It is true, where mom goes, I usually go. And because it was a long weekend last weekend, sister also went with us and the rest of mom's chapter members on a getaway to Calatagan, Batangas - a place I haven't been to.
Our day started around 10am of Sunday, when we set on a long journey to Calatagan. The girls and I rode on Tito Ed and Tita Malou's car, while the rest of the group rode Tito Arnold's van. We had a very smooth ride until we reached Nuvali, where the build up of traffic started. Good thing, all of us had the initiative to pack lunch, so even if we didn't really find a restaurant, we were still able to eat a hearty lunch. People looked at us because we were eating at the side of the road, but we didn't really care - it was one of the most unique and memorable dining experiences I have had!
Somewhere between Silang and Tagaytay, we passed by this fruit stand where we bought some lanzones and pomelo. It became our road snack because traffic from here 'til we reached Skyranch Tagaytay was such a pain in the bum!
It was already night time when we reached our destination. Initially, we reserved the green house, but the group that rented the house the day before extended their stay, so we were given this small house (just two small rooms) and two big tents were set up outside to accommodate all of us. It was also a little unfortunate that there weren't lights near the beach, so none of us really dared to take a dip.
Before Calatagan was the town of Lian, and because it was already about 5pm when we reached that town, we decided to buy dinner at their market. For that dinner, we had:
Sinigang na Batalay
It was already very late so there weren't much to buy, so this sinigang lacked other vegetables like sitaw, labanos, and kangkong. Still, this was a tasty dish - perfect soup for the windy night.
Grilled Tilapia
Simple, but oh so good!
For that dinner, we also had Paksiw na Galunggong, but I forgot to take a picture. :(
Early next day, we went to check out the beach, but to our surprise, the low tide made a big area of the beach without water! We thought the tide would come up near lunch time, but it was already 11am, and there weren't much difference in the water level, so we just walked 'til the level of the water was okay for us to dip in.
That early, too, some of the "elders" went to the market to buy ingredients for our lunch. Initially, some of us mentioned Grilled Liempo, but it was decided in the end that we would go for all-fish lunch, and we had:
Grilled Tangigue
I wasn't able to eat this because I am not really into grilled fish, but my sister said it was super delicious.
Grilled Tambakol
Kinilaw na Tangigue
Half of the Tangigue steaks were chopped up and made into Kilawin. This I truly had the pleasure of eating. The fish was still very fresh and had it's natural sweetness, and when dipped into toyo-mansi with garlic and chili peppers, umm umm! :)
The head and the tail of the tangigue (it was a very big fish) were cooked into sinigang, this time with the much loved vegetables. They also served Paksiw na Galunggong and Pritong Galunggong, which I ate a lot of. The combination of Sinigang broth and vegetables just paired well with the Kilawin and Fried Galunggong.
We left around 2 or 3pm that afternoon, and we got home around 10pm, because of the traffic. Well, Calatagan sure was a very far of a place, something I was really thankful to have visited now, because I don't think it would be possible for us girls to travel there using public transportation.
This was such a fun getaway, we hope there will be more of this in the future.
I come from a family who loves cooking and eating. I never had any formal training in cooking and that I taught myself how to cook based on the handed down recipes, but I could say that I can cook good food. In 2008, I started documenting my food trips for my