OAP: "Bag of Beans: Beyond English Pies"

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Bag of Beans: Beyond English Pies

There are no new restaurants in Tagaytay, recently. So, you have to go back to old favorites like Bag of Beans. If you have not been here, BOB is a good place for lunch and desserts. Initially, this place was promoting their English Pies that gets mixed reaction from customers. These days I go here for a nice ambiance (ala Sonya's Secret Garden), good food, and coffee Alamid -- which is one of the most expensive coffee in the world :) Coffee Alamid is Philippine civet coffee that comes only from the sweetest coffee cherries of the Philippine forests. (trust me you don't want to know what civet coffee means :)

This place is conveniently located near the Mendez intersection so you'll never miss it. Chances are, you would have seen this place already when you get stuck in traffic in that intersection. Another landmark would be when you start seeing vendors selling steamed peanuts (I'm addicted to this), which signals that you are near Bag of Beans already and there are a lot of cars parked along the road.

For those who haven't been here, let me tour you around the place.

>> Bag of Beans Coffee and Bakeshop Menu
>> Main Courses and Dessert Menu

Technorati Tags: Philippines, tagaytay

Philippines, tagaytay

Certainly eating al fresco is one of the allure of this place. Be sure to bring an insect repellant if you are with your kids because our superboy got bit and you know how those bites gets nasty with them.

You can opt to sit in a colorful homey type of ambiance.

More al fresco options under the big umbrellas.

This is the main dining place which reminds me of the Sonya's Secret garden setup but a smaller version.

You don't really need a reservation but if you decide to reserve, this would be a nice part to seat in. We arrived after lunch so the were only a few customers and their best sellers are not available anymore.

Grilled Blue Marlin (P280++) (+12% VAT and +10% service charge)
The blue marlin was well done and properly cooked in a way the the juices were kept in tact inside the meat. Although it is expensive, the serving was in fact good for two so it was worth it. We were hoping to order the pink salmon which is also one of the best sellers in the house but luck was not on our side because the last piece was already gone.

Chicken ala Kiev (P225++)
We did not waste our time in eating this juicy chicken dish. The chicken breast was cooked with oozing cream, light butter and pesto encapsulated by a crispy flour crust. We were satisfied and glad that it did not disappoint us since we got no choice but to order this.

Blueberry Cheesecake (P95++)
This was the perfect dessert to finish our meal. The texture and taste of the cheesecake is similar to a layer of vanilla ice cream with a hint of cheese flavor. This is not your usual cheesecake and the blueberry topping makes this, I believe, the best seller in the house. You can opt to have a strawberry topping if you're having too much of the blueberry.

Coffee Alamid (P95++)
It was my first time to taste coffee alamid and I was disappointed that it did not taste anything different to justify its high cost. This coffee tasted like the kapeng barako of Batangas. This coffee was highly controversial and I heard that they asked Oprah to taste this before knowing the story about the coffee alamid beans.

" Coffee Alamid is Philippine civet coffee that comes only from the sweetest coffee cherries of the Philippine forests. The palm civets that naturally propagate the sugar palm trees are also the same civets that choose and eat these ripe cherries. The beans are then fermented in the digestive system of the civets, then excreted as whole beans. The coffee farmers pick these civet droppings during coffee season. " (www.arengga.com)

I leave you with a photo of superboy contemplating on his life :)