Tagaytay's allure

I have not been to Tagaytay for a couple of months, mainly to avoid possible traffic caused by the ongoing expansion and improvement of the South Luzon Expressway or SLEX by SMC Infrastructure.

- MARIANNE GO

Last week, however, I was finally enticed to drive up to the mountain ridge city upon the invitation of the Anya Hospitality Group to learn more about its development plans and sample the latest culinary offering of the Samira Restaurant of Anya Resorts Tagaytay.

We left before noon with the intent to have lunch either along the way in Silang, Cavite or when we reached our destination. Unfortunately, with the completion of much of the expansion of the southbound lanes and its relatively new and unfamiliar landmarks, we somehow missed the Mamplasan exit where we had intended to connect to the CALAX toll road.

By the time we reached Tagaytay, it was nearly 2:30 p.m. and we decided to try out the recently opened Asador Dos Mestizos Restaurant of Jose Carlos "Binggoy" Remedios which Stella Arnaldo of Business Mirror had been recommending. Dos Mestizos's reputation had been established decades ago in Boracay where it has become the go-to Spanish restaurant in the island.

The restaurant did not disappoint with its Filipino-Spanish favorites of pato de pollo - truly one of the best and authentic duck fat covered chicken liver pate in the Philippines in my honest opinion, bacalao a la vizcaina - also the best with its authentic salted cod, tender lengua de vaca, and the ever reliable tortilla de patatas and slightly spicy ensalada de pulpo. What was not available was my favorite boquerones, maybe next time when I will make sure to make it to Binggoy's Saturday tapas buffet.

Even though we were the only customers at that off-hour, service was fast and attentive, with Binggoy associate Javi ensuring that we enjoyed our very late lunch with a glass of their refreshing Sangria. Truly, the meal was worth what we paid for.