Bag of Beans (Tagaytay)

Bag of Beans is one of the most popular resto in Tagaytay with more or less 5 branches. It offers an absolute dining experience, thus customers and travelers flocks their restos becoming one of the main culprit that causes traffic in the said city. They are one of those restaurants where food and coffee is great and the place is cozy with great ambiance because of the al fresco interior design making it perfect for great souvenir photos. They also produce and roast their own coffee beans, which according to some has a rich taste and aroma.

We ordered their famous Blue Berry Cheese Cake- it has a thick layer of whipped cream, followed by a thinner layer of cream cheese, and ultimately the solid crust. The sweetness is just perfect, truly a mouth watering masterpiece. We also ordered their Apple Pie ala mode which is quite sweet, but the ice cream topping really complimented the taste of the pie (albeit making the sweetness more afloat). Also, since the apple filling was warm, it created a great sensation in the mouth. We also tried their Pancake Banana Walnut - nothing special about the pancake except for the walnut and the way it was presented with Banana slice included in the serving.

Overall, Bag of Beans is great dining experience and ambiance is great but the food is too expensive.

Rating:
7 out of 10

Vikings' Eat-All-You-Can Buffet

As part of our Team's engagement activity we've decided to visit Vikings Buffet in Megamall. For me, it is a great value for money and one of the best buffet promo in contrast to the five star hotels that offers the same buffet promo deals. The dining area is composed of lavish interiors- sophisticated enough to give a luxurious albeit comfortable ambiance for the diners comparable to that of a hotel.

The food selections at Vikings  are so vast and diverse that you'll have no idea where to start, you get confused on what your stomach wants. Because it clearly wants everything. Just imagine eating Angus beef and Sushi but paying the same price from other restaurant and yet with the additional sumptuous food choices.

The dining areas are divided into several sections which includes: Japenese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, Filipino, Grilling Station, Desserts, Salads, Appetizers and Chef’s Choice section with each sections features artistic flair. They also offer an extensive selection of fresh juices and shakes to choose from, as well as softdrinks (Pepsi products).

Like most buffets, the quality of desserts ranged from average to good but you can choose from a wide array of cakes and Petit Fours, or customize your own Ice Cream Sundae and "Halo Halo".

My stomach was so full, hence I was not able to try all the food section, perhaps next time..

Rating
9 out of 10

Campus Boulevard

With a wide variety of food cuisine and dining options, "Campus Boulevard" may well be the ultimate food haven in Los Banos. A food court that uses a computerized food selection menu will let you select from different food choices that includes: Japanese, Chinese, Ice Cream & Drinks, BBQ Grill and Pizza.

The place is great with a lot of space to spare, a spacious atmosphere to hang out with friends. Ideal if you are in a big group with different cravings but you all want to eat together, a food court style solves that situation. While waiting for your order (they are self service, always be aware of your order number that is flashed on the screen), one can enjoy playing with Giant Chess and Soccer Board.

We ordered  Seafood Teppandon, Chicken Barbeque Pizza, California Maki, Marble Potato Salad and Special Halo Halo. The food tastes great for it's price except for their "Special Halo Halo" which I give a 5/10 rating - it lacks certain ingredients, perhaps im just to picky for that one. The place has great variation of food and soothing music, a nice place to hang out with.

Rating:

7 out of 10

Giligan's Groupie Meals

Giligan's resto offers an affordable set of meals which consists of extensive menu that covers most palate desires. There is a wide variety of cuisine from Continental, Asian and European. They also have 99'ers promo meals- it's an ala carte composed of 15 meals to choose from, served with a hot soup and unlimited rice. Some choices comes with a free glass of iced tea.

According to the waiters their bestseller consists of Crispy Pata, Lechon Kawali, crunchy Sizzling Sisig, Sweet & Spicy Squid, Roasted Chicken and Kare-Kare.

Since there were six of us, we tried one of their “Groupies” meal promo.The serving is good for 6 person, I was satisfied with the taste of their Sweet Spicy Squid and Sizzling Pork Sisig which the waiters claim to use a special sauce, it was served crunchy for every bite. The Crispy Pata has a mouth watering crisp on the outside and juicy in the inside deep fried to perfection. For dessert, choices are minimal and I am not really satisfied with their Leche Plan nor with Buko Panda. Their Leche Plan was the worst, not only it was served on a tiny serving, it was also the worst tasting dessert I had - it was like eating rubber. But then again, it was a good thing that their Mango Float tastes good to compliment my disappointment.

 

 Rating:

7 out of 10

Kamayan sa Palaisdaan

We celebrated Chinese New Year in "Kamayan sa Palaisdaan" which is located in Bay, Laguna along the national highway. It is a floating restaurant that is consist of Nipa Huts set in a fish pond. The food is great at an affordable price and their main specialties are Seafood dishes and Crispy Pata.

We ordered Ginataang Tilapia (fish with coconut cream), nothing special since I don’t like Tilapia that much. On the other hand, the must-try dish in Kamayan is their Crispy Pata (deep fried pork leg) - the skin is very crispy while the meat is soft that melts in your mouth. We also ordered Seafood Kare Kare (it taste great but on a very small serving) and Pancit Bihon, which taste just ordinary. We also had Leche Plan for dessert which has a rich creamy goodness of milk blended with perfect sweetness of its syrup.

Rating:
7 out of 10

Karne Frio: Ham, Bacon and Sausage

Karne Frio is one of the fast rising resto among the students in Los Banos, their main products are Bacon, Ham and Sausage  which are served throughout the day. The resto is not just about pork meat or beef, they also serve chicken, fish meats, pasta, vegetable salads as well. They confidently claim thay they have the best tasting bacon in town which according to them are their own produced. 

My wife and I tried some of their menu which includes: Pork Marinada, Chicken Kebab, Classic Red Spaghetti, Meatzanini and Shakes- I'm not satisfied with their shakes tastes like food color. Overall,  the food taste great at an affordable price and they also have a student serving  for  every menu. The place is small, perhaps it's designed for midgets and most of the time desserts are not available - I guess they should remove it from their menu.

The bestsellers are: Bacon, Gourmet Sausages, Marinadas, Panini, and their version of U.K.'s Bangers and Mash, we'll try that one next time.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Air Summit Gourmet

Located in the old Kamayan sa Palaisdaan in Tayabas, Quezon. Air Summit Gourmet is an interesting resto that offers a fine dining experience which opened last February 2016. The whole restaurant is housed in an old scrap plane which was bought 2014 and modified to function as a restaurant.

It is themed as an Airplane with the receiving area as the "Immigration" where visitors have to wait for a long time before they can enter the plane and get the order. Waiters are in complete in flight attendant/flight stewardess uniform to replicate the "airport to airplane experience". The plane has only 14 set of tables thus, it really takes a a while to onboard the plane - I guess that's the real scenario in the Philippine airport system =). 

The food is too expensive considering that they serve just plain meal. They only have one common restroom for men and women, they should have taught about that since they are expecting an influx of potential customers. I guess it's not the food that people are after but the experience and coziness of the place.

Rating:
6 out of 10