OUR AWESOME PLANET

Taal Yacht Club: Sailing 101 with Peter Capotosto

When JoMag invited us to have a sailing session in Taal Yacht Club during our monthly mastermind meeting, we were all excited and immediately blocked off our schedule for it.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, what to bring, and what are the preparations needed for it.

It turned out to be an awesome bonding experience!

I would like to share with you my personal learnings during my first sailing experience with no less than Peter Capotosto as our guide...

Memory Lane by Jolina Magdangal

Memory Lane is a homey restaurant / salon/ souvenir shop with 50's and 60's vibe set in a newly built structure nestled in Tagaytay. The homey antinquity is cute but the food needs improvement for it to really be memorable.

Fish Feeding and Boating @ Solenad, Nuvali

It's the first time I've seen so many Koi at one time! Some of them were literally out of the water already as they were being fed. It started as a mix of small and adult carps until they flourished so well in the lake environment with minimal mortality rate.

Feeding the fish, boating around the lagoon and dining al fresco beside the lake are recommended activities with your kids when you visit Solenad, the first retail area in Nuvali.

Why “Solenad”? Solenad comes from “sol” meaning sun and “nad” from the word promenade. Solenad does justice to its name given its outdoor scenery, parks and lush greens within a neighborhood center.

Here is a photo essay of our Fish Feeding and Boating experience...

Marcia Adams' Tuscany

On New Year's eve, we decided to escape the noise and pollution of Manila and spent it in Tagaytay. We had an afternoon merienda in one of Tagaytay's latest garden restaurants -- Marcia Adams' Tuscany. We'd like to credit this discovery to Metro Magazine, which featured this place in its November issue.

Ever since that article came out, the owners started to open the venue to friends of friends until they fully opened this January. (You can probably say you're a friend of OAP. :) ) Thanks to Marge for introducing and treating us to this place. :)

Here is a photo essay of how we celebrated the last day of 2009 in Marcia Adams' Tuscany place:

Tagaytay, the Garden Restaurant Capital of the Philippines

Top 5 Food Trip Destinations in and around Manila (1 of 5)
by Anton Diaz, Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Published in San Miguel Great Food Club Newsletter (November-December 2009).
(Please register in MyGreatFood.com if you want to become a member of San Miguel's Great Food Club)

Food has always been a big part of our culture, especially when traveling from one place to another. If the sights in the destination are great but the food is not, the trip itself just becomes OK and nothing to really rave about. BUT, if the sights are just OK but the food is great, then the entire trip becomes more memorable and worth repeating.

The upcoming holidays will definitely be a season for eating and spending quality time with friends and family. Why not spend the time together, hopping from one foodie destination to another and creating a memorable food trip that you’ll cherish for years to come?

Here are the top 5 popular foodie destinations (just a few hours away from Manila) that you can consider for your next food trip with your barkada and family this coming holiday season:

1. Tagaytay, the Garden Restaurant Capital of the Philippines

Kalamunda by Sylvia Miguel

"Dear, it's Kalamunda and not Sylvia's Garden...," Sylvia Miguel corrected me last Sunday. Kalamunda is an Australian aboriginal term, which means "home in the bush." (Yeah, Sylvia's Garden could be easily confused with Sonya's Garden...)

You have to literally drive to uncharted Tagaytay area with no signs and just views of one farm after another. Kalamunda is right beside the new Massimo in Tagaytay, hidden just behind the borders of Tagaytay and Silang, Cavite.

The main highlight of this foodie trip is the cleanest-tasting lechon by Sylvia and Carlos Miguel.

Sylvia Miguel's Cleanest Tasting Lechon

This is a personal invitation to regular OAP readers who wants to join our family in checking out the latest dining destination in Tagaytay - Sylvia Miguel's Garden. We would like to share our discoveries and our first time experience with OAP friends.

Where: Sylvia Miguel Garden, Hidden Somewhere in Tagaytay
When: March 29, Sunday Lunch 11am-2pm
How much: P1,500/ head but bring your own transpo
For Reservations Contact: Rache/ Mrs. OAP @ +63917 5318949 or rache@diaz.ph
Limited Slots Only.

Pamana, Tagaytay - a Family Legacy of Filipino Cuisine

Pamana is the latest Filipino restaurant in Tagaytay. It offers Filipino cuisine based on secret family recipes handed down to Happy Ongpauco, a third generation member of the Barrio Fiesta Restaurant Clan. The concept is similar to Tootsie's but better executed. Plus, it has a great view of Taal Lake.

(Note on the photo above: This is one of those rare moments I was able to ask my sons to sit down and smile at the same time.)