Alfonso Hotel: Cozy But With Really Awful "Italian" Food

Hey guys! I'm really sorry but I've been bitten by the lazy bug, so I'm just writing my blog entry on our Tagaytay weekend getaway just NOW! Promise will try to catch up! :)

Remember I was telling you guys about Mom's project on the Ateneo Glee Club? Well now that, that's all over, Mom wanted some free time to not think about work and just relax. So last Saturday and Sunday I drove up to the chilly city of Tagaytay in Cavite. Everyone seems to be familiar with that place already. It's one of the most accessible places to go and unwind with friends and just get away from the hustle and bustle of city living.

And I think that's what Mom and I did, to get away from the city. We checked in at Alfonso Hotel, which technically isn't in Tagaytay anymore, but in the next town, Alfonso.

It was a very cozy place. Mom and I both liked it because it had multi-levels and it was just really bright. It was like a huge house, with plenty of rooms, it was just really pretty! :)


We liked the "art" on the walls of their lounge. I stayed here for a good part of the night after dinner just to get connected to their free Wifi! Breakfast would also be served here in the mornings.


Our room was 205, situated right up front near their restaurant. Everything was huge and spacious, from the bathroom to the sleeping quarters itself. Mom and I felt comfortable right away. Since I haven't watched TV in a long time (oh yes!) I just plopped down on the bed and watched, eventually falling asleep! It was just super relaxed! :)



When night fell, I woke up to a really bad case of the hunger pangs. I got lazy to drive all the way to Mushroomburger, which BOY I REGRET NOT DOING! So we just clambered up the steps to their restaurant called Il Gallo Nero, supposedly an Italian Trattoria.


Mom actually immediately smelled trouble. The owner of the hotel was some Japanese woman who married a Filipino dude, but then they start serving ITALIAN food. But being adventurous (and since Mom has basically supported and encouraged me to go on with my blogging) we decided to take a whack at it!

Since it was cold night, Mom ordered Mushroom Soup (no photo), when it arrived it was just so BLAH! And just like how it looked, the taste was equally as BLAH. It was bad, with a very watery consistency. There were no mushrooms whatsoever, and the soup had this grainy feel to it. I had no idea what it was! And it wasn't even HOT! Good thing we will eventually get to have REALLY GOOD MUSHROOM SOUP during out Tagaytay trip, but that's for later! :)

She also ordered this, I forget what it's called. It's thinly cut pieces of meat, filleted, and served with potatoes.

The potatoes were good. The meat was nothing special. Although it was soft and really easy to cut up and chew. But again nothing special. Blah!

I ordered their Carbonara, being a pasta lover.

Like their mushroom soup it had a very watery consistency. It wasn't creamy it was OILY! The noodles were soggy, and they didn't use bacon bits, they used ham chunks! I sat there staring at it for a while thinking of ways on how to save this meal, but no amount of Parmesan cheese could save this!

It was just sooooooo disappointing! As a person who loves food (and also a paying customer), I think it is only fair that they give us really good food. If not authentic Italian food, just good pasta or something. Inasmuch as I really abhore writing negative blogs on restaurants, it must be done! Check in at Alfonso Hotel BUT DON'T EAT HERE! Go to Mushroomburger instead (hahaha!).

Since it was a full moon, Mom and I decided to walk off our crappy dinner. We walked around the block and just checked out the rest of the hotel. Here's their other lounge right outside the reception area. Mom liked this place and she sat there for a while.



But in the morning, we had a really pleasant surprise. Their breakfast was really good! Just a little reminder, they do have free breakfast but only a meal of toasts and coffee. Since that was just plain stupid, Mom and I decided to "upgrade" our breakfast to these lovely meals.

Mom ordered their beef tapa.

She said it was good, and the meat was soft. She had no complaints about it, so I'm guessing she liked it.

On the other hand, I was busy eating my boneless bangus meal.

This was a real WOW! A nice save for that really crappy carbonara I had the night before. This was good! Their fish wasn't too salty, and with a little bit of ketchup, it made a perfect breakfast!

Oh and another weird thing with Alfonso Hotel although this is not related to food anymore, was that before breakfast Mom took a shower. But she had to wake me up because she couldn't reach the controls for the heater. It was too high up there! And it wasn't even making the water hot, so we had to call in the housekeeping guy who said that we really needed to call them to "fix" this thing. Which again was really plain stupid. Here you are ready to have a bath, but then the heater isn't working so you have to wait for a guy to actually make it work. Mom got a little pissed off she wrote on their comments and suggestions form!

Oh well! At least they were able to provide us a cozy place to stay in Tagaytay. Oh and we were able to book this way cheaper than their usual rates through agoda.com. I checked it out and they have the BEST DEALS on hotels! Superb!


Alfonso Hotel
Washington Avenue, Royal Tagaytay Estates
Alfonso, Cavite
Tel Nos. (046) 413-0770 or (046) 413-4077
Fax No. (046) 413-4076
Mobile No. (0906) 561-5292
Website: http://www.tagaytay.alfonsohotel.net
www.flickr.com/photos/alfonsohoteltagaytay

P.S.
Was talking to my friend Mariko the other day when we met up for lunch. I told her about the awful Italian food in a Japanese-owned hotel. Since the girl is half Japanese and sort of grew up in Japan, she told me that Japanese people actually LOVE Italian food. They love it so much that a lot of them have put up Italian "trattorias" to feed their love and passion for it. But they have tweaked the taste to accommodate a Japanese person's taste buds. Hhmmmm but we're not in Japan right? Hahaha!

Ilocos Tour Part 6: Foodie Finds

No trip will ever be complete without me finding the usual food fare. I knew I was in really good company during this trip up north, because these 2 girls sure knew how to eat and EAT WELL! :) Perfect foodie buddies, Kim and Milds are!

So if in Vigan, Ilocos Norte, besides the let's-go-back-in-time tour, one MUST go on a food trip in this historic city. I didn't realize Vigan had so much food haunts. Here are some recommended places to go.

LOS MAJITOS STREET DINING

Owned by Sheila Medina, this caught our attention as we made our way to the Vigan Cathedral to hear Mass. The street dining concept was really cool, since it was really cold out while we were there, plus you get to dine within the old walls of the stone houses. It also had a really cozy feel to it, and I think that's what attracted not only local tourists, but foreigners as well.


And what a meal we had in this place! Since we knew nothing in the restaurant, we were supposed to order Ilocano delicacies by the plate. But the really servers tipped us on getting this HUGE PLATTER (think BOODLE FEAST) of everything Ilocano - bagnet, Vigan longganisa,pinakbet, and KBL (kamatis, bagoong and lasuna). Lasuna is a kind of onion found in Ilocos. THIS WAS HEAVEN!!! MUST EAT WHEN IN VIGAN FOLKS!!


We also drank in this spot, the cool winds made it perfect for binge drinking. But as we were drinking, the peaceful Vigan night was shattered by a small riot. It was so cool to watch the whole scene unfold right in front of your eyes! It was like a movie scene where the bad guys wreak havoc and the police come to break it up. If only we understood Ilocano, it would've been so much better.


I'd also like to thank the staff of Los Majitos. They were very accommodating and when the riot broke up they asked us if we wanted to transfer inside the restaurant. Great food with great service warrants a really good blog entry! :) Sheila, if you get to read this, congrats! Great restaurant, I miss it already!!

LILONG AND LILANG'S COFFEE SHOP

We got to here during our calesa trip, and our driver Kuya Richard brought us to the Hidden Garden to have a look around and to eat.

The restaurant had very simple set-up but was prettified by the wood ornaments, the Christmas lights and of course the plants all around it. It made the place really cool even if it was right smack in the middle of the day.



Here, we got to try their Sisig and Pork Sinigang. It was good, but let me tell yoou one thing, we were starving. They say when you're starving everything tastes good. But really, it was good. I just wish that their Sinigang had more meat in it.



LEILA'S CAFE

Found right beside Los Majitos is this quaint coffee shop called Leila's Cafe. Being a caffeine I just had to have my daily dose of caffeine.

The interiors were very comfortable, way MORE comfortable than Starbucks or Coffee Bean. It looked like a house's living room.

I decided to take a seat outside, and have my Caffe Latte which was only P50 (a little over USD1). Amazing! It was strong just the way I like my coffee. Although I would've liked it in a much bigger cup.


They also serve tea, just take a look at the board for other stuff you might like. It's a perfect place to unwind after a long, tiring tour of Vigan.

Just to let everyone know: Everything that we ate in our trip was BELOW P600 (more or less USD15). We didn't scrimp on our food alright, it's just that food in Vigan is cheap. CHEAP BUT REALLY GOOD! Your historical tour could also be a foodie tour!

This was one remarkable trip. Since this was my first MAJOR trip this 2011 I think it will become a benchmark for all my upcoming trips. So I know deep down in my gut, it'll keep getting better and better! :D

Other links to our Vigan tour:
Part 1: Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte
Part 2: Cordillera Inn, Night Shots and Empanada
Part 3: Crisologo and SyQuia Museums
Part 4: Bantay Bell Tower and St. Augustine Parish Church
Part 5: Baluarte and Hidden Garden

Ilocos Tour Part 2: Vigan's Cordillera Inn, Night Shots and Empanada

The three of us had a hard time waking up that Saturday morning. It was a gloomy, rainy day, and it was our first time to sleep on an ACTUAL bed after riding 2 buses going to Pagudpud. We were able to go on a short but sweet tour of the Southern part of Ilocos Norte, but we weren't able to enjoy the beach due to the cold weather. So we just lounged around and got our well-deserved rest.

But Saturday morning, we had to rise and shine, because it was time to get back to Laoag to take yet another bus to get to Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

After breakfast at Polaris Beach House, I texted Kuya Mark our driver/tour guide, to take us to the center of town where the buses going to Laoag are stationed. It was a sad goodbye, but it was time to go.

When you get to Laoag, you just have to cross to the other street to get to the station of the mini-buses that go to Vigan. NO NEED TO RIDE A TRIKE. It's just so cool that the mini-bus we got on HAD ABSOLUTELY NO SUSPENSION whatsoever! It was actually funny, this pic was a testament as to how BUMPY that 3-hour ride was!

After 3 hours and almost having our internal organs turned into jelly and mush, we finally got to our destination!

We got down in front of the Ilocos Sur Capitol and took a trike to our hotel, Cordillera Inn, which was along the famous Calle Crisologo.


When we got in, all I could say was WOW! It was beautiful and everything was ANTIQUE. I loved the lamps that lit the hallways and the reception area!




After signing the forms and paying up, we were brought to our room on the 2nd floor. We were to stay in Room 18 for the night, and when the door opened, again another WOW! moment. The room was huge!!




I left Kim and Milds in the room and walked around the hotel. The lady who brought us to our rooms said that it had a total of 25 rooms. I also found out (the next day) it was owned by the Crisologo family. The 2nd floor had like 3 salas (living rooms), that was how big it was!






I also went downstairs to check out the restaurant, Cosina Ilocana . We only ate here once for the FREE BREAKFAST. They serve authentic Ilocano dishes, so you can have your bagnet, pinakbet, and longganisa right there and then. But the dining table and chairs were pretty. Again, giving you that old-school feel.



We rested a bit in our room, watched a little television (we were sort of deprived of the telly so we were excited about it), and got ready to walk around. I was a bit excited for this, it's my first time to REALLY STAY in Vigan, and I've heard it's true beauty comes out at night when they've turned on the yellow lights.

But first, we heard mass at the Vigan Cathedral. Unfortunately, it was in Ilocano, so we just sat around and prayed. This was the time I wished I learned how to speak and understand the language. My Mom's fluent in Ilocano, so I felt bad I didn't exert so much effort in learning.



After mass, we just walked around and took pictures. It was a cool night, so walking around wasn't too taxing on us. So just sharing with you guys the shots I took of Vigan that Saturday night.






And when in Vigan, one MUST NOT miss out on the opportunity to eat the famed EMPANADA! Available only at night, the empanada stores are found right beside the Vigan Cathedral.




We ordered the ordinary empanada (P10) because apparently there's a huge one or the one they call special (15). The special has egg and longganisa bits in it, too bad it was huge and we hadn't had dinner yet.


They make the empanada right in front of you as the ladies gossip. It's actually a fun place to hang out in. Tourists and locals, alike, congregate in this part of town to have that much-talked about and loved empanada! That's us, completely sold on our P10 empanada with COKE!! :)

Vigan lived up to its name: beautiful at night! And no worries folks, it's safe to go out at night in Vigan. There's still a lot of people walking around. I totally suggest you guys don't miss out on a NIGHT OUT in Vigan. It's something I regret not doing before, but really thankful I got to do it now with Milds and Kim! :)

Up next is our calesa tour. Stay tuned for that peeps! :)

Expenses for that day:
1. Trike from Polaris Beach House to the bayan: P40
2. Bus from Pagudpud to Laoag: P60
3. Bus from Laoag to Vigan : P100
4. Trike from Capitol to Cordillera Inn: P30
5. Cordillera Inn room: P2000 (good for 4 people)
6. Empanada: P10

Cordillera Inn
29 Mena Crisologo St., Vigan, Ilocos Sur
Telefax: (077) 722-2727
Mobile No. (0927) 313-5616
E-mail: cordillerainn_vigancity@yahoo.com.ph
Website: www.cordillerainn.cjb.net