Antonios Cuisine Reigns Supreme...

I returned to Antonios just one week after having dinner there and I have to say: it is really one of the best restaurants in the Philippines and one of my favorite places to go. I'm lucky that it is in Tagaytay, if it were in Manila I'd be going at least 2-3 times a month and that would really hurt my wallet..

We decided to do lunch instead of dinner so we could take the kids. A party of 20, we arrived around 12:15. They had prepared 2 long tables for us, one for adults and one for the kids. I had pre arranged this before and requested the breakfast menu for the kids.

In our table, we were 7 and proceeded to order our appetizers. Since I had just been there, I decided to order different/new appetizers that I haven't tried before (except the Steak Tartare, which is a standard when I go there). We had: Tempura Scallops with Mango Orange sauce and Lumpfish Caviar, Steak Tartare and Portobello Mushroom with balsamic Garlic.

The Tempura Scallops were served with a creamy and refreshing Mango Orange sauce and little caviar, which gave this dish a salty kick at the end. A very refreshing and light dish. As for the Steak Tartare, what can I say that I haven said before? For me it is still the best Tartare in Manila (still need to try others and I will rate them once I've tried them). My only challenge now is to just find creative ways of taking pictures of this dish :)... The Portobello Mushrooms were huge and lightly coated with a balsamic glaze. It had Parmesan cheese which gave this dish good contrast.

With the Salad I ordered the scallops tasting. 3 pcs of Scallop cooked in different ways: Seared, with sesame seeds and wrapped with crispy prosciutto. My favorite was the one wrapped with the Prosciutto. The salty crispy ham was perfect with the soft scallop.

Since I am a man of habit, I could not resist and had to order the Duck Leg Confit (On Garlic Grartin & Pigeon Peas w/ Grand Marnier Beurre Blanc). We also had the Grilled Angus Prime Ribeye Steak and Herb Roasted rack of Lamb w/Cardamom Beurre Blanc.

The Duck, served with Potatoes gratin and Pigeon Peas was perfect. Just the right crispiness outside while still tender on the inside. Just how all duck leg confits should be. The steak, served on a hot plate with oil and garlic was excellent, although I found it a bit too oily, still very tasty and cooked perfectly (medium rare). I was not able to try the Lamb although M told me it was very good. It came with a Curry Rissotto.

For Dessert I had my usual Felchlin Maracaibo Spicy Chocolate Ice Cream. Dark Chocolate Ice Cream with a kick of Chili at the end. Again a perfect way to end a meal.

Til my next visit to Antonios....can't wait to go back there again soon.....

Antonios Tagaytay, still the best....

We had our yearly Christmas dinner with our group of friends (it's the second year we do it in Antonios) and it was great. We left Alabang around 5PM and we all rode the Digiprint Bus. We had thought of riding the bus that way we can relax on our way up to Tagaytay. Also we decided to have cocktails. For starters, we opened 2 bottles of Homenaje Rosado (rose wine from the Navarra region of Spain). This wine is a no brainer..very crisp and easy to drink. Went very well with our Manchego cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano with balsamic glaze.

We arrived at Antonios at around 7:15. Perfect timing for a dinner that I thoroughly enjoyed. As we arrived we were seated. We had another bottle of Homenaje Rosado. We had also brought 2 bottles of Ondarre Reserva Magnum (form Rioja) which I had them open to let them breathe a bit.

Antonios is a place that never disappoints me. I've eaten there probably 6-7 times and I've never had a bad experience. I normally order the same food always and quality is always consistent and service is excellent.

Anyway lets move on to the food...for starters we ordered Steak Tartare(Certified U.S. Beef Tenderloin), Escargot Bourguignon and Roasted Bone Marrow with Parsley Salad and Onion Marmalade.
Three excellent dishes (actually we had 2 orders of the tartare). The Steak Tartare was perefect as always. For me, this is probably the best Steak Tartare I've tried in the Philippines. I would do anything to have the recipe ... The Bone marrow, as you can see, cut in half then roasted with parsley and Olive oil. This is a very rich dish but extremely tasty. I think you can only have one bite of this...more is just too much for the body. Escargot was also excellent although I prefer the escargot it Je Suis Gourmand. Never the less the dish was great.

For the Salad that comes with the Entree, I chose the Foie Gras Potato Truffle Tempura add on. Excellent as usual, it was crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside. And if you thought this was enough..no...add the pan seared Foie in the middle and Truffle oil...to die for...

For the main course, I usually always order Duck Leg Confit (I'm a creature of habit) but this time, a I looked at the extensive menu, the first item I saw was the Kurobota Pork Belly (With Pineapple Horseradish compote and Gratin Potato), and that what I ordered. The Pork Belly (size was quite Small but its very rich and fatty so a small piece is enough) was deep fried. It was so tender that I could have cut it with a spoon. The combination with the Compote and Potato was perfect (the sweetness of the Pineapple gave it a good contrast). But I think that the dish lacked a bit of sauce or a glaze to it since it was quite dry. Still a great dish and very much enjoyable.

For dessert, I had my usual Chocolate Chili Ice Cream. Dark Chocolate Ice Cream with a nice surprise at the end....the kick of "sili". I love this dessert..the combination of dark Chocolate and Spicy Chili is just insane..

I've always said this and will continue to say it..Antonios for me is the best place in Town...Great food, great ambiance and good service...What more can I ask for? No wonder MIELE guide voted Antonios Top 10 Restaurants in Asia....

PS I apologize for the low quality of the pictures. I was using my camera but it was just too dark. I would have cranked up the ISO settings but the shots would have come out too grainy.

Antonios Restaurant, Tagaytay

The Mrs and I decided to go to Calatagan today to check on a small property that we bought many years ago and to visit the old chapel where we got married 7 years ago. It was a very pleasant day since we drove off early and enjoyed the scenery. I already had in mind eating in Breakfast at Antonios so we left Calatagan at 11 and got to there at around 12:15. It was quite full but we were lucky to get the last available table.

As they were giving us the menu, another pleasant surprise. Apparently ANTONIOS restaurant (the original one) is under renovation so they moved it temporarily to the breakfast place by the main road. So we had the choice wether to have the "real" Antonios menu or the breakfast menu. Of course I went for the main menu and forgot all about the breakfast menu. I saw this as a chance to have my favorite dish (Steak tartare). I had already tried the tartare during our Christmas dinner last year and I remember it being delicious, but as i looked on the menu, horror!!! it was not in the menu anymore....

I decided to tell the waiter to ask the Chef (Tony Escalante) if he could make a special tartare for me since I remember the last time he mentioning to me that he loved making it and loved eating it too...the waiter got back to me and told me that the Chef said that it was possible.

So, for starters, the Mrs had soup and truffle infused oysters and I had the Steak tartare. The Oysters were 6 pcs with truffle infused cream in a bed of angel hair pasta. Some had bacon bits and the others had cheese (gruyere I think). I had forgotten how good the tartare was in Antonios since the last time I tried it was around 8 months ago. It had the right amount of Perrins and Tabasco (not spicy). This is now officially in my favorites list and I do plan to come back  soon to have it again. It was served with their home made bread and butter.


For the main Course the Mrs had the salad with foie gras, blue cheese and candied walnuts. Of course, I had the Duck leg confit(one of my "other" favorite dishes). The duck leg was perfectly cooked and it was served with pigeon peas and a kind of potato gratin...This plus the tartare is my ultimate favorite menu so I decided that this lunch would be my birthday lunch (my birthday is 2 days from now and had originally planned to got to Lolo Dads). So for my birthday we will just probably stay home.

After our meal we did not have any space for dessert so I had my single espresso and we headed back to Manila right after. I really enjoyed this lunch not only because of the food but also the company of my wife (we left the kids home) and hope we can repeat this soon. Antonios will be under renovation til October so  for anybody who wants to eat there you will have to go to the breakfast rest. by the main road.