One crazy food trip to Dasmariñas Cavite

The idea of an instant trip to Dasmariñas came when I saw online that there was an Arabic restaurant in Robinsons Dasmariñas. Since everyone was free and Sans and I need German and French tutorials badly from Shai so we had an instant road trip to Dasma.

Tom toured us around De La Salle University Dasmariñas. I admire how La Salle thinks about the structure of its school buildings. As a student in Taft for a little more than 3 years, the white Greek columns that graced LS building and Yuchengco has given La Salle an iconic image through its buildings. In La Salle Bacolod, I remember a great touch of Filipino while I stayed in Balay Kalinungan. La Salle Dasma seems like its in another world...well more like Intramuros. I just liked that there are so many trees around. I loved the fact that they have a lagoon and a like with real fish in it.

The church though was just lovely. Here's a photo I took of it.

The museum's structure would also remind you of the traditional bahay na bato. Manong guard was kind enough to let us see the ground floor even if the museum was closed. There one can find things that were dug up in Pampanga after Mount Pinatubo errupted.

As darkness falls in Cavite, everything seemed peaceful. We also went to the track oval and passed by the other buildings. Too bad it was already too dark for me to post right beneath the soccer goal. Sans was reminiscing in the granstand the gig she had before with her band Kastigo.

Here are more pictures of DLSU-D:

The cafeteria

A structure beside the church paterned after Aguinaldo's house in Kawit

Lake

Museo La Salle

We then went to Robinsons to eat at Souk Kafe. The place seems really warm and cozy. I love the details they placed around the restaurant for that Arabic feel. We were so hungry by the time we got there that we felt we could gobble anything up. We ordered their Iced tea. I think it was called Anantya iced tea. The tea even came from Dubai and it tastes so good, not like the sugary iced teas we get from fastfood places in the metro. Tom got the mint-pineapply drink, not really my type but he likes it.

We ordered the Souk Specialite pizza with sausages, mushrooms and veggies. It was thin and soft and you feel like you want the whole plate just for you. The pizza are called Manqoush

We also had the seafood curry and biryani as well. The curry taste of both dishes was just right. Although I would have preferred seeing real crabmeat instead of just kani. The proportion was just right for one person and the price quite reasonable.

I loved their Vigan platter. Since I'm a huge fan of longganisa from Ilocos and missed it so much, I really enjoyed this dish. You get slices of garlicky Vigan Longganis paired with Salted egg and tomato. Just perfect.

We also oredered the Crummbed Dory that comes with rice and potato salad. The batter was crunchy and the fish was really tender. The sauce was also light tasting which neutralizes the taste of the curry dishes.

We then ordered dessert Helwa Mango. These are flambed mango slices with white chocolate chips, syrup and cream on the side. The sweetness of the mango was just right and the fruit was really tender. The chocolate chips added the sweet kick to the dessert as well.

As a way to stay awake for the long ride back to Manila, we ordered their Turkish coffee and Cafe Latte, both coffees have a nice rich aroma with a nutty taste. Both were pretty strong as well. It was a good way to end our big meal.

Escape to Taj

After a weekend outing in Anilao Batangas with my old team, some of us decided to head to Tagaytay to have some Indian food. It's a first for some of us to eat at Taj, an Indian and Asian fusion restaurant. Josh drove us to Tagaytay. We had a short stop over at Rowena's to get goodies for those who can't join us. Sans, Tom, Shai and I were just excited to experience this new gastronomic feast.

As we walked in, I was awed by the Indian decoration all over the place. What really caught my attention was the wall mural of Shiva right beside our table. The rich colors of that mural made me realize that it can produce a great picture. We had crazy photos amidst a great back drop. I made my friends pose right in front of it where I can eventually edit the photograph and make us look like models. I had to have my own pose too as this was too good to pass.

But this really made me feel the Indian culture as we were waiting for our food. Aside from the decors, the music adds to the charm of the place. It is not just the Jai Ho song we get to hear a lot lately but really good Bollywood music.

The food was great. We had beef and mutton biryani. The meat of both dishes were really tender and tasty. The basmati rice in the dish perfectly compliments the taste of the meat.

Beef/Mutton Biryani

We also had Chicken curry for our non-beef eating friend. The chicken was really tender and the sauce was really tasty.

Chicken Curry

We ordered Rogan Josh, for two reasons: 1st its a mutton dish that Sans wanted since she loved mutton, 2nd its because of the name of the dish which Sans and Josh wanted to order because Josh is in the name of the dish. The mutton was really tender and the sauce was great for dipping the two kinds of bread we ordered.

Rogan Josh

The 2 kinds of bread that we ordered were Roti Cannai and Buttered Naan. The Roti was really soft contrasting to the Naan which was a bit chewy. The Roti was also a bit sweet and I just loved dipping it in the curry. The butter in the Naan gave it a different kick.

Buttered Naan

I got to experience a unique kind of drink, the Rose flavored Lassi. Lassi is a yoghurt based shake but what made it interesting is the Rose flavor. It's sweet and light tasting at the same time. The pink color just made it really appetizing.

Rose Lassi

The decorations of the place was unique and it added to the Indian flair of the restaurant. The also have a hotel called Andanita and the rates was really reasonable when we asked. Rooms come with free breakfast and a free massage. Taj is definitely one place I would like to visit again. Here are more photos from Taj.

Wall Decor

Tile details on the table

Ceiling Drapings

Decor made of grains of rice

Wandering Mindanao

I was quite fortunate to be able to go around Mindanao last year. Despite all the crazy things that happened during that trip, I wouldn't trade it for any other experience.

It was crazy enough to plan on going to five places all in four days--and those places we visited were really far apart from each other. We had to fly in through Cagayan De Oro and I had the best lechon manok ever at The Barn. Off we went then to catch the bus to take us to Balingoan pier where we could catch a barge taking us to Camiguin. I did not appreciate any food we had at that place. We had a really expensive Italian dinner and got a terrible lunch at a carinderia somewhere. I'm guessing we were just in the wrong part of the island which made things a bit terrible for us.

After we left, we weren't able to catch the bus in Cagayan De Oro that can take us straight to Koronadal. We had to pass by Davao instead. Davao was part of our original plan. We decided to scrap it out due to time constraints but ended up going there anyway. I was able to see my friends from college there. We just ate tapsilog, had a bottle of beer and then have to board another bus going to General Santos City and then taking us to Koronadal in South Cotabato.

The bus rides we had were a nightmare. In the 8 hour ride from Cagayan to Davao, there was a child who puked all over the seat hence the discomfort for some of my friends. On the bus going to General Santos, a drunk guy was puking across the aisle from me which got to my stuff.

When we reached Koronadal, we heard mass, changed our clothes and boarded another bus that would take us to Lake Sebu. The place was just beautiful and peaceful and I can say that this was the part of the trip that made it all worth it. I had the best tasting tilapia cooked in different ways that we had in Aguilar Lake View. The chicharon tilapia was superb that I still dream of it once in a while. The inihaw na tilapia was great as well and Tita Zeny was very accommodating. The seem to have the best view of Lake Sebu and the cold air at night is just comforting and will really sway you to sleep.

We went to Dongon falls in a skylab. The skylab is a motorcycle were 3 or more people will ride on it and it will take you through hills and mountains to get to Dongon falls. I haven't heard about Dongon falls until I got to Lake Sebu. There were 7 falls in total. I only got to see 2 but it was still great. I had a chance to swim for the first time under the waterfalls. It was really cool and refreshing and I didn't mind the current at my feet.

Dusk and Dawn was quite peaceful at the lake. I would love to go back just to experience it again.

We had to go to General Santos City so we can fly back to Manila. We stopped by Rdex to get tuna for my sisters and my tita. If I wasn't on a budget, I could have gotten more and it made the best sashimi. I was able to catch a glimpse of Saranggani Bay where all that great tune came from.

Mindanao is not what everyone thinks here in Manila. Thanks to all the media hype of bombings, kidnappings, terrorists and anything that they can associate with Mindanao. I find the place more peaceful than crazy Manila and all the traffic jams in its big roads or the sardines set-up when you take the LRT or MRT. We even have to consider all the chaos caused by rallies of non-stop bickering by the left and right. Mindanao is one place I would love to escape to from the fast-paced life that Manila can offer. Here are the images I have of this place:

Baligoan Pier

Camiguin sunrise (view from White Island)

Dongon Falls

Water flowing from Dongon Falls

Right below the waterfalls