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Manos Greek Taverna
FLASHBACK
When we went to Tagaytay way back 2007, it was actually my 2nd time to visit this popular tourist destination. My first visit was 4 years earlier (2003).
The first time was a nice cozy sunny day where I had a great view of the famous Taal volcano. The 2nd time wasn’t that good in terms of the weather because it was raining, cloudy and in fact, Manila was flooding when we left for Tagaytay.
However, the trip was not entirely bad thanks to our awesome lunch at Manos Greek Taverna that day. Yes, that’s a Greek restaurant in the middle of Bulalo country. Tagaytay is also renowned for its Bulalo aside from the world famous Taal Volcano and its cooler climate.
For me, it was the closest thing to be in Greece for an hour or so because of the authentic Greek cuisine, ambiance and the very owner himself – Mr. Manos Sapountzakis.
THE FOOD
Armed with a now prehistoric SC-500, I took the pleasure of snapping some photos.
Greek Salad: tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, green peppers, olives and feta cheese.
These are potato fries and a bowl of fresh tidbits of carrots, corn and green peas (I think) which you will add to your meal instead of rice.
Saganaki: Baked shrimps in tomato sauce with feta cheese and spices.
I think this was Lamb Gyros soaked in thick yogurt sauce.
My Greek lunch: Grilled lamb (or it could be pork chop), Mousaka (mainly zucchini, potatoes, minced meat, eggplant, eggs, cheese, onions), Lamb Gyros, potato fries, feta cheese, and other lovely tidbits.
For me, the food was awesome though a few might find the Greek taste strange for the Pinoy palate, but overall it was great. All of the food here by the way were cooked in olive oil which adds a nice flavor to the dishes. No wonder olive oil is different from our over-the-store vegetable oil.
That’s me in the brown shirt next to Mr Manos with my teachers and classmates.
THE AMBIANCE
Its simple Aegean blue and white theme with little Greek mementos scattered here and there seems to give you that relaxing feeling as if your in Santorini, Greece. I can imagine hearing the subtle frothy sea waves just outside the window. The place feels so homey it’s like your having lunch in a friend’s house.
Okay, this was like almost 5 years ago so I’m pretty sure their prices went up a few notch, but I believe its not bordering anywhere near to fine dining level which would be great for both our pockets and palates. I can’t wait to get back to Tagaytay and bring Leia to Manos Greek Taverna or their new Hellenic Hotel Taverna and have a great Greek lunch treat.
Εις το επανιδείν!
p.s.
I’ll be posting photos of my first visit in Tagaytay some other time because it was a pre-digital camera era where Kodak film was the Instagram of its time.
Iloilo City Day 3
Iloilo City… a city filled with great people and their cooking prowess, however it is not just all about filling the stomach with goodies because the city is also home to old Spanish era churches.
These centuries old churches with more than a foot thick solid rock walls became a bastion of hope and protection for people in the past from pirate attacks to invasions, a sanctuary of spirituality for ages, and immortalized through timeless photos by Instagram, DSLR and the snap happy shutterbug generation.
Downtown Iloilo!
We started our third day at the heart of Iloilo city where you could see some old buildings in the photos that were probably built before World War II. It was a sharp contrast in scenery compared to Mandurriao‘s modern commercial area where Smallville 21 and SM City are located.
So here are the photos for day 3:
The old Iloilo is still pretty much alive up to this day.
Downtown Iloilo
Where Leia’s Mom finished highschool.
“Bacchus the god of wine, perfect name for a wine shop!” Leia exclaimed!
A rotunda in front of the old Provincial Capitol of Iloilo.
Crave Burger!
To make sure we had enough energy for our travel to Miag-ao to see the beautiful and photogenic Miag-ao church considered to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site “Baroque Churches of the Philippines” in 1993, we decided to fill ourselves up with burgers. Yes, big and awesome Crave burgers! Best burgers we’ve eaten so far.
It’s really nice, cool and quiet inside Crave Burger and the interior color theme is warm but soothing to the eyes.
This was lunch time so obviously Filipinos would still go for rice than bun for lunch.
Still there are a few who would like to cut on the carbs and would go burger for lunch.
It was also our 7th monthsary. ^_^
Now… the goodies!
Crave’s Twister Fries of twisted goodness!
Crave’s Ultimate burger with 100% pure beef patty that’s a luxury these days because of fast food giants that provide a much cheaper synthetic and chemically laced patties with a shelf life that could probably outlive you. haha
Some green tea Ice cream for dessert to cap it all up! Our first time actually.
To Miag-ao…
Now the grueling 2 hour bus ride to the enchanting Miag-ao church! Two hours instead of one hour travel due to bus stops every town we pass by before finally entering Miag-ao territory.
The bus may look dilapidated but it’s still safe enough to bring you from one place to another in one piece, at least, that was my mental mantra throughout the trip.
I tried to look composed to mask my speed “concerns” with the bus. Its speed varies from boringly slow to ridiculously fast that you could feel every nuts and bolts rattle. I was trying really hard not to think about the bus breaking apart in hyper-speed.
Miag-ao Church!
Finally… we arrived unscathed except for our sore butt cheeks, but it was all worth it when we saw the magnificent church of Miag-ao. It was like seeing a picture from a fairy tale book come alive.
Yes, finally we were taking pictures of the Miag-ao church in person.
- The doorway to Narnia. Seriously, the front door is huge with intricate carvings, heck the whole front part of the church is like a giant piece of art.
So yeah, it’s all about taking a picture of and with the church and of course with the mysterious photo-bombing backpacker.
One of those “Pirates of the Caribbean” windows and I don’t think armor piercing bullets can even penetrate those super thick walls. I mean, they’re probably made to withstand cannonballs.
Yes, the door is massive.
The other side of the church.
Molo Church!
So after our photo-shoot session with the Miag-ao church, we head back to Iloilo, but this time we took the jeepney instead of the bus. There were actually a number of beautiful old churches we passed-by going to Miag-ao and back, but we didn’t have time to stop and snap photos of them all except for one: Molo Church!
Molo Church in Gothic fashion.
The yellow star lantern was a bit off with the whole photo.
Ponsyon by Breakthrough!
So yeah, to cap the day on a high note, I brought Leia for dinner to one of Iloilo’s best restaurants: Ponsyon by Breakthrough! The dinner experience can be describe with one word: HEAVEN!
Yes, she was so hungry after our Miag-ao trip she could eat a whole cow, but was still able to stay poised for a photo. hehe ^_^
It felt like I hadn’t drank water for ages and the coconut juice was truly a heaven sent.
Crab Fat Rice!
Sizzling Sisig Bangus!
Fried Shrimps!
Crab in Coconut Milk Soup!
After our climatic dinner, I just had an epiphany that Iloilo’s food will always be better than my brain receptors could ever fathom or imagine. It was a taste of heaven on earth indeed!
My girlfriend said it best in her blog about our dinner that night: “I’ve never had a freakin’ delicious seafood feast like this for dinner!”
Oh yeah!!!
P.S. here’s Leia’s Tumblr post about our day 3 in Iloilo: http://reiyakhu.tumblr.com/post/15675599029/exploring-the-heart-of-the-philippines-iloilo-miagao-2
Next: Roxas City, Capiz – The Seafood Capital of the Philippines!
Filed under Churches, food, Iloilo City, Visayas
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