Kubiertos

Buon Giorno - means good day. And wouldn’t you have a good day after filling yourself with great food and great ambience? I know I would.

Truth be told, the city of Tagaytay has turned commercial. I have always loved Tagaytay and am a frequent visitor since my college days and I am witness to the growth that the city has undergone. Used to be, there was just a trickle of dining establishments that line the main road, many of them serving Beef Bulalo (Beef shank stew)  as a specialty. These days, you will see many familiar restaurants like Yellow Cab, Dencio’s, Figaro, Cafe Breton. These places started out in Manila and eventually found a spot in Tagaytay City. It has become Manila that came with a 2 hour travel time and weather ten degrees cooler.

Places like Buon Giorno make all the difference. Although they have a branch in Mandaluyong, I feel that Buon Giorno simply complemented the place instead of breaking it. This is because it is ensconced in a retail complex called Cliffhouse which is easy to miss although there is a sign etched in stone in front of the place.

I first read about it from Anton and was only able to visit recently. We arrived too early for dinner but the long drive ahead of us made us decide to stuff ourselves so that we don’t have to worry about stopping for food on the way home. The day was actually too nice to lock ourselves inside the airconditioned restaurant so we asked for a table outside. The opium bed was inviting but it was too far into the corner to tempt us to actually eat there.

The air was chilly but our table was covered by the tops of the trees that were on the side of the hill and that made it bearable. The mosquitos though that flew around us were humungous! Their bodies were the size of flies and their legs were longer than mine. That made us decide to take the corner seat inside - same comfort, same coziness, no mosquitos.

The food was italian-inspired which won points for me of course. I took in the big plastic menu and let my wide eyes wander over familiar terms and dishes. Oooh soo many yummy things on the menu!

We had Croquettes with Mozzarella (Php 202) for starters. I love anything with cheese and Mozzarella would be one of my favorites. The croquettes were steaming hot crispy balls filled with cheese and smothered in fresh tomato sauce. Being used to the notion of - anything crispy means salty, I wasn’t expecting such a mild flavor for this busy dish. Maybe that’s the reason this was an antipasti, you just had to follow on with a tasteful dish to makeup for the blandness.

We also ordered Penne All Ariabiata (Php 286). Penne cooked with tomato-based sauce cooked with some bacon and spices. I have always loved this dish especially the one served in Cibo, but this one was more spicy than I am used to. It did not diminish its flavorful goodness though. So although my tongue was burning (I have low tolerance for spicy food), I could not help but eat and eat and eat it.

For pizza, we ordered a favorite - Quattro Formaggi (Php 330). I must say that restaurants try to serve this in many different ways, using a combination of different cheeses. The one from Buon Giorno used mozzarella, fontina, parmesan and gorgonzola. The first time I tasted blue cheese in pizza was at Cappricciosa. I have been a fan of blue cheese on pizza ever since. I just think it brings a different kind of tanginess to the pizza than regular parmesan would. This offered the same deliciousness I remember of blue cheese. The crust was thin and crisp, the tomato sauce, powerful and the cheese… yuhhmmm.

For dessert, we tried out Chocolate Pistachio Sans Rival (Php 207). It was described as layers of buttery wafers drizzled with pistachio nuts. I would have used rained on instead of drizzled as it was surprisingly topped with an abundance of pistachio nuts. The wafers were thin and light and so was the chocolate. It was a change from my usual dessert of "death by chocolate".

Despite all the hot and comforting food we ate, the one thing we could not forget was how comfortable the place made us feel. In fact, my friends and I were just planning to order, eat and then leave and had planned to be there for at most an hour or so. But we found ourselves talking, chatting, sharing stories that by the time we looked at our watch, three hours had passed. If not for the fact that our families were waiting at home for us, we would have spent three more hours just basking in the warmth the place gave us. Sigh. I would love to go back now. Its the sort of place you took your best friend to or your best love. Wink wink!

Buon Giorno
Unit 4 Cliffhouse, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay
Tel. No: (046) 413-2102