Raising the bar for Tagaytay cuisine

MANILA, Philippines - Yes, there are many choices in terms of Filipino food whenever one goes to Tagaytay.  You can try the tried and tested national franchised brands, or you can try the local Cavite brands along Aguinaldo Highway. But when a multi-awarded chef and his organizer of a wife suddenly shift from continental cuisine to Pinoy food with emphasis on Negrense basics and the classic favorites, you want to know why.

We checked out Antonio Escalante’s newest project called Balay Dako (meaning “big house” in Ilonggo) – and the name really suits the place. It is big, with three levels: Terraza, the topmost floor, which can seat 44 left side, 88 inside, 44 right side or a total of 176; the middle floor called Comedor seats 250 diners; and the lower level aptly called Silong can accommodate 350 for a wedding party, complete with changing rooms for the bride and groom at the upper level of the huge building.

There is ample parking for 100 cars, a special area for owner-driven cars and a PWD drop off point and ramp. “I know the numbers,” Agnes Escalante, wife and partner of chef Tony Boy Escalante tells us. “I have to know all the details because I take care of event bookings, “ she continues.

On the ground floor or lobby, Agnes has a store full of food items from Negros – coffee, Virgie’s sweets, even figurines of saints made by the nuns in Negros, and of course their own sardines, jams and other bottled specialties just like what you find in their other location, Breakfast at Antonio’s.

The menu is also varied – Negrense specialties like inasal, kadios baboy langka or KBL, and house specialties like Antonio’s pancit, pinakbet and the Tagaytay soup or Batangas soup (depending which side of Taal Volcano you are from), bulalo.

It is a place you can take your balikbayan friends to. It is also a place where you know the recipes are classic and consistent. Another treat is the feature of unlimited rice (for the saucy kare-kare and sinigang) and unlimited garlic rice for the inasal. Unlimited in a beautifully-appointed place like this one? Yes.

Agnes tells us that they have just been open for a mere one month and with hardly any advertising, save for some kind words on blogs and a few posts on Instagram. But today, as we were wrapping up our lunch, there were already 11 parties waiting for a table to be vacated. This is what “word of mouth” advertising and recommendations of friends do to a business. The Comedor area, the only dining outlet open until today, is a full house. And I am sure the neighboring restaurants were getting spillovers from the hungry crowds who went up for the long weekend.

This entrepreneur-friend took time to sit with us through lunch despite the heavy crowd and waited until we were done so she could tour us around the 3,000-square meter building. Sitting on half a hectare of prime ridge view property, the overcast skies still gave us a nice view of Taal lake and its famous craters. We go up to the top level where one can have the view, the breeze and cocktails. I can almost imagine it during sunset. It is indeed the perfect cocktail area where you have a choice of al fresco seating or comfortable bar stools spread across the room on high communal tables. That is the trend today. Share a table and make friends. Or just bring your own gang to soak in the cool breeze, cocktail in hand.

But Agnes, of course, is a business person. This place, though perfect for cocktail hour, is also serving a weekend breakfast buffet. Filipino breakfast with a view. For the early risers, this is Antonio’s style of waking up to good food. And, she says, they may also have merienda buffet very soon.

In the Silong, or down below, one can have events like weddings, launches and just about any party that may need 350-plus seating.

I knew Agnes back in year 2000 and when they started Antonio’s in 2002, we also were just starting to see restaurants set up on the ridge, away from the ridge (like their first Antonio’s) and almost anywhere in upland Cavite. So this group, Chef Antonio or Tony Boy, his assistant chef Ricky and wife Agnes already know the formula.

First, good food. Second, fresh food which comes from their own farms. Third, good service. Next, go al fresco whenever you can. After all, that is what the crowds come for – natural cool breeze 500 meters above sea level.

So, for those establishments still using air conditioners in Tagaytay, listen up. It’s not rocket science to turn off those energy-monsters like traditional air-cons.

Second, solid waste management. Something consumers and diners do not see but is important for restaurants who care about the environment. Agnes made sure they have the sophisticated, state-of-the-art, environment-friendly waste management. Who gives a hoot about such things when one can get away with just throwing garbage around? She does. In fact, their investment in solid waste management may not be paid back until a few years down the line but she does not care. “It’s all part of capital expenditure,” she proudly tells us. “We care about what happens to our wastes.” I hope her neighbors do, too.

After a great dining experience, you can also do some shopping and share your good vibes with people you did not take along. Get a bottle of crab paste, or a bottle of Antonio’s homemade jams. “Everything here is local in our country store,” Agnes proudly tells us.

Cavite has upped the ante with the opening of Balay Dako. Tagaytay’s restaurants will hopefully follow the good examples set by the Escalantes – good food, good service and, most of all, good citizenship that comes from caring for the environment through the things not visible to the diner, but makes one feel good upon knowing the owners are socially-responsible and environmentally-responsible, as well.

Oh, and did I tell you, the prices at Balay Dako are friendly, even for barangay and government-sponsored meetings, who have been holding their caucuses at this new neighborhood joint.

Tagaytay is setting the pace and Balay Dako has set a good example. Good, clean and fair food. That’s what slow food is about and we hope everyone is inspired to follow in their footsteps.

And it is heartwarming to know there are proprietors like Agnes who not only cares about the food they serve, but how they protect the environment.

Next time you drive up to Tagaytay, you know where to go. It’s along the ridge and across Magallanes Drive.