24 March 2015

Birthday Breakfast at Rowena's

For R's 30th birthday last month, we went out of town. It was a fun-filled day for this military family of three! Off we went to Enchanted Kingdom in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and enjoyed the perks EK gave the Armed Forces of the Philippines, dubbed as Enchanting Kawal (yup, kwento and photos on a separate post).


Since we planned to maximize the day, we left the house early in the morning and had breakfast in Tagaytay, 'cause EK opens at 12 noon. It was our first time to go to Tagaytay as a family so R and I really wanted to give our little girl a memorable experience. Okay, not really. We just wanted to eat right away. Our little boss gets grumpy as hell when starved. Who won't? In fact, Miss Minchin clouded my entirety for 10 good minutes. Anyway, failed to go to an underground (aka, not Josephine's, not Bag of Beans, not Sonya's Garden) cafĂ© and restaurant, we opted for a sikat and known and empty (at that time) resto and pasalubong house — Rowena's!

But first, Taal Volcano touristy photos. My and R's photo was lovingly shot by our 6-year-old so don't look for the volcano, it's just there at our back. 


Let's see if I can remember my observations from the time we arrived until we left. 

Alright - there was enough parking space (it was a Thursday). No, the truth was, kami lang ang naka-park that time. Hehe. Sophia and I went straight to the comfort room. My blogger self took a photo. As you can see, it's clean and new. So that's a good point! It's weird how some restaurants only focus on the food they serve and forget about these things. It matters. As we sat ourselves and freely chose a table, no one approached us. I thought, perhaps, they were on a non-peak operating hours that they lacked sense of urgency or pro-activeness at that time. After waving to a staff, a waiter gave us the menu.


I got Rowena's Big Breakfast, which was rice, atsara and a set of breakfast staples such as chicken tocino, pork salpicao and tuyo flakes in olive oil. For P297, it's a great deal! Except that I found their tocino and salpicao a bit dry. My little foodie didn't enjoy it that much, too. Her baby teeth can't chew the meat. R had Eggs Benedict. It's about healthy choices, you know. *wink* The hollandaise sauce was divine! I wasn't sure if it was french toast but the soft bread was okay. Our birthday boy was happy with his food until I killed the joy and told him he hasn't eaten Eggs Benedict before so there was no comparison, haha! OK, if you are an Eggs Benedict guru, please tell me how a heavenly EB should taste. Thank you in advance! x

Btw, their hot chocolate drink, which I ordered for R and Sophia was palong-palo. Ang saraaaap! Kudos to whatever cocoa brand they used. I also got a Blueberry Tart for the birthday boy. He finished it in one count. 


Aside from the food's totality, the ambiance is relaxing and homey. It even has a pool at the side that has an overlooking view of the towns nearby. However, I noticed that the staff's choice of music was somewhat off from how they represent the restaurant. I hope that they played a more soothing, or at least a generic genre of, songs (aka not so jejemon slash ear-sore hip-hop rap). I personally think it affects the guests' mood. 

In retrospect, we were fed right with our budget. Most of all, the birthday boy and his girl were very happy to have shared meals beyond what my kitchen can offer. And that's what mattered. 


Rowena's is located at Hillcrest Plaza along Aguinaldo Highway. Here's their Facebook: Rowena's Pasalubong Haus and Restaurant.

No comments:

Post a Comment