THROWBACK TOUR IN TAAL HERITAGE TOWN

Facade of the Basilica de San Martin de Tours in Taal, Batangas

I have always thought that Taal, Batangas was all about a volcano and abundant beach resorts. It turned out that there is more to this town than both.

In the town of Taal is a well-preserved rich cultural heritage showcasing our country's illustrious past.

We took the Taal, Batangas heritage tour the day after Christmas 2014. The timing was perfect since the roads were not overcrowded hence, traffic was light as most families traveled to more popular hangouts in the south such as Tagaytay and Laguna.

We toured the heritage town of Taal, Batangas in the following order: Basilica de San Martin de Tours, Villavicencio Wedding Gift House, Our Lady of Caysasay Shrine, Galleria de Taal, and Taal Market.

1. Basilica de San Martin de Tours

Marker at the entrance to the Basilica de San Martin de Tours

This Basilica is known as the largest Catholic church in Asia. It has a seating capacity of 1,400. 

The silver tabernacle, paintings with three-dimensional illusions on the church's wall posts, a ceiling arc structure, and the monument of Marcela Agoncillo in the church grounds are some of the unique and not-to-miss features when you visit this place.

The silver tabernacle inside the Basilica de San Martin de Tours in Taal, Batangas

 

The ceiling arc structure inside the Basilica de San Martin de Tours in Taal, Batangas

One of the paintings on the wall posts of the Basilica de San Martin de Tours which give an illusion that it was carved on the post.

An organ inside the Basilica de San Martin de Tours which looks like the bamboo organ in the city of Las Pinas

Written below the monument of Marcela Agoncillo (located on the grounds of the Basilica de San Martin de Tours), sewed the first Philippine flag

Scene at the Basilica De San Martin de Tours' grounds with a view of the town's municipal hall

2. Villavicencio Wedding Gift House

Portrait paintings by Filipino national artist, Juan Luna, of Dona Gliceria Marella Villavicencio and Don Eulalio Villavicencio inside the Villavicencio Wedding Gift House

Crocheted table cloths, old wooden chairs and tables, priceless antiques, window awnings with intricate carvings, colorful wall paintings,  and other small details are testaments to the love that Don Eulalio Villavicencio had for  his bride, Dona Gliceria Marella Villavicencio, when he gifted her with this house. 

This couple helped finance the revolution and their donations helped publish Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

I would include the welcome snack that we had which was offered by the administrator of this ancestral house when I connected with her in their Facebook page to ask if they were open for walk-in tourists the day after Christmas, as one of the highlights of the tour. The snack consisted of a single empanada (meat pastry), two pieces of suman (sticky rice) and hot chocolate.

All of us were surprised when we took a bite of the empanada. The filling was unusual as it consisted of what we think are ubod and sotanghon or cellophane noodles. The suman was divine in its simplicity. It tasted pure with the right stickiness and hint of sweetness. The hot chocolate which we thought was for drinking was served as dipping sauce for the suman (good thing that we were told what the chocolate was for before I took a sip from the tiny cup and thus make a fool of myself, hehehe). The chocolate was dark but not at all bitter. It also had somewhat of a chocolate liqour-like profile. Yum!

The welcome snack consisting of empanada, suman and hot chocolate.

Window awnings with intricate carvings at the Villavicencio Wedding Gift House in Taal, Batangas

 

Window awnings at the Villavicencio Wedding Gift House in Taal, Batangas

Colorful paintings on the walls, crocheted table cloths and old wooden chairs inside the Villavicencio Wedding Gift House

A beautiful antique jar in a corner of the ancestral house

 

Antique mirror inside the ancestral house. Take note of the initials, NV and JV, painted on the awning of the entrance to a bedroom.

An interesting anecdote shared by one of the caretakers of the ancestral house was this is where the telenovela, "Ikaw Lamang," was shot.

The welcome snack is P160/head and entrance fee to the Villavicencio Wedding Gift House is P70/head.

3. Our Lady of Caysasay Shrine

We then proceeded to Our Lady of Caysasay Shrine passing through the San Lorenzo Ruiz Steps which is said to have  125 granite steps. My nephew counted the steps on our way back to our car after our visit to the shrine and the total number of steps is accurate. :)

Should you visit with senior citizens or  PWD's in your group, you can ask the way to take to the shrine without passing through the San Lorenzo Ruiz Steps.

Upon reaching the shrine, we were informed by several children selling candles that we can go up to the back of the shrine and touch the statue of Our Lady of Caysasay after saying our prayer requests. My sister, aunt, nephew and I chose to do as the children suggested.

We then went inside the shrine after, to pray some more. 

We decided to also see the Miraculous Well of Sta. Lucia and we never encountered any problem reaching it as the children were excellent tour guides. :) It is a spring-fed well where many have attested that the spring water has miraculous healing and therapeutic powers.

My apologies that I don't have photos of our visit to Our Lady of Caysasay Shrine as my sister failed to take any. I will ask my brother-in-law and try to coax him to share the photos he took and post them here as soon as available.

4. Galleria de Taal

Door knocker on Galleria de Taal's main entrance

Galleria de Taal is also known as the Camera Museum. This is a must-visit for photography students and enthusiasts as it holds Manny Inumerable's extensive collection of vintage cameras in working condition and rare Philippine photographs including the only known existing photo of Jose Rizal's execution.

The entrance fee to the museum is P70/head and P30 for students.

5. Taal Market

Our final destination was the local marketplace where an array of embroidered stuff and local delicacies (panutsa, longganisa, tableyang Taal, empanada, suman sa lihiya, tapang Taal and luyang dilaw) are on display. 

We bought an embroidered table centerpiece after finding a stall where the price of the item is within our budget. :)

Sadly, the suman served in Villavicencio Wedding Gift House was already out of stock when we asked from the "tindera" at Leslie's. :(

The Taal Heritage tour is a trip well-worth taking. After all,  you get to experience being thrown back in time to a Spanish colonial town in the early 17th to early 20th century without having to fly to the north to Vigan and having to spend so much more money and time. ;)

Share if you like this post. :)

For directions to Taal Heritage Town, click here. 
For information to Taal Villavicencio Wedding Gift House, click here.

P.S. We planned to visit Gregorio Agoncillo's house or what is more popularly known as the White House in this tour but we failed to get information if it was open last December 26 since the tourism office of Batangas did not reply to my inquiry. Though we passed by the house on our way to the heritage town.

Indonesian Food Trip

Red delima (bean) with heaps of fresh avocado in a bed of ice

After the (coup)linary adventure in Bangkok Thailand, see related post here , I headed to another country in South East Asia that is equally rich in culture - food included. Here are some of the must try Indonesian food that is truly local. 

Indonesian cuisine is very diverse also because the country itself is divided into roughly about 6,000 islands. So every region would have its specialty. I have not been to most but I think what I have tried would be more or less available in each region. Secret to great Indonesian cooking is made up of three key ingredients: coconut, peanuts and rempah (which means spice) so you would see that some of the dishes will be quite spicy (or hot) which Indonesians prefer.

Stir fried kangkong (water spinach) with sambal sauce

Tempe goreng - fermented soy bean patty

Mie tek tek - Street style fried noodle 

Gado-gado salad (blanched only in hot water) with peanut sauce

This is must try! Indonesia's version of chicken strip barbecue with peanut sauce.

Sate ayam (chicken satay) 

Ayam goreng kuning (turmeric infused fried chicken)

Plain rice served with century egg, sambal, chicken cuts 

Tahu ipas fan tofu (tofu filled and deep fried)

Soto betawi (traditional betawi style) soup in coconut milk

Avocado shake

Es kacang ijo - coconut strips with boiled mung (green) bean or green lentils to locals and crushed ice 

Fried banana with shredded cheddar cheese and chocolate crinkles

Go head out to Sate Khas in Plaza Senayan or to Kafe Batawi for this mouth watering, savoury dishes and tempting, delicious desserts. 

There is more that I have not tried and I don't think I will ever stop appreciating Indonesian style food. Go and have your own food adventure. Do not worry about the calories, shed it off later!

Till next travel buddies! 

Bangkok (Coup)linary Adventure

Fluffy soft flour with sweet plum sauce

I am not particularly sure if the title is apt for this photo blog but it was an opportune time that I was in Bangkok at the height of the coup. This trip was unintentional of course. So, you are right in your thinking - this trip was about several weeks back.

Nevertheless, you will probably ask if I felt at all worried? Nope. Not at all. To my surprise (well not really to be honest), at the height of the coup, everything looked "normal". Normal in the sense that you can still see a lot of people in shopping centers, dining in restaurants or eating in fast food chains. Streets are still filled with people going to and from work so for me that is "normal".

The Thais still exhibited calmness and order despite the "tension" that others may perceived. And that is precisely why I love Thailand and its people (or at least people I  have encountered and been friends with and still encountering now), it is because in this kind of situation, you feel safe, taken cared of and protected. My Thai colleagues assured us that they will ensure our safety. Do I encourage you to travel in this kind of situation? Definitely not. Please do not take the risk - I am just saying that just in case you will be caught in this kind of situation unintentionally, just know that you will be perfectly OK.

All right. My intention is not really write about what I encountered when I was there but more of my (or our) gastronomic adventures! This is somehow related to my Japan trip. So feast your eyes and next time you happen to travel or visit Thailand, do not forget to try this marvelous FOOD, FOOD, and more FOOD! Loads of thanks goes to our dearest friends and colleagues for re-introducing me to my constant favorite Thai food and to new ones - you know who you are :-)

First few items on the menu at a restaurant called Coffee Beans by Dao at the Paragon shopping mall ground level (same level as the supermarket).

Fried crab with dipping sauce

Fried shrimp cake with ground beef

Stir friend broccoli stems and sprouts

Pomelo salad with crispy garlic on top with some Thai shrimp sauce

This is definitely ONE of my favorites. Traditional sweet mango with sticky rice (or Khao Niaow Ma Muang) - add fresh coconut milk before digging in - not in the same restaurant but sold at the same floor in Paragon shopping mall.







Fresh fruits for breakfast - at Marriott hotel 

Crispy crab meat with dry, roasted peanuts on a bed of lettuce

Day 2, time to have some hearty, stomach-belching lunch!

All time favorite - TOM YUM soup - good to the last slurp!

Coconut flavored gelato

After a hard day's work, what better to cap the day but with a sumptuous dinner. And the best part of it all you get to share this with your friends!

This particular dishes can be savored at the Thai Savoey (which means 'eat' in Thai) at the Crystal.

Healthy brown rice (mixed of jasmine and berry)

Vegetable salad with mint (miang) 

The way to eat this salad is that you wrap all, some or any of the ingredients in the platter and dip in the chili sauce.

Soft shell  chili crab - yum yum!

Quick stir fried sprig of bitter cucumber

Fried chicken breasts with sesame seeds with mayo dressing and dried seaweed

Sliced pork ham with tamarind sauce

Waffle with sliced banana topped with vanilla ice cream and smothered with deep dark chocolate

Deep fried fish with strips of green mango, red onion, carrots, shallots and roasted cashew

Squid cooked in salted egg

Tempting dessert selection

The next day for lunch we decided to take a different course (figuratively) and decided to go Vietnamese. I think both Thailand and Vietnam share some similarities in their food especially with the use of healthy greens and dishes.

Fresh bowl of different greens and herbs

Shrimp cake - dipped in sweet plum sauce

Fried vermicelli (bee hoon) spring roll with sweet chili sauce with julienned carrots

Organic coffee at the Organic Coffee Club in Central Chidlom

Feeling hungry now? Why not head off to Bangkok and fill your stomach with these food galore! Me? I will definitely not stop and search for more...till next dear readers!