A&D Antipolo Eats: Vieux Chalet Swiss Restaurant

The main agenda for our trip to Antipolo was to eat at Vieux Chalet Swiss Restaurant. BOS has been wanting to eat here for the longest time. Funny story though..  when I told him that I wanted to try Vieux Chalet, he said "Tagal na kaya kita niyaya dyan!". Haha! Mommy brain, sorry naman! After our brunch at Eggs for Breakfast, we went to Pinto Museum to kill time before going to Vieux Chalet for an early dinner.

I am so glad that there's Waze nowadays, it was easier to navigate to anywhere. But it was still challenge to get there because there was some road works and we need to pass another way going there, but we still arrived just in time for sunset. I also called them on our way, making sure that we'll have a table when we arrive.

Loved the quirky yet homey and cozy vibe.

If you are looking to try a new restaurant and want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, Vieux Chalet should be in your list.

Vieux Chalet is a one of Antipolo's best kept secret. Vieux Chalet is owned by the Hassig Family and it first opened in 1984. It is our first time to try Swiss food so I was very excited. I've also checked blogs for review and recommendation but I've noticed the menu is different. I just asked the Restaurant Manager Rico, who was our server for recommendations. Rico was so nice and accommodating, he made us feel at home.

For starters, we had the Swiss Raclette. I'm new to the whole cheese game. It was my first time to try raclette. I love everything except for the pickled onions.

The kids had the 5-Cheese Grilled Pizza. Generous amounts of cheese, just the way we like it. I love it!!! The kids removed the arugula and alfalfa when they ate it though.

BOS and I are meat lovers! I ordered the Pork Fillet Mignon. It was tender and juicy. I finished everything in my plate! Hindi ako gutom pero naubos ko haha!

BOS had the Beef Tenderloin, cooked medium rare. BOS gives it a thumbs up!

I wish I had room for dessert, that Ricotta Cheesecake on the menu sounds yummy! We went home with happy tummies. I hope we'll have another chance to visit Vieux Chalet again in the future. Too many restaurants to try, so little time! Thank you BOS for always letting me know which restaurants to try even when I'm not always listening haha!

Vieux Chalet Swiss Restaurant

456 Taktak Road, Sitio Sampaguita, Brgy. Sta. Cruz

Antipolo City, 1870

A Taste of Toast Manila

On the look out for a new restaurant to try this weekend? Why not try out Toast Manila in San Juan! Two weeks ago, I had breakfast and lunch at Toast Manila (on separate days ha! Haha!) and I went home with a happy tummy.

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day! I am a morning person and I can't get through the day without a decent meal and coffee in the morning. I think it's the only time of the day that moms enjoy because the kids are in school. I have been spending my mornings attending pilates classes, working in coffee shop or having breakfast with my mommy friends. And the recent one was at Toast Manila!

Spot the mommas! Guess who? :) I like that Toast Manila opens early. They're open from 8AM - 9PM on Tuesday - Friday, 7AM - 9PM on Saturday - Sunday and they're CLOSED on Mondays. They're located at 135 Hoover Street corner Argonne Street, Brgy. Addition Hills,

San Juan.

A&D Tagaytay Eats: Sonya's Garden and Balay Dako

Continuing my kwento from our Narra Hill weekend is where we ate our lunch before checking-in and after checking-out. It has been awhile since we went to Tagaytay and we couldn't decide where to have our first meal. Balay Dako was the one and only restaurant on our list and we decided to eat there the next day so I checked the internet for suggestions... and we ended up at Sonya's Garden.

It has been maybe 9 years since I last ate at Sonya's Garden and so much have changed! I was expecting that we will eat in a greenhouse restaurant place like I did 9 years ago but we were led to this room, the Conservatory.

Parang wedding reception! The place was full even if it was 1PM na and there were still coming in.

I called Sonya's Garden while on our way to Tagaytay. In my mind, they still serve the same food they do 9 years ago so I made an advance order of their Roast Chicken. But I was mistaken! They now serve a whole buffet of different dishes including their classics which were the salad and pasta with choice of two sauces.

Fresh salad with edible flowers and other toppings on the side. They have one dressing only which tastes pretty much like honey mustard.

Freshly baked bread served with different types of spreads. I loved the bread. I wish we had time to go back and buy this bread from the Panaderia.

From the buffer: there's Ratatouille, Roasted Mushrooms, Salmon Belly, and Chicken Mango Cream Pasta!

The Roast Chicken was big! It was good enough for 4-5 persons. We weren't able to finish this but we were able to take this home to Manila. Good thing our room in Narra Hill has a mini ref.

After our lunch, we roamed around the place and took the opportunity to take nice photos of the kids. But that only took a few minutes, then R didn't want to cooperate anymore! Haha! 

Sonya's Garden

For more information, you may check www.sonyasgarden.com

Facebook: Sonya's Garden

After having our late lunch in Sonya's Garden, we went on to our unforgettable stay at Narra Hill (read all about our stay here) where we had our dinner later that night and breakfast the next day. After checking out, we headed to Balay Dako to have our lunch. We've heard a lot of great things about the place! We wanted to try their weekend buffet but we felt it would be bitin if we ate here before checking-in, we'll come back for breakfast! 

 Balay Dako means big house is Negrenese which explains huge place, with an overlooking view of the Taal. Love the interior!

There's something about dining Filipino food in Tagaytay with a view of the Taal, nakakagana at masarap kumain noh? I guess the weather has a factor too.

Kids admiring the view while waiting for our food to arrive.

Balay Dako serves Filipino food and as always BOS ordered a lot, maybe food enough for 3-4 people. Ganon kami kumain lagi kaya we always have food to take home! Haha!

Chicharon Bulaklak (Php300) for anti-aging. Char!

Food was served in 20 minutes. Look at their servings, it's big! Kaya madami talaga kami nauwi!

Always a staple when we dine out, kelangan may ramen/noodles/pansit for the kids! Pancit Canton (Php370) was delicious, we all liked it!

Pusit pusit some more! Heehee! I love squid so when I saw this on the menu, I knew I had to order it. Sinuteng Pusit (Php530), I think I finished this by myself. Hello uric acid! Haha!

Sinigang na Baboy (Php460)

Lechon Kawali (Php480), pork cubes brined overnight with lemon grass then deep fried. It's tender and crispy! Goes so well with rice!

To balance all the food, we ordered their Pinakbet (Php220)!

I had the Halo-Halo ni Antonio which was huge! Katakawan lang. I think 3 people can share this. 

Maja Blanca (Php75), BOS said he had better.

Y and R had a scoop of Sorbetes (Php55). FIC in a sorbetes cart!

R who always picks green colored ice cream because of Mater. If you've watched the Cars movie, you would know what I mean! Wasabi daw flavor kahit na hinde! Heehee!

Freshly cooked Piaya for Php65 for 6pcs!

After our lunch, we went around to check out the place and as it turns out, they serve their breakfast buffet in a different area! We must come back soon and try their breakfast, ok BOS? There's a deli that sells Antonio's products.

If you haven't been to Balay Dako, it is worth the try!

Balay Dako

Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Silang Junction West, Tagaytay City, Cavite 4120

(046) 483-4847 / (+63)943-264-1680

balaydakoevents@gmail.com

For more information, you may check http://antoniosrestaurant.ph/

Facebook Page: Balay Dako Tagaytay

Instagram: @balaydakobyantonios

A&D Eats: Alab By Chef Tatung

BOS rarely requests to eat at any particular restaurant, so when he does, I oblige. He has been wanting to eat at the Chef Tatung restaurant in Taguig for the longest time then it closed its doors. So when he found out about Alab, he said we must go try it!

Food is always more enjoyable when shared with good company and great conversation and that is why we timed it when Y's Ninang G is in town! Along with our other college barkada, BOS booked their Function Room 2 (which seats 14 pax and has a consumable of Php4,000) for us because we're taking the kids and we had no yaya -- room for them to scream and run without us disturbing other people. Haha! 

BOS really made it a point to check out their menu before going to Alab and ordered everything he wanted. We also made sure to order kid-friendly dishes for Y, R, and Sid. So without further adieu, here's what we had for lunch:

Honey Lechon Php390 - A melt-in-your-mouth lechon, roasted for six hours in a bed of garlic and lemongrass. Pork was tender but nothing special.

Sisig Php220 -  One of my favorite dishes we had! Thrice-cooked minced pork! So good with rice!

Pianggang Php270 - Grilled chicken cooked in coconut milk flavored with a special Tausug spice paste made from ground fresh aromatics and burnt coconut. A Tausug classic!

Kinilaw na Isda Php280 - Fresh Tanigue chunks in coconut vinegar. My craving for kinilaw was satisfied!

Tinumok Php150 - Coconut noodles and chopped shrimp wrapped in taro leaves stewed in rich coconut cream and flavored with bagoong alamang. I would go back solely to eat this dish plus extra extra rice!

Forgot what this is called. It has grilled squid and pork.

Pancit Molo Php110 - kid-approved and we had to order one more because one wasn't enough.

We had two kinds of rice. The aligue was rice was good!

Coolers! 

New York Cubao Cheesecake

Suman - BOS approved!

Each dish is good for 2-3 persons. While some of the dishes hit the spot, most were just okay. Maybe because it was on soft opening when we ate there?! Would we go back? I asked BOS since he's the one who requested for this restaurant, he said it was okay but he still wants to go back but not so soon maybe? I would go back for the Tinumok and the suman!

Alab is located at 67 Scout Rallos, Tomas Morato, Quezon City. For reservations please call 962-1176/ 0915-290-1001