jim harold lim Archives - Between Bites - Bites of Food, Travel and Lifestyle

B&T Mexican Kitchen’s Chicken Mole, Deliciously like No Other

January 7, 2011 by Janey

Bubba and I have frequented B&T quite a number of times and although we are hooked in ordering our usual favorites, I deviated a bit and got something that I have never tried before. What was on my plate this time was an order of B&T’s Chicken Mole.

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B&T Mexican Kitchen

Mole is known to be a famous Mexican Spanish mixture of sauces where the combination of a variety of chilies and chocolate is predominant among the other numerous spices it’s mingled with. Chicken Mole is traditionally chicken, more often deboned, covered in the “mole” mixture and baked until it’s done.

B&T’s Chicken Mole Meal PHP 320

Chicken was tenderly cooked and coated copiously with this dark brown “mole” sauce that has a burst of different flavors, from sweet to spicy to piquant. Complex flavors with a tad hint of chocolate. The medium thick sauce can get overwhelming that’s why it’s good to pair it with rice. Mine was served with brown rice but my friend Richard had it with cilantro lime rice when he visited B&T. I think the cilantro lime rice would work better since the trace of acidity will balance off the sweetness and spiciness of the dish. The chicken mole was also served with 3 flour tortillas to wrap your chicken mole with.

Even if the dish can get pretty heavy midway, I thoroughly enjoyed B&T’s chicken mole. It would be perfect to wash it down with the Horchata drink or in between sips of margarita. I’d like to try it again with the cilantro lime rice next time, more timid than the Mexican brown rice. If it becomes too rich midway, just ask for a wedge of lemon to spritz on your mole from time to time or just add a touch of the fresh salsa. While you’re at it with all those testing of flavors, why not try it with their sexily addicting garlic sauce? 😉

Let your imagine-taste-tion go overdrive. Create your own wrap.

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My previous entry on B&T Mexican Kitchen mentioned that they didn’t have brown rice. They have since added it in their roster that’s why Bubba’s favorite burritos now come with brown rice.

Steak Burrito with Cilantro Lime Rice

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Steak Burrito with Mexican Brown Rice – Bubba’s ultimate favorite!

If you want a rich taste of Mexico on a plate, head over to B&T Mexican Kitchen and order the must-try Chicken Mole Meal.

B&T (Burritos and Tacos) Mexican Kitchen

G/F Sekai Building (same bldg. as Masuki and Maki Place)

Ortigas Avenue, San Juan, Philippines

B&T Mexican Kitchen Album

Many thanks to Philip for the Chicken Mole!

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6 Comments Filed Under: Inside Dish: A BITE of Food Tagged With: 2010, address, Authentic, B and T, B&T, B&T Mexican Kitchen, Baby Tan, barbacoa, berks, best, best burritos in town, Best Mexican, best Mexican restaurant in Philippines, blogger, BnT, BnT Mexican Kitchen, branch, branches, burgers, burrito, Burrito and Taco, Burritos and Tacos, Burritos and Tacos Mexican Kitchen, butch, Cali Mex, California, celebrity, Charlie’s, Charlie’s Grill, Chef Rob Goco, chorizo brown rice, cilantro wild rice, cris darwin lim, Cyma, darwin, delivery, DLSU, dogs, Eric, eric ryan tang, ERT, expensive, Filipino, food, food blog, food review, garlic sauce, Good Service, grand opening, grill, guacamole, hotdogs, how much, how to create a burrito, how to make, image, in town, J. Abad Santos, Jalapeño, jim, jim harold lim, la salle, latest, location, Makati, management, Manager, Manila, Map, marie, marinade, masuki, math, meat, menu, Metro Manila, Mex, mexicali, Mexican, Mexican Kitchen, Mexican restaurant in Manila, Mexican restaurant in Philippines, nachos, ortigas, Photo, photos, pinoy, previous owners of Ristras, price, prices, promotion, Quezon City, red cross, restaurant, Restaurants, Ristras, Ristras at the Fort, Ristras Fort, salsa, service, split up, taco, Taste Manila, wait staff, where, Zapata's, Zapata's new location. 2011

B&T Mexican Kitchen – Burritos and Tacos Mexican Kitchen

December 7, 2010 by Janey

One lazy Saturday, Bubba and I decided to check out the newest burrito place to hit the town. If you’re familiar with the building that’s frequented for the chicken wanton mami (noodle soup made famous in Binondo/Chinatown), siopao and siomai of Masuki that are easy on the palate as well as the pockets, this is also where B&T Mexican Kitchen recently opened.

B&T Mexican Kitchen interiors include orange chairs matched with black tables and elements of Mexico in certain aspects of the restaurant like the Mary by the door. Menu is written on a chalkboard with colored chalks. The concept looks familiar –word from the foodie grapevine is, the owners of the “OTHER” Burrito place had split up.

Rumor has it that Chef Rob Goco is supposedly opening his own Mexican place at the Fort to rival the newly opened Ristras. And B&T Mexican Kitchen is also from another previous partner of Ristras. But who actually knows? *shrugs* I only get my insider dibs from foodie friends.

It’s been quite a long while since I last visited Ristras –even before the rumored split up. I just found the quality not the same as the initial months it opened when Bubba and I used to visit at least twice to thrice a week. When I heard a new one opening, I was quite excited to see how B&T Mexican Kitchen will fair.

Step 1: Choose your meal

Burritos and Tacos are what they do best here. If you’ve been exposed to the other Burrito place, then you’re definitely not new to the oversized and overstuffed burrito that gives you the power of choice when it comes to the stuffing. Stuffing starts off with Cilantro White Rice and then choice of meat, salsa, toppings, and sauces.

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Guacamole!

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Cheese!

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From choices of DIY Burrito, Frito Burrito, Burrito Bowl to Mexican Taco, BnT Mexican Kitchen also offers Mexican favorites like Quesadilla, Chimichanga, Fajitas and Guaca de Frito.

But hold up, there’s MORE… you can get your Burrito or Taco all fused up with Asian flavors –whether it’s Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian, Korean (with Kimchi), or Thai.

There are also other dishes to try like the Mexican pizza, Mexican burger, Mexican franks and adobo pizza. Vegans are also welcome here with B&T’s vegetarian pizza and vegetarian burgers and franks.

Step 2: Choose your meat

Al Pastor PHP 310

Barbacoa PHP 320

Carne Asada PHP 320

Carnitas PHP 310

Chicken PHP 300

Chicken Mole PHP 320

Fish PHP 330

Shrimp PHP 350

Vegetarian PHP 290

Step 3: Choose your sides

Chips and Guacamole PHP 95

Chips and Pico de Gallo PHP 95

Chips with Chili Con Carne PHP 150

Ball Park Nachos PHP 220

9-Layer Dip Nachos PHP 220

Sweet Potato Fries with Garlic Sauce PHP 95

Step 4: Choose your drink

Other than the usual colas, they also serve Horchata, Agua de Melon, Agua de Tamarind, Margarita among other drinks.

Step 5: Choose your dessert

Quesadilla de Fruta PHP 115

Mexican Fritters PHP 115

Chocolate Nachos PHP 105

Mint Nachos PHP 105

Strawberry Nachos PHP 105

Tres Leches

Don’t get overwhelmed as the steps are easy as 1-2-3. In our case, Bubba and I skipped Step 5 since we expected that we’d be full by the end of our meal. But there are people who always have room for desserts.

On the Table

Steak Burrito PHP 310

B&T Mexican Kitchen only had one choice for rice, compared to a brown rice option before at the other place. I think brown rice has more flavor and presentation value because of its color. Nevertheless, B&T’s Steak Burrito was what Bubba missed a lot at the other place. Quality beef merged with a mélange of flavors and textures from the corn, salsa, guacamole, cheese, beans. It was as mouthwatering as it looked as it tasted.

The exploding taste and spices from the steak burrito is tamed a bit by the Cilantro White Rice portion. Add the winning garlic sauce and you’re in for a surefire treat!

Nachos with Salsa PHP 95

Notice that the nachos are in three different colors –same colors that represent the flag of Mexico. I’m sure kids would find a kick out of eating these colorful chips but I prefer it in just 2 colors at most.

Mexican Burger with Potato Fries PHP 310

Cooked medium rare, the burger was superbly juicy and had brisk meaty flavors. The tomato onion lettuce salsa on top was a refreshing gradation of taste while the melted cheese that seeped onto the outer layer of the meat almost made me finish it in record time but I had to restrain myself since Bubba wanted a bite.

Never had garlic sauce on your burger? I gave mine a dunk on the sauce and it added a creamy garlicky kick to my burger. I’m craving for it as I type this.

Horchata PHP 50

Milky sweet rice drink –we were given a sample of their Horchata which cooled all the flavors from the burritos and burger.

The wait staff is eager to please –maybe a little too eager at times but you can’t fault them. Better eager than lazy. There are tables also for big groups so it’s easier to sit everyone. Prices are relatively lower than the other place.

I’m visiting B&T again really soon for the Mexican Burger and I also got an eye for the burrito with kimchi. Sounds intriguing to me!

B&T (Burritos and Tacos) Mexican Kitchen

G/F Sekai Building (same bldg. as Masuki)

Ortigas Avenue, San Juan, Philippines

B&T Mexican Kitchen Album

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11 Comments Filed Under: Inside Dish: A BITE of Food Tagged With: 2010, address, Authentic, B and T, B&T, B&T Mexican Kitchen, Baby Tan, barbacoa, berks, best, best burritos in town, Best Mexican, best Mexican restaurant in Philippines, blogger, BnT, BnT Mexican Kitchen, branch, branches, burgers, burrito, Burrito and Taco, Burritos and Tacos, Burritos and Tacos Mexican Kitchen, butch, Cali Mex, California, celebrity, Charlie’s, Charlie’s Grill, Chef Rob Goco, chorizo brown rice, cilantro wild rice, cris darwin lim, Cyma, darwin, delivery, DLSU, dogs, Eric, eric ryan tang, ERT, expensive, Filipino, food, food blog, food review, garlic sauce, Good Service, grand opening, grill, guacamole, hotdogs, how much, how to create a burrito, how to make, image, in town, J. Abad Santos, Jalapeño, jim, jim harold lim, la salle, latest, location, Makati, management, Manager, Manila, Map, marie, marinade, masuki, math, meat, menu, Metro Manila, Mex, mexicali, Mexican, Mexican Kitchen, Mexican restaurant in Manila, Mexican restaurant in Philippines, nachos, ortigas, Photo, photos, pinoy, previous owners of Ristras, price, prices, promotion, Quezon City, red cross, restaurant, Restaurants, Ristras, Ristras at the Fort, Ristras Fort, salsa, service, split up, taco, Taste Manila, wait staff, where, Zapata's, Zapata's new location

A Wild Bite Night: Green-themed Potluck Dinner and Rockband

March 31, 2010 by Janey

Not your usual themes of Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, kids, Italian. I had this bright idea of having a green-themed potluck dinner. We had a special guest on the table that evening.

No, it’s not Oscar the Grouch. 😀

I sent out the message to the group and got a flood of responses.

“Green as in vegetables?”

“Do you follow no-meat Fridays?”

“Like all green food?”

“What meatless Fridays are you talking about?”

I said green would depend on their creativity or excuse. Green-themed foods can vary anywhere from wasabi-flavored mashed potato, green leafy vegetables, green curry, only-in-DLSU-bought food (school color is green), wasabi-flavored ice cream, nori-wrapped sushi or food, Japanese green chicken, random food served on a green plate, stuffed green chilies, guacamole, avocado salad… there are actually a lot.

I was feeling under the weather Friday morning, March 12 and told the group that I might not be able to make it. I felt a bit better after work and made it to dinner. Thing is, half strayed off from the green theme while the other half was still on the plan. Andrew, who hosted us that evening, actually cooked 3-cheese baked prawns but whipped up a green salad with Japanese dressing (when he knew I was coming) to veer back to the green-theme.

I walked to the door and caught Eric’s eye and exchanged knowing smiles. He thought I wasn’t going to make it. Buch, Mari, and Jim were already there when we arrived. Ann and Andrew were still busy in the kitchen. Alex and Nico were pretty late because Nico’s meeting took a long time. There’s a space beside Eric that should be occupied by Made, who was missing in action because she had to attend something.

On the Table

Andrew and Ann’s Green Salad with Kani and Japanese Dressing

Pasto Crostini, Chicken Liver Pate, Salsa, and Spinach Gorgonzola Dip

Bubba and I brought Spinach-gorgonzola dip and crostini chips from Pasto. Excuse my being sick at that time, I wasn’t able to think of a more creative “green” anymore. I actually planned to bring wasabi-mashed potato from Ninyo but due to time and travel constraints, decided to forego that idea.

Baked Prawns with Three Cheese

Andrew loves prawns and shrimps and I’m glad because Bubba doesn’t eat those so I don’t usually order them when we eat out and when it’s served at home, we usually dine out.

Fish Dish with Vegetables (I forget the name)

Beef Dish with Vegetables (I forget the name)

Jim said that he particularly asked the dishes to be served with vegetables (in this case, cabbage) to still be within the green theme. Eric brought sisig sampler with three kinds of sisig.

Somebody brought this but I also forget now what dish this was. Told you I wasn’t on my element that night.

Alex’s Pasta Puttanesca

Alex and Nico brought yummy Pasta Puttanesca with green noodles! Yay!

To add to the whole green-feel, Andrew brought out his favorite Schweppes Ginger Ale.

Amidst all the good food, the special guest on the table (literally) occupied the spotlight of the night. Wild Bite green tea products!!!

Get into the bite

We did a round robin on the items and catch is, you can describe the item with only a word or a phrase/statement. Nobody else can use the descriptive words already mentioned. Quite tough but a bit of fun. Since I was busy taking down notes, I forgot to track who made the most mistakes -so no consequence. 🙂

Wild Bite Clusters

Wild Bite Clusters is a bunch of thin cornflakes coated in white chocolate and green tea. There’s an earthy taste (probably the green tea) to it that’s very calming. It has the right crunch on the outside and enough softness to enjoy snacking on these in delight! It was the clear favorite on the table and the group kept looking for more.

Wild Bite Chocolate

It’s white chocolate that strikes familiarity (a local chocolate you probably tried in childhood) but not quite because of the green tea taste. People who don’t like overly sweet chocolate, like me, might go for this. Packaging was pretty nice, perfect as a gift idea for folks who are into green tea or basically will try anything chocolate. I wonder how dark chocolate will fare blended with green tea. I love dark chocolates.

Wild Bite Cookies

The group found the Wild Bite Cookies quite the enigma. The mild taste of green tea is there –which was just right for me because too much green tea flavor might be overwhelming. As one describes it, the cookie had an identity crisis –some parts were like soft-batch cookies while the other parts were tough like it’s been aired out in the open for too long.

Wild Bite Crisps

It reminded the group of buttery Danish cookies –to some, it had a hint of green tea flavor, to others, GT flavor wasn’t that evident. Crumbly texture dusted with sugar crystals. Both Alex and Nico liked it a lot and tagged it at the top of their list. Alex enjoyed its toasty taste –similar to burnt flavor (I suspect the light bitter flavor comes from the green tea leaves) when you bite into it and then there’s sweetness it releases when you get to the inside.

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The Wild Bite Green Tea items were welcomed on the table with different levels of interest. Big thanks to Chris Chan for letting us try his Wild Bite product line, which started only as a surprise gift for his girlfriend.

Wild Bite offers a variety of green tea products to suit your craving for green tea confections. For order inquiries, contact Chris Chan of Wild Bite at +63917 3276559.

Wild Bite

(63) 917 3276559

http://wildbite.multiply.com/

After dinner, we headed to Andrew’s attic where their audio/video room is located. Of course, another Rockband session happened until past midnight.

After Rockband, Eric and Andrew taught Alex, Nico, Bubba and I how to play mahjong. It’s quite interesting but I’m yet to get the hang of it. I already know the basics though, yay!!!

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2 Comments Filed Under: A Taste of Manila and Other Things Tagged With: Alex Gregorius, andrew tan, Anne Tan, baked prawns, berks, Bubba, Buch Dela Cruz, Chris Chan, clusters, cookies, cornflakes, crisps, Danish cookies, Eric Tang, Friends, green tea, green tea chocolate, green tea cookies, Green Tea flavor, Green theme, inquiries, jim harold lim, made, Manila, Mari Dela Cruz, matcha, Nico, Ninyo, order, Philippines, potluck dinner, recipe, Rockband, salad, session, wasabi mashed potato, Wild Bite

Past Love Rekindled at Pasto

August 14, 2009 by Janey

Previous to the discovery of Ristras, Pasto was frequent in the call log. Bubba and I were reminiscing the other night how much we crave for Pasto before. Pasto was our favorite go-to-restaurant for DVD food. The Greenhills branch is rung ahead of time to order 2 batches of crostinis with chicken pate and pomodoro salsa dips. Grab, pay and off to home movies.

I also like eating at home since Bubba finishes most of the salsa, so I have to replicate with a homemade one. Diced tomatoes, diced red onions (nominal), fresh basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, (mmm-mm!) I can have as much as I want. Soon, we were pairing our Pasto “to-go” order with Sandy’s Pizza’s buffalo wings, which we also got quite akin to. Interestingly, we only order the wings (they deliver for 2 orders) and not the pizza.

Another favorite in Pasto is their Romano entrée (PHP345). Romano is crusted chicken breast with spinach and roasted mushrooms in a Gorgonzola cream sauce served with fettuccine.

On the Table

Zuppa di Pomodoro PHP 95

Pasto has the best roasted-tomato cream soup in the Metro. Its semi-smooth thickness is exactly right without making it appear like a tomato puree. There’s a hint of Parmesan and cream taste in the roasted tomato soup. Garnished with fresh basil on top that adds a minty flavor perfect for that hot soothing spoonful.

Crostini, Pasto’s famous version of Italian crostini served with your choice of “dips.” One order is equivalent to 8 pieces of crostini shaped like a pizza slice –thin, toasty and crispy. Price of crostini depends on the dip.

Chicken pate PHP 125

Pomodoro Salsa PHP 105

En Route to the Perfect Bite

Spread the chicken pate on the crostini
Put a bit of the tomato salsa on top with a drip of the balsamic olive oil dressing

First layer of taste is good enough for me.

3. Add another layer of flavor by adding grated Parmesan cheese.

4. To add some heat, add the chili flakes

Before Ristras’ burritos and nacho chips, this was our comfort food.

Ortaggi PHP 225

Spaghetti cooked with artichokes, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta cheese. The usual order is Romano, Vongole or Frutti di Mare, but we took a detour and ordered a pasta dish we haven’t tried –Ortaggi. It was a tad bit on the sweet side (probably from the sun-dried tomatoes which I really love) that I wasn’t expecting. We only finished half of the pasta, partly because we needed to run off to watch GI Joe.

Pasto

Greenhills Theater Mall

Unit F&B-5, Greenhills Theater Mall

Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan

(632) 722 4992

El Pueblo

Julio Vargas Ave cor. ADB Ave

Ortigas Center, Pasig City

(632) 634 0157

Paseo Center

3^rd Floor, 8757 Paseo de Roxas

Salcedo Village, Makati City

(632) 893 0588

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9 Comments Filed Under: Inside Dish: A BITE of Food Tagged With: 2009, 2010, affordable, Agave Mexican Cantina, andrew tan, August 1, Authentic, barbacoa, berks, best, best Italian, Best Mexican, branch, branches, burgers, burrito, butch, Cafe, Cali Mex, California, celebrity, Charlie’s, Charlie’s Grill, Chef Rob Goco, chorizo brown rice, cilantro wild rice, coffee, cris darwin lim, Cyma, darwin, delivery, DLSU, dogs, Eric, eric ryan tang, ERT, expensive, Filipino, food review, garlic sauce, Good Service, grand opening, grill, guacamole, hotdogs, how to create a burrito, how to make, image, in town, Italian, J. Abad Santos, Jalapeño, jim, jim harold lim, la salle, latest, location, management, Manager, marie, marinade, math, meat, menu, Mex, mexicali, Mexican, Mexican restaurant, new, new branch, number, opening, Pasto, Philippines, Photo, pinoy, pre-nuptial photos, price, recent, recipe, restaurant, Restaurants, Ristras, salsa, San Juan, San Sebastian Church, service, shredded beef, Steak, supplier, take out, tang, Taste Manila, Venue, Video, wedding, wedding season, weddings in Manila

Addicted to Ristras

July 30, 2009 by Janey

I seriously cannot count how many times I’ve been to Ristras. I’ve had one too many visits since it opened. I would have gotten a loyalty card by now if they have such customer management system.

July 24, Friday night, we are back again in Ristras but not for our usual “to go” food to be gorged on a DVD night. We were there to give Butch a congratulatory pat on the back for his upcoming wedding on August 1, Saturday.

It’s already this week and just 3 days ago, I attended Didi’s wedding. I still shake my head in disbelief knowing at least 9 people who are getting married between today until mid next year. It’s the wedding season!

Butch and Marie, who I had some time to bond with during a spontaneous Tagaytay getaway, are one of the nicest and most sensible couples I know. Both are currently working at P&G and have been together since 3^rd year college.

Other than Andrew, it was Cris Darwin, Eric, Butch and Jim’s first time at Ristras. We were just here 2 nights ago (err… every 2 nights before that as well?)

The boys were a bit overwhelmed with the array of delicious ingredients in front of them. Same sentiment I had when it was my first time there not so long ago. I’m glad I was assisted during my selection of what’s going inside my burrito from Chef Rob. I was glad to give the same assistance to the berks.

Create Your Own Burrito

First: Choose Bowl or Burrito

It’s a matter of eating it in a bowl or in a wrap

Second: Choose Your Rice (Easiest!)

2 choices: Cilantro White Rice or Chorizo Brown Rice. (You can also forego if you’re on a no-rice diet)

I go for the chorizo brown rice, wonderful color, fantastic grain.

Third: Choose Your Meat (or Go Vegetarian)

Steak –good quality meat soaked in hours in Chipotle Adobo marinade and then grilled medium rare. Very tender and tasty

Chicken –grilled chicken meat in jalapeno marinade

Carnitas –free-range pork braised and seasoned with thyme, bay leave, orange juice

Barbacoa –slow braised shredded beef with cumin, cloves and other spices

You can choose 2 meats for your burrito, which will be separated on each side.

**Go Vegetarian and pack on the bell peppers, black beans and red beans or you can just add it all to your meat

Fourth: Add-ons!

Choose your add-ons: Jalapeno, pico de gallo salsa, tomatoes, tomatillo green chile salsa, roasted chili corn salsa, sour cream, grated cheddar and white cheese, guacamole or no need to choose, you can go with “all the works!”

The serving is good for a hungry one or best shared with a good friend! Now it’s time to order your nachos!

On the Table

Steak slash Barbacoa Burrito PHP 290

Bubba and I decided to split a burrito. It was steak, brown rice and all the other works on one side while it was barbacoa and brown rice on the other. Savor every mouthful

9 Layer Dip with Nachos PHP 255

I really love Rockefeller’s 7-layer nachos but being so far away in Makati, I’ve replaced it with Ristras’ 9-layer dip. 9-layer-dip is brimming with 9 colorful layers of fresh ingredients starting from 2 kinds of beans, sour cream, tomatoes, pico de gallo salsa, onion, corn, chopped olives, jalapenos and guacamole if you wish. Create a perfect bite by getting a piece of everything. We usually ran out of chips but we just grab a Tostitos Hint with Lime tortilla chips from our stash at home and it heightens eating this delicious comfort food. It’s actually more perfect with Tostitos.

Whatever you decide, the garlic sauce makes all the mix and matches come together. The white yogurt sauce suffused with loads garlic has the right consistency compared to other garlic sauces that are diluted. It gives a softer and creamier supplement to each textural bite.

(Chris said that after that Friday visit he finally hit the mark and would probably visit after a month. Newsflash: we were at Ristras last night, only 5 days after that vow.)

If Meg Ryan is addicted to love, she definitely needs to pay Ristras a visit.

CHECK OUT B&T Mexican Kitchen along Ortigas Avenue.

B&T Mexican Kitchen

B&T Mexican Kitchen Chicken Mole

Ristras

J. Abad Santos St. Corner Lopez Jaena

San Juan City

Ristras Album

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8 Comments Filed Under: Inside Dish: A BITE of Food Tagged With: 2009, 2010, affordable, Agave Mexican Cantina, andrew tan, August 1, Authentic, barbacoa, berks, best, Best Mexican, branch, branches, burgers, burrito, butch, Cali Mex, California, celebrity, Charlie’s, Charlie’s Grill, Chef Rob Goco, chorizo brown rice, cilantro wild rice, cris darwin lim, Cyma, darwin, delivery, DLSU, dogs, Eric, eric ryan tang, ERT, expensive, Filipino, food review, garlic sauce, Good Service, grand opening, grill, guacamole, hotdogs, how to create a burrito, how to make, image, in town, J. Abad Santos, Jalapeño, jim, jim harold lim, la salle, latest, location, management, Manager, marie, marinade, math, meat, menu, Mex, mexicali, Mexican, Mexican restaurant, new, number, opening, Philippines, Photo, pinoy, pre-nuptial photos, price, recent, recipe, restaurant, Restaurants, Ristras, salsa, San Juan, San Sebastian Church, shredded beef, Steak, supplier, take out, tang, Taste Manila, Venue, Video, wedding, wedding season, weddings in Manila

Zipline in Tagaytay

December 3, 2008 by Janey

Since my long pending plan to do ziplining in Camp Sabros, North Davao or in CDO is still pretty much pending, I went for a quick fix and did ziplining in Tagaytay instead.

It’s been two weeks since I told Bubba that there’s ziplining in Tagaytay. Sunday, we were at Edsa Shangrila for Karie’s 1^st birthday celebration. Karie is the cute baby tot of Anne and Drew. We were enjoying our buffet lunch at the Garden ballroom when I asked Marie and Butch their plans this weekend. They said nothing concrete but told me they are planning to visit the Mango outlet as well as other designer brand outlets in Pampanga. Bubba and Jim were getting their desserts during this discussion. I suddenly blurted out about the ziplining in Tagaytay and asked them if they wanted to go after the party. They shared my excitement and were game about the idea! We arranged to meet an hour later in Magallanes, just about enough time to get a couple things and allowed me and Marie to change from dresses to jeans. Jim said yes too and before you know it, we were on convoy to a Tagaytay trip.

The travel was short, an hour and half later, we were in Tagaytay parking our cars. Upon seeing the zipline area, it took us a good 15 minutes to actually decide whether to go for it or not. I’ve only tried extreme (not so extreme) sports overseas, parasailing in Malaysia and Sky Jumping in Macau. I will include the rollercoaster in Ocean Park HK because that was also crazaaay for me. I went ballistic over the sky jump and rollercoaster but parasailing was a walk in the park (ahem, right.) But the thorn on my throat is, how safe is it to try terrifying stunts like this in the Philippines, manned by us? Thank God, it’s safe enough when we tried.

Ziplining is P300 per head for roundtrip and P200 for one way. If you go one way, you have to walk back using the bridge, which wasn’t too bad a walk. It’s additional P100 if you want your photos taken by the crew. The crew was nice like how most of Laguna and Tagaytay people are.

After ziplining, we made a quick stop at Rowena’s for pasalubong. It’s Jim’s first time to buy from Rowena’s, while I confirmed that it’s really one of the better quality pasalubong stores. Then I treated my friends to a sampling dinner at Sanctuario Tagaytay. I’ve only tried the one in Metrowalk but never the original branch. Good to know that my friends enjoyed their dishes. We ordered their 2 Pan de Sanctuario bread with 3 kinds of pate: Quezo, Garlic and Smoked Fish, Bulalo with Pasta (always a winner to me because of the bone marrow and sinful creaminess), Tuyo Rice and Adobo Flakes. I should have ordered their Sizzling Bulalo as well but was worried that we won’t have room for another dinner at Kanin Club. Sanctuario Tagaytay was a teaser to whet their appetites satisfying enough to hold out til we hit Sta. Rosa.

The only time we’ve tried Kanin Club was during the Pink Kitchen event this year. Bubba really liked the Morcon he ordered and was looking forward to eating at the actual restaurant. Currently, they only have two branches –Alabang and Paseo de Sta. Rosa.

We reached Kanin Club around 830pm and it was absolutely packed! We were the second big group waiting in line for an available table. Since it’s past dinnertime, it wasn’t long before a table was vacated. The menu had an extensive list of mouth-watering dishes to take a crack at.

More on Kanin Club on a separate post (interesting twist on Filipino favorites: Sinangag na Sinigang, Crispy Diniguan, etc… and finally I can scratch off one more resto in the Miele Guide list!)

Jim was so great with Joyce!

I really had a wonderful Sunday spent in breezy but not too cold Tagaytay breathing fresh air, trying a new activity and bonding with my sister Joyce and friends. Whoooweee!!!!

Events This Weekend Album

Malaysia Truly Asia

Macau