The Tagaytay Escape

We were supposed to go to Hong Kong, then it became Thailand, and it all came down to Tagaytay Highlands during the long weekend. Since my mom and I actually had nothing to do. We decided to leave on Tuesday while everyone else was trying to get back home. It was just an overnight with my uncle who came back from the United States.

I am not, in anyway, putting down Tagaytay Highlands. I actually loved it more. I somehow did not really want to leave the Philippines. And, one good thing about Tagaytay Highlands is it was pretty quiet.

Anyways, we left around 10 AM from the house and picked up our Uncle from where he stays. We then went on the long drive to Tagaytay. It was pretty fun. I was asleep in the car the whole time. Haha!

We went to our unit at Tagaytay Highlands to drop off the bags and left to find our late lunch.

We ended up at RSM Foods and ordered for at least five people.

We ordered Sizzling Sisig, Adobong Kangkong, Crispy Crablets, and Bulalo. The crispy crablets in vinegar was to die for. For some reason, I was eating less than I could that day but it was really good.

After, my mom didn't want to go back to the condo just yet. So, we went to the forever full Bag of Beans to have some afternoon drinks. My phone died so I was not able to take photos but we ordered this big pancake that ended in me saying, "This is a pancake! A real one!" Haha!

Now, we were so filled up that we decided to go back to the condo and call it good. I tried to get them to play board games but it was pretty hard to teach them. I was able to get them to play Hive and I'm the Boss. But, my brain and capacity for teaching was on the brink of destruction. But, it was fun! Haha! We also took a night jog that took off the cholesterol from the afternoon food trip.

I really am glad for this trip because it was an escape from everything, especially that time. My mind was going restless and I really needed a break. It was one of those times that I could really just break away into the silence.

The next day though, we decided that we pack up and leave already and just eat along the way home. It was a long walk down for me because I really wanted to stay. I just want to go back there and escape from everything.

But, alas, the trip back home had to be done.

We went on to have a late lunch at Leslie's Restaurant. It was the original Bulalohan in Tagaytay if the rumours are correct.

This time we went on for a lighter meal, Crispy Bangus Tail, Crispy Pata, Laing, and Bulalo Soup. Hahaha! It was one of the best Crispy Pata I have ever had and it was also large for its price. Very good food indeed.

We were full going home and we passed by Colette's for a Buko Pie and Rowena's for the best Mango Tart ever!

And, as if we weren't done yet, when we got back to Manila, we hit off the best food trip and escape with JT's Manukan, the best Bacolod Chicken Inasal there is here in Manila, owned by Joel Torre. The chicken is cooked just right.

Hay, I want to do this all over again. :)

Double Double

This post is not for the faint of heart... figuratively and literally. This is another audition to this foodie blog, me being a junk foodie, fast foods and chips galore!

So what is a Double Double? Double Down (KFC) + Double Cheeseburger (McDonald's) = Double Double.

The Double Double can literally kill you with the amount of cholesterol in it but it's a pretty flat out meat lover's dream. The cheese blends, the bacon, and, surprisingly, the beef and the chicken patties actually are contrasting but complementing flavors.

My friends saw me eating this last month and they were telling me, "Dude, nagpapakamatay ka ba? Puwede naman natin pag-usapan yan eh." (Dude, are you trying to kill yourself? Let's just talk about it first.). I know I have to take care of my body but the occasional big, unhealthy, cholesterol-full, processed food still knows how to tempt me. Double Double goes next to my heart to Burger King's Mushroom Steakhouse burger.

In another one of my fattening and junk foodie exploits, this would be the best thing to eat on a Sunday morning when you have not yet slept and are about to head home to rest...

The Real Big Breakfast consists of: Double Sausage McMuffin, 2 pc. Pancake smothered in maple syrup, and Medium Orange Juice. For this to be ultimately an enlightening experience, please do not ever think about the amount of calories or cholesterol you will get from eating these. Hehe!

Thank you!

Pulutan Anyone?

A friend of mine asked me to make pulutan for their bar. I have thought of some great things like a good cheese-stuffed pepper and my signature cheese sauces that they can use for almost any appetizer. But then, they might not have the right utensils to cook at the bar except for a microwave like most bars in the metro so I am starting at a blank.

Anyone have any suggestions? At least until they get kitchen equipment. Microwaveable. Hearty. Meaty. Soulful. That's a tough call. Haha!

A Realization...

Been busy lately with the ups and downs of business and life so that would explain backlogs of writing about events that happened a month ago. Hahaha!

One of our close relatives was taken to a better place last month August. I would spare you the details so that to protect you and also the safety of the immediate family. Earlier that week also, I went to a wake of one of my good friend's grandfather. It was just a week full of realizations. Life can be pretty short I guess. And, it can be taken in an instant.

I had to leave Metro Manila for a few days and go to Pampanga for the wake. In a sad note, it was one of the reasons why my thesis proposal got deferred but, to hell with it, family was more important. Then again, enough of the sad story....

We stayed at Clark, Pampanga and, in Pampanga, you should really go and try food that you won't find in Manila. For the people who don't know, it's a fact, or at least it is in my mind, that people from Pampanga are great cooks. My mom would be a pretty good example along with almost the rest of our family. So, I wanted to know how it would be like to eat at some of Pampanga's best.

At our first night, we went on a journey to see what we could find and we ended up at.... *drum rolls please*

Nothing good! We went to a restaurant that you could find in Manila and I will be nice enough to make it stay anonymous.

In a shorter version, it still is a sad story for me. But there was still a very good chance that I could still try and make the best of it at breakfast.

Mequeni Restaurant in Holiday Inn at Clark is one of the well-known fine dining and buffets in Pampanga. So staying at a cottage there entitled us for breakfast buffet. I wanted to know what would be the favorite breakfast dishes aside from the obvious cereal and bacon. Hehe!

To my delight, the choices were filled with the ordinary breakfast buffet choices and some that are not so usual.

I think I went with all the different breads and all the sausages, tapa, scrambled eggs, hasbrowns, and all those other food. The pastries and bread were not much but the Filipino dishes like the beef tapa, adobo, and others were good. For a good review though, breakfast wouldn't be a basis for a restaurant I would guess. It had to be either lunch or dinner because I'm as easy as if they have crispy bacon or not at breakfast.

Again, in a short version, it wasn't a total failure but Pampanga has not yet seen the last of me. I need to really go back and try the food and other things that you would only find there.

Off to the next food tripping!

Who We Really Are?

I was wondering these past few weeks who or what Heart, Meat, & Soul Foods really is and what's it direction going to be. As I was telling my friends a while ago, I was actually walking around aimlessly in the metro. I was able to reach UP Diliman, got tired, and went back home. I was trying to clear my head from lots of things. A lot of it would be personal but a part of it was where I was going to take Heart, Meat, & Soul Foods to.

Heart, Meat, & Soul Foods is a Special Order Foods Company. We make food on a per order basis and it can be either picked up or delivered within the Metro for a minimal fee. The food delivered or picked-up will come in microwaveable plastic or aluminum foil, depending on what the dishes delivered are. We can also individually package the food or bring the food in chafing dishes with additional fees. Right now, this is what we can offer.

We are still trying to make ways to actually partner with some catering services so that you can order our food along with theirs. Right now, we're not yet capable of the manpower for catering services but we are hoping to expand to it in the near future.

But, that is all the technical side of it...

Heart, Meat, & Soul Foods is a foods company created to make home-cooked meals that your mom will make for you at home. It's hearty, meaty, and soulful dishes that simply have that homey feel. Our prices are justified by the taste of the dishes that we make. We make sure that love and passion surrounds the food that we create.

Try it out and you will never regret it.