CAVITE | Lunch at Taaleña Tagaytay

Monday, September 26, 2011

On the hunt for a new place to eat at Tagaytay, we decided to try out the restaurant that has been tickling my curiosity ever since my first visit to the city (my mind wonders what that far off resto is whenever we pass it on the way to the more popular strip near Magallanes).

Located quite a way from the main road, one has to walk some minutes through a small roadway that made me spontaneously sing The Long and Winding Road by the Beatles before reaching the Filipiniana-themed restaurant.
There were hardly any guests when we arrived and we had the place to ourselves. The interior was very cozy, wood furnishings, wide capiz windows, colorful window pane accents, quaint chandeliers, Filipino-themed paintings, it was really nice.

The place was also very cool even if it wasn’t air-conditioned; the fresh wind from the Taal totally takes care of the ventilation system.

We seated ourselves outside for a grand view of the Taal Lake and proceeded with our orders.
I ordered their Taal Longanisa but it was not on the menu (it was posted on their roadside poster though), our waiter confirmed first if it was available and luckily it was. We also ordered a custom version of their Guinataang Kalabasa; minus the bagoong and pakbet ingredients, since L is not that crazy over anything seafood and I don’t really dig Pakbet.

We watched as the other table gets serenaded by their in-house singers while waiting for our food. We liked watching these guys play, but we’re not too crazy on being serenaded upon while eating. Our food arrived after a brief while and we started digging in while worrying about the Filipiniana band that was just lurking at the corner waiting for our first bite.

I love garlic longanisa’s, this has always been my favorite food whenever I go out of town and sadly, Taaleña’s version was not up to par with my very simple expectations; the meat was chunky, was too hardy and not crispy fried. The Guinataang Kalabasa was also a disappointment; the sauce was lacking and was too dry, the kalabasa was undercooked and was too hard, the flavor was flat, no tangy flavor that we so love about this dish.



Disappointed with our fare, the serenaders made matters worst. If you guys have any tip how to prevent being serenaded upon while eating, I am very open to suggestions.

Finally, we asked for our bill. We were aghast as to how much the Longanisa dish cost. Since it was unlisted on the menu, I totally forgot to ask how much it is before ordering (my bad). The two pieces of Longanisa cost Php220.00, that’s without rice. Php110.00 for a piece of longanisa is just plain outrageous.

We asked why it was priced as such and they couldn’t come up with any answer other than that was how much the cook said it was. After complaining that the price was too much, they lowered it down to Php150.00, which was still too expensive.

I’m not one for bashing restaurants but besides the nice architecture and view (which can be found on most restaurants in Tagaytay anyways) I really cannot find no redeeming factor with Taaleña, they unfortunately do not do justice to the name they carry.

The fact that there were hardly any diners in their restaurant when we arrived should have been a clue for us already.

 

Taaleña
Casa Taal, Silang Crossing
Km. 54, West, 4120 Tagaytay City
(046) 413-2519
taalenaresto@yahoo.com.ph | Facebook Fanpage

You Might Also Like

14 comments

  1. If you like garlic longganisa, you have to try the ones from Tuguegarao. I'm a super fan! Lol. Ang mahal naman ng pagkain diyan! Sobra ha, P220 for two pieces of Longganisa. Anong meat kaya ginamit nila? :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. ganda ng place, sad to say ginto yung longanisa, the best pa din yung from Vigan

    sayang yung place, buti na-capture mo na yung beauty sa cam

    ReplyDelete
  3. ohmygulay talaga! kamahal ng longganisa! baka me diamante sa loob???

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mukhang yummy pa naman yung Longganisa pero its expensive just for 2 pieces... Try RSM Restaurant, they have nice servings for me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Geez, whatta price longganisa! I love the interiors though.

    ReplyDelete
  6. wish their food was as great as their interiors..tsk3..

    ReplyDelete
  7. sayang kuya, the pics looked masarap pa naman. bakit nga ung longganisa wala sa menu and it was terribly costly. Ay kuya mag longganisa ka nalang ng lucban, Quezon. hehe. Sarap pa with suka. But you sure do correct on your observation, no diners simply means one thing..Sad naman. But nice place though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hmmm, we do that a lot here, kapag susubok kami ng bagong restaurant, we'll try to see if there are people inside, kapag wala, we'll walk away and assume that their food is simply no good. Nangyari na rin sa amin ito, beautiful interiors but overpriced & disappointing naman ang food.... But in this case, pati breathtaking view sayang...
    PS
    Pagmay nagshare ng tip re harana, pa share ah, hehehe =)

    ReplyDelete
  9. 220 yung 2 longanisa? Grabe naman... May ginto ba loob yung 2 longanisa?:)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Haha, and I thought I was the only one who didn't like being serenaded while eating!

    ReplyDelete
  11. i first tried taalena years ago and i like their bulalo naman since 2 lang kami that time bulalo lang ang order namin. a year ago we go back to the said resto para matry ng family ko we were so disappointed sa food, nasisi tuloy ako ng mga kasama ko :( no wonder walang tao sa resto nila

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kim Reyes
    Will surely try that Tuguegarao longanisa pag nagawi ako dun!

    Michi, Joni, Lestat, Tripper10
    Ang mahal diba? Isang kilong uncooked longanisa na yung presyo nila ah

    Pinkc00kies
    Unfortunately, it only looks yummy =(

    Ian
    I've tried RSM, oks naman food nila, average but not bad =)

    MarLiesTravels, Pinay Travel Junkie
    Sayang no, ganda sana ng resto nila

    Mitch, Kristeta, Anonymous
    We prefer places kasi na konti lang tao, yun pala konti talaga tao because of the food =P

    Manila Girl
    Haha it's kinda awkward to be serenaded while eating kasi

    ReplyDelete