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Monday, April 30, 2007
Balay Indang, The Red Ginger Farm and Garden
" Balay Indang is a garden refuge comfortably located in Indang, Cavite. The wide, expansive gardens are filled with some of the finest flowering plants, trees and cacti making them some of the most relaxing and beautiful settings you could ever imagine. Our sanctuary boast of a variety of amenities including a large, well-maintained swimming pool, a luxurious and airy pool-side pavilion with billiards, mahjong and a collection of classic board games, a fishing pond with Red Kingfish Tilapia where you and your family can enjoy hours of fishing, and a well-stocked kitchen and restaurant specializing in local and foreign home-cooked meals. "
Balay Indang is a simple bed and breakfast place. It is perfect for corporate events, retreat, or if you want to simply escape from the busy city life. You can eat for P600/head and they serve simple home-cooked food (nothing to rave about). You can stay overnight complete with meals for P1,850/ head and you add P1,000/room if you prefer the air-conditioned room.
We want to be thorough in helping my brother in selecting the best reception place for their wedding so we had to check this out. I was only able to took pictures of the main Balay Indang house since we arrived late at night. Overall, it has a nice ambiance, a friendly staff and a relaxing eclectic atmosphere. This is a good place to escape with the family or go for a team building session.
Check this out...
The Food
The meal starts with a simple salad with ranch dressing similar to Sonya's garden in Tagaytay. The meal comes with ordinary powdered ice tea and brewed coffee. Everything is home cooked so don't expect a gourmet dining experience.
The ribs are tender and home cooked.
The pasta dishes failed to meet our expectation because it was not fresh and pasta seemed overcooked.
The rice was just OK.
The fish, although imported, was also OK.
The Balay Indang Ambiance
My dad poses with different kinds of mirror in the background.
By design, the tables, chairs and door knobs are different throughout the house to give an eclectic effect.
Aidan poses with the different buddhas as the background. This is one of the signature displays in Balay Indang.
A view from the second floor of the main house. On the second floor, you can find the three air-conditioned rooms.
" Our three rustic cottage house eight well-appointed and extremely comfortable rooms designed to maximize their closeness to the natural beauty of the gardens.The rooms are made for ultimate comfort and serenity, fusing both the comforts of modern living with Old World charm and vibrancy. Furthermore, each room has its own distinct character, with interiors and accessories specially designed to make our stay as comfortable and as unique as possible. Here, your total relaxation is our key. At Balay Indang, our well-trained and friendly staff will make sure that your every need is met. "
Hannah Room
A view of the small bed and the door that leads to the restroom.
A glimpse of the homey filipino inspired comfort room.
A view of the main king sized bed in the Hannah Room.
Deborah Room
This is the main room typically used as the brides' room when weddings are held in Balay Indang.
There are a total of 3 beds in the Deborah room.
EVE Room
This is a smaller room among the three.
with a sofa convertible bed.
Balay Indang, The Red Ginger Farm & Garden
"A refuge to commune with God Nature One's Self.
At Balay Indang, discover Life as it should be. "
Reservations: +63 917-837 4261, +63 919-5595884, +63 921 980 7154 (9am-8pm daily)
Marge Tan, Manager (Mobile: +63 917 866 5825)
Driving Directions:
From the South Super Highway, take Santa Rosa Exit and drive towards Tagaytay.
From the Tagaytay rotunda, head to the market located after Taal Vista Lodge.
You will pass by Taal Vista, Casino Filipino, and Total Gasoline station.
As you approach the Mendez market intersection, you should see mercury drug on your right.
Turn right on the stoplight after Mercury along Mendez drive.
Drive along this very long Mendez stretch until you hit a dead intersection.
Turn right and Balay Indang should be 3km from this point.
You would go past the Balay Indang Welcome Arc .
Look for a wooden gate on your left with no.88 (shown in the picture above).
April 30, 2007 in Tagaytay | Permalink | Comments (29) | TrackBack
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Antonio's, Tagaytay -- Still the Best
The new Antonio's Main Gate.
We went back to Antonio's to check out their wedding package for my brother's wedding. As I posted a while back, I still think that nothing beats an Antonio's Dinner in Tagaytay. It is still the best if you want to hold a grand wedding for your closest friends. Antonio's beats any other places in Tagaytay in terms of great food and great ambiance. There is no set package in Antonio's for wedding and they leave it up to you to order from the menu and the beverages menu. You should budget a minimum of at least P2,000/ head and it doesn't make sense to go cheap on your guest if you decide to hold your wedding in Antonio's. There is a corkage fee of P500/ bottle so they highly discourage you to bring your own wine.
The Antonio's Garden.
This was the view taken from the well manicured garden of Antonio's. You can see the 3-level main house on the right and the huge door on the left is used for the grand entrance of the couple. You can use the garden for cocktails and this serves as the waiting area. Also, it is advisable to finish all the program in the garden and conduct the wedding reception in the main restaurant. It would definitely be a challenge to hold a program in the restaurant because of its 3-level structure so you will want to set up wide screens around the restaurant to stream the video of the program so as not to alienate your other guests.
Overall, Antonio's is the best ideal place for a wedding reception but be sure to willingly spend P2,000+/ head.
Related Posts:
Nothing beats an Antonio's Dinner @ Tagaytay!
Anton & Rache pre-nuptial shots in Antonio's
Check out the rest of the Antonio's ambiance....
I've always love this door ever since we discovered Antonio's when it opened in 2003.
As you enter the door, you will be greeted by this receiving area with an old leather sofa. (This is the first level)
Behind the receiving area is the bathroom above that usually everyone falls in love with. I love it then and even better now.
As you look below in the second lower level, you'll see the tables set in a lush garden with a koi pond to add to the overall romantic ambiance.
You can decide to eat in the "main" restaurant with blue chandeliers. For a group dinner, our favorite spot is the patio of this main level resto.
You can continue to descend down via the grand staircase to the third lower level.
To your right is this high ceiling reception area which may be good for 20-30 people. I could imagine doing the wedding program here but you need to stream the programs via a wide screen to other areas of the resto.
To your left, group of tables with their own unique table setting and ambiance.
I'm not really fascinated with the table setup in this part of the resto maybe because of its low ceiling. It does not give you a feeling that you are eating in a garden.
This table has an interesting chef painting at the end of the wall. I've always wanted to ask Antonio's one of these days, the story about the painting.
As you go down further, this staircase now leads to the garden.
Here is a view of the garden from the staircase. This is the first time I've seen it . They have done a great job with creating and maintaining this garden.
So bro, what's your decision? Will you go for Antonio's?
Call Antonio's Restaurant at +63918-899-2866 for reservations!
April 28, 2007 in 02. 100 Awesome Restaurants in the Philippines, 03. Romantic Restaurants For Special Occasions, Tagaytay | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Batungbakal Zambales Mangoes
One of our awesome indulgences unique to the Philippines, is to eat as much mangoes as you want! Not just any mangoes, but you need to try out these super delicious Batungbakal Zambales Mangoes! They are in season this summer and we are loving them now. This is also the best time to indulge in Dulcelin's Mango Torte because they would be using mangoes from Zambales.
At first, we were kinda disappointed to receive our box of zambales mangoes because when we opened it, the mangoes were green. But we now understand that it was necessary to prolong your indulgence for two+ weeks. Because once these mangoes ripen and becomes golden, oh man, we can't stop eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I can even make my own mango torte or my own mango dessert. We bought two boxes of the Large Batungbakal Mangoes which cost us about P350/ box.
Personally, I love my mango green with a mix of yellow to give it a sweet and sour taste. My wife loves the ripe ones and it is perfect for the lihi period. Check out the email that we got from watergirl below... (Thanks so much!!)
BTW, I'm also looking for other zambales mangoes sources, please please let us know...
Technorati Tags: Zambales Mangoes
You may contact Jane or Melot at 729-3265 or 729-5413 for your orders.
Pickup will be at 26 Narra, South Forbes anytime after 9 am.
The mangoes come in 5 kg. boxes and the prices are as follows:
Size Weight Range/pc in g Price/5kg. box Approx # to a Box
Small 160 to 209 P200.00 26 pcs. +/-
Regular 210 to 259 P250.00 20 pcs. +/-
Medium 260 to 309 P300.00 17 pcs. +/-
Large 310 to 359 P350.00 14 pcs. +/-
Extra Large 360 to 409 P400.00 13 pcs. +/-
Jumbo 410 and up P500.00 12 pcs. +/-
> >>
Please indicate the size and how many boxes you'd be ordering.
April 25, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack
