filling! 

Service was quite slow, considering there were very few customers.  Given food is quite pricey, free appetizers (peanuts or bread sticks) would have been nice and most welcomed especially by hungry boys!

VERDICT:  Order their house specialties and you will never go wrong!  A trip to Tootsie's is well worth it, however, do make sure that you are not so hungry because you could be waiting for quite a while! 


Tootsie's Tagaytay is located at J. Abad Santos cor Aguinaldo Highway Tagaytay to the side of the Tagaytay ridges.
(046) - 4834629 / 0917-TOOTSIE (866 87 43)

MEMORY LANE chuvaness

 

 

Memory Lane is a country diner, mini boutique and beauty salon rolled into one! 

It is owned by actress-singer Jolina Magdangal ~ I can just imagine, how busy this place must have been during Jolina's heyday. 

 

The place is located along Magallanes Drive, Tagaytay City and could be a little difficult to find since it is tucked a few miles away from the busy main road.

 

 

 

The diner is cute and cozy, however, since it is also parlor and a gift shop, I found it quite overwhelming.  Not to mention the various knick-knacks from the 50s to 70s era that adorned the place. 

the entrance

 

the diner

wooden bird houses

 

 

 

the gift shop

movie posters from the yester years

 

 

We ordered salpicao, seafood hotpot and fried banana split ice cream for dessert.

 

 

 

 

Food was on the pricey side, but it was okay since my boys  finished their meal!

 

My boy gamely poses by the garden.

 

Cute!  Unfortunately not for sale :(

 

My hubby was a bit disappointed, Jolina was not around when we came that day. He would just have to be contented with this Jolina look alike mannequin (hindi talaga pinatawad - hahaha!).

Very relaxing!

 

 

Mothers' Day Treat at Kimberly Hotel Tagaytay

 

We were looking for a quiet place to relax and enjoy Mothers' Day in Tagaytay and found just that in Kimberly Hotel.

 

The hotel is tucked some 3-4 minutes away Tagaytay's busy Aguinaldo highway. 

 

It is not crowded nor noisy, which means honest to goodness relaxation time for you and your family. 

 

We stayed in a premier room with 2 queen beds. 

 

Room is clean and lived up to our expectations. The free buffet breakfast was just okay for me, but my dad loved it and went back for more than his usual servings.

We were greeted by Mr. Crab.  My youngest was so thrilled to see it.  He got a little upset, when I told him I will be needing Mr. Crab in the bathroom soon.

The hotel has a pool.  The size was good enough, however, I was dismayed that it wasn't heated. 

The cold water ain't stopping my boys though!!!

There is a play ground at the back of the hotel. This kept my kids occupied for a full hour. 

Kimberly unlike most Tagaytay hotels has the luxury of space.  My kids enjoyed running around the well manicured lawn.

a better view of the play ground

There are so many things to do inside this hotel,  you need not leave the hotel to enjoy Tagaytay.  There is also a fitness and recreation center at the hotel's ground floor, which guests may use for free.

 

 

 

The hotels lobby is huge with high ceiling. 



with my boys and pretty balikbayan tita

 

We love Kimberly Hotel!

 

Hotel Kimberly TagaytayBrgy. Kaybagal, Amadeo Road
Tagaytay City, Philippines

Tel: (63-2) 521 1888
Fax: (63-2) 526 7270