Great Friends Take You To Chateau Royale For The Weekend

Nice: rich friend

By great, I mean, rich. And by rich friends, I mean, Nice is one of them. She is not named Nice for nothing. So anyway, Nice has paid for a 2D/1N reservation for four at Chateau Royale in Tagaytay. Her family is supposed to use it but due to change of plans, we ended up going instead. And by we, I mean, Nice, Ann, Karen and me.

The four of us started the journey at the Batangas bus terminal in Pasay but was dismayed at the queue. This was at 12:30 noon. Apparently, most people were trying to escape the heat in the metro. An unsolicited advice from a woman behind us in the queue prodded us to wait for a bus instead at EDSA. And so we did. After what seemed like eternity (approximately 15 minutes) and our skin slowly being burnt to a crisp, a bus heading to Tagaytay picked us up. I can’t tell you if traffic was bad because right after we ate our takeout from McDonald’s, we dozed off. Then we got off at Olivarez in Tagaytay and boarded a jeep that would take us right at the front gate of the Chateau.

Photo source: http://www.ensogo.com.ph

I’m no expert when it comes to aesthetics so I really can’t explain to you the overall design of the resort. It looks contemporary with some Japanese influence. The resort has lots of Japanese sculptures (mostly of Buddha) and some Indian ones, too. I think.

Photo source: http://www.cashcashpinoy.com

Photo source: mhelgarrido.blogspot.com

Photo source: http://www.gastronomybyjoy.com

For the accomodations, there are three types: the hotel, the single-detached cabins and the log cabins. The hotel looks out of place in the resort, like a sore thumb in a Japanese-ish ranch.

Photo source: http://www.skyscrapercity.com

Single-detached Cabins
Photo source: http://www.sulit.com.ph

We stayed in a log cabin, which is a 7- to 10-minute walk from the front desk. There’s a shuttle and golf carts but they weren’t always around whenever we had to leave our room. By the way, the only Japanese indication in our room is the minimalist design. No tacky paintings and just white sheets on the beds, which actually felt surprisingly restful for me. If there’s a way they can increase the water pressure in the bathroom, I’ll give them a better rating.

Photo source: onandofftheroad.com

The Chateau boasts of superb amenities and various recreational activities (rock climbing, zip line, etc.) but we were only interested in one thing, swimming. They have a great pool with actual sand surrounding it.

Photo source: tipofmytonguemoments.wordpress.com

Our reservation included dinner at the Chateau’s Floating Restaurant, which at that time was more like a dry-docked resto because there was no water beneath the tiny bamboo huts. They serve the food buffet style. That night the menu consisted of Bird’s Nest soup, rice, pancit, fish fillet, okoy, grilled pork and pineapple and watermelon for dessert. Iced tea and water were served in a nicely set table. The soup was salty. The okoy was good. And the rest are just barely passable. Sorry, I don’t really know how to review food.

Surprisingly, they more than made up for the food the next day at breakfast. Same setup as dinner except for a chef who cooks eggs on the spot, sunny side up or omelette. The menu was lugaw, fried rice, corned beef, tinapa and watermelon for dessert. They had unlimited kapeng barako (Batangas brewed coffee), which I personally love. They also served pineapple juice. The corned beef was a bit salty but overall, it was a delicious breakfast.

Definitely A Breakfast Feast

By the way, they have a Veranda Cafe, adjacent to the lounge and front desk, where they serve the welcome drinks, namely, pineapple juice. They don’t serve cocktails there, just locally made alcoholic beverages. Also, food is pricey but tasty. We tried their Royale Club sandwich with fries for Php 270 and Batangas Burger for Php 280. Service is slow so don’t go there hungry.

The resort also sells fresh produce at really low prices, half of the price of veggies here in Manila. Also, they sell pasalubong like espasol and other native delicacies. Their buko and langka espasol is a must-try.

Overall, despite the disappointing dinner and welcome drinks, it was a great weekend getaway, mostly because the place is lovely and the people I was with are lovelier.

Thank you, again, Nice. You definitely made it to the Jobet 500.

Nice is the American-ish girl on the right.

Breakfast Epiphany

You know how it is when you’re totally convinced that it’s just another uneventful day and then wham! you bump into something and your life is changed forever. And I mean forever.

So after devoting time reading and blogging two entries, I had to drag myself out of bed because I can no longer ignore my grumbling stomach. I was thinking oatmeal because I’m not exactly the most devoted cook in the morning. Plus I’m not exactly keen on reheating leftover food from the Chinese new year “party” last night. Too much effort for lazy old me. So I opened the fridge after mouthing a silent prayer that I’d find some surprise food there fit for breakfast and more exciting than oatmeal. Hmmm. Tons of veggies Evert grabbed from the grocery because he thought they were cheap. My brother and I really like to pretend we eat healthy. Then there was the wine left from the new year’s eve party, not the Chinese new year but the Jan 1 party. I really should throw it out. Wrinkled blueberries. They got crinkly after that first time they got thawed. They had looked lonely since then. Miracle Whip. Oh wait, we have roasted chicken from last night. Can I dip it in Miracle Whip? Mmm. No, thanks. Not in the mood for cold chicken. That’s when I saw the leftover pizza neatly stacked on the big blue plate covered with my fave swirly red plate. Who says you can’t have leftover pizza for breakfast?

So cold pizza and milk for breakfast. It’s like the biggest discovery I’ve had since that time I found out I’ve been tying my shoelaces wrong. You can have junk food for breakfast because sometimes you have to show your tummy who’s boss. And you can’t do worse than cold pizza and milk. I’m pretty sure that in some parallel universe, it’s the breakfast of champions.