Bag of Beans - Tagaytay

To cap off my Tagaytay weekend-related post which you can view at http://mei-mei-myperfectlyimperfectlife.blogspot.com/2013/07/tagaytay-weekend.html, here's our visit at Bag of Beans.

So after exploring the Caleruega compound, we decided to have lunch at Bag of Beans.

NOTE: If you go to Tagaytay, you should never leave without visiting Bag of Beans. :)

We arrived a little before 12nn and our timing was right because we got to seat at the balcony area of the restaurant, meaning we had a really nice view of Tagaytay :)

Our view

Bag of Beans Menu

They offer breakfast items, i.e. Filipino breakfast and pancakes, pies, pasta, grilled dishes, kids' dishes, soups, salads, and desserts.

Both Kim and I decided to have a go at their pasta. :)

Here are photos of us goofing around while waiting for our order. :p

First to arrive are our drinks. Kim had an apple juice while I ordered for a Coffee Choco Banana Frost. I guess there was not much caffeine on the coffee or maybe I was too tired because I didn't have a hard time sleeping that night.

Apple juice and Coffee Choco Banana Frost

Then our pastas arrived.

 I ordered the Chicken breast fillet and pasta mainly because it's spicy and I prefer red sauce than white sauce (Sorry Kim). It didn't disappoint me because it was really spicy, well not that spicy for me, because according to Kim, it was spicy. 

Chicken breast fillet and pasta

Kim ordered for pasta with garlic and mushroom, mainly because it has white sauce and mushroom. It tasted okay for me and I liked it mainly because of the mushroom. Hehe :)

Pasta with Garlic and Mushroom

We wanted to end our meal with something nice so we decided to order the Apple Pie ala Mode. It was to die for!!! It was served hot so you can see the ice cream melting and when we cut the pie, we saw smoke coming out of it. Really yummy and must try!

 I would definitely go back and try the grilled dishes. :)


Bag of Beans
3650 Aguinaldo Highway, Mendez Crossing West
Tagaytay City, Cavite
(046) 413-4356

A Trip to Caleruega

Here's another entry related to my previous post, http://mei-mei-myperfectlyimperfectlife.blogspot.com/2013/07/tagaytay-weekend.html. Here, I am going to detail our trip to Caleruega Church.

From Hotel Keni Po, we rode a tricycle to get to the town center.To get to Caleruega, we rode a bus to Nasugbu.

When we got off the bus, we took another tricycle ride to get to the church. As mentioned in my previous blog post, you have to get the mobile number of the tricycle driver because you have to contact him again when you are ready to be picked up. There are no public vehicles nearby so you have to remember this. :)

Entrance to the compound

You have to pay an entrance fee of Php30 only to get inside. For those with cars, there are parking areas outside the compound. I'm just not sure if they also allow visitors to park inside.

As soon as you enter the compound, you will see that it is surrounded by trees and it has such a peaceful environment and scenic views, which makes it a suitable venue for team buildings, seminars, and weddings.

View upon entering the compound

As you walk further, you will see this church facade where many visitors are having their photos taken. This is not a church but the entrance to get to the different spots or destinations within the compound.

Of course, we also had out photo taken. Hehe :)

And our solo shots as well. :)

Kim

Mei-Mei

It's common to see images of saints in churches and Caleruega is not an exception. And we both posed beside them. :)

Here are our photos to welcome you to Caleruega :)

Mei-Mei

Kim

When you go inside, you'll see this stairway. I think this place serves as a venue for wedding receptions and conferences.

"Grand" Stairway

When you go to the right part of this area, you will find a pathway that leads to the outdoor areas of Calereuga.

The pathway

And this pathway is lined with potted plants with flowers and I just had to have my photo taken there :)

Me with the potted flower-bearing plants :)

When you reach the end of the pathway, you will see this signage that lists the different areas you can find within the compound.

Directions

As I've mentioned, the property is surrounded by trees and other plants. Here are some of our photos taken in the different areas of the compound.

We rested for a while and asked Ryan to take our photo :)

Here's a view of the mountains and greenery surrounding the compound:

Hot weather

Blue skies

It was really hot when we went there but I prefer that weather than a rainy one :)

A stairway made of rocks leads to some benches where you can sit and enjoy the view of the mountains.

Rocky stairway

See the pine tree? Over there is the bench I was referring to.

Unfortunately, Ryan and Rej were in another part of the compound so we had to make use of the front camera of my phone to capture a photo together.

And we also had our solo shots taken at the bench :) It doesn't really protect you from the sun because the supposed roof is also open. Hehe :)

After our mini-pictorial, we made our way to the church. Since it was a Sunday, they celebrated mass at 11am.

On our way there, we passed by this potted plant with tomatoes. I was fascinated so I took a photo of it. Haha!

Tomato plant

Then, we also passed by this plant which we both do not know, but since it was so cute, I decided to take a photo of it as well.

I don't know what this is but it's cute

And there was this vine which I found adorable so I asked Kim to take a photo of me beside it.

And this is the church.

I took a photo of it side by side the brochure that was given to us at the entrance.

That's Kim's hand. Haha! Waah! There's a photobomber!!!!

Here are our solo shots :)

Kim

Mei-Mei

 A foreigner was waiting for his turn to take a photo and while we were having our photo taken by Ryan, he said that we looked good together. <3

We heard mass at 11am and we came just in time to get seats. :)

This is how the church looks like inside.

Rej: you're a photobomber!!!!

View from our chairs

The church is relatively small. I think it can only accommodate around 200 to 300 people so a lot of the visitors heard mass standing all throughout.

 After the mass, we decided to go back to Tagaytay already to have lunch and go home. :)

Trees outside the church

View from the store where we waited for the tricycle driver to pick us up

We texted the tricycle driver to pick us up and then rode a jeep to go back to Tagaytay.

Caleruega is a nice place if you want to meditate or be one with God and nature. :)

Josephine Restaurant

As promised in my previous post (http://mei-mei-myperfectlyimperfectlife.blogspot.com/2013/07/tagaytay-weekend.html), here's my blog  entry for our lunch at Josephine Restaurant during our Tagaytay weekend.

The restaurant is quite big. It has an indoor and outdoor dining areas. The outdoor dining is dedicated for the buffet meal. The restaurant also serves as a venue for events like wedding receptions, birthdays, etc.

The menu

The menu

Below are photos of the indoor dining area. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take photos of the outdoor dining area but the area is surrounded by trees and has a really nice view of Tagaytay.

Indoor dining area

Indoor dining area

Kim and I were not able to wait for Rej and Ryan anymore because we were already starving when we got to the restaurant and it didn't help that the staff were not as attentive as we expected them to be. :(

Anyway, here are the items that we ordered.

Chicharon bulaklak

For our appetizer, we ordered Chicharon Bulaklak: deep-fried pork intestines served with spicy vinegar. I really like the crispiness of the chicharon and I looooovvveeee the spicy vinegar. I think I may have drank some of it. Haha!

Melon Shake and Mango Shake

For our drinks, we went for shakes again (our attempt of keeping it healthy when we eat out). Kim likes melon a lot so he ordered a melon shake without the milk while I ordered a mango shake again. :)

Tinadtad na Mangga, Kamatis, Sibuyas, at Bagoong
Java rice
Josephine Fried Chicken

I like ensaladang mangga so I decided to try their version of it. Actually, what I really wanted to taste was the bagoong and I must say that I liked it. Hehe. :)

Kim opted to order the java rice since he likes it a lot. We also decided to order the Josephine Fried Chicken since we thought it was a specialty of the restaurant because supposedly, it has Josephine's secret recipe. Unfortunately, upon tasting it, my taste buds did not catch anything extraordinary about it, meaning, it tasted like ordinary fried chicken and it was quite dry for me.

Baked Tahong (can't find the name of this dish on their online menu)

This was the dish that both Kim and I liked the most. I guess, we just both love it baked with cheese. Truly yummy!!! <3

As I've mentioned, the service was quite slow so while waiting for them to take our orders and bring our food, we decided to take photos of ourselves. :)

Camwhoring 1

Camwhoring 2

Kim

Mei-Mei

Rej and Ryan came about an hour and a half later and they only ordered fruit shakes. Here's our group photo.

To know more about Josephine Restaurant, you may visit their website at http://www.josephinerestaurant.com/.

Josephine Restaurant
Manila Landline: (02) 871.5627
Tagaytay: (046) 413.1801
Mobile (Globe): 09178248503
Mobile (Smart): 09213709561 
Fax: (046) 413.1802
Email: josephinetagaytay@gmail.com