Watch Video Below!
While my family and I were looking for some investment properties in Tagaytay City, we stumbled upon this place called Brewed Awakening.
We originally pulled over to the side of the road because we saw this place called Collete's, a "pasalubong" shop. But upon entering and trying to look for a parking space, we entered a back parking lot area and BOOM....we saw this amazing view of Taal Lake and Volcano.
Wikipedia:
Pasalubong (Tagalog, "[something] for when you welcome me") is the Filipino tradition of travellers bringing gifts from their destination to people back home.[1] Pasalubong can be any gift or souvenir brought for family or friends after being away for a period of time.[2] It can also be any gift given by someone arriving from a distant place.[3]
As we continued to pass the pasalubong shop to the left to look for a parking space, we were greeted by I guess you can call them, "waiters" or "servers". What ended up looking like a Taal Lake View Point, ended up actually being a restaurant with a view. The view point had a cluster of traditional filipino Nipa Huts where you had the option to either dine in a hut, or inside one of the restaurants overlooking the same view. We did not plan to eat dinner in Tagaytay as we were actually on our way home, but once we saw the view and the little nipa huts, we decided that this would be a good idea, and something to definitely experience, so we did! =)
It seems like the restaurants all had their own share of huts. Once you see a hut that you like, the one you feel has the best view, the restaurant who owns that set of huts will then accommodate you with their gourmet service. In my opinion, the further down you go, the better the view. There is a little open patch of grass land where you can see a "better" view of Taal Lake and Volcano, great for photo and video opportunities, so if you are planning to dine here, make sure to go all the way down and look for that open patch of grass for a better viewing experience.
Once you are seated in your nice little nipa hut, a menu from a restaurant is presented to you. In our case, it was Brewed Awakening. Unlike other places like this, it didn't seem like there was a minimum order. If you go to other Nipa Hut Restaurants down the street, EX: like the one right in front of the Wind Residences (the 5 Big White Towers), there is another Nipa Hut Restaurant and the minimum order is $1500php or $30 USD, not bad...but what if you just want to enjoy the view with a beer or something? With the place that we ended going to, there didn't seem to be a minimum, so you could enjoy the view and order some beverages without having to spend a lot of money.
The menu from Brewed Awakening had a lot to offer. A good selection of filipino dishes in which you could either order a la carte, or in sets. We decided to go for a set which was good for 3-5pax.
Our meal set included: Bulalo (a must try in Tagaytay), Pork Sisig, Tawilis, Kare Kare, Ginataan Kalabasa with Sitaw. Our meal set also included a pitcher of some fresh brewed Iced Tea and of course some service water, and it only set us back about $1800php or $36 USD, not bad for the experience at all! The food was delicious, service was great, and the view was spectacular.
After dinner, we finally stopped by Colletes's Pasalubong Shop and bought some souvenirs, and a couple Buko Pies. It was another great day with my parents in the Philippines! =)
Here's a quick video of our dinner in Tagaytay, and thank you to Brewed Awakening for the great experience, we will definitely be back!
Brewed Awakening - Tagaytay City // Taal Lake and Volcano
