Tootsie's, Tagaytay

I touched down in Manila last last Thursday, really early in the morning. I got home to our lovely new house and spent my time in the shower. It felt like home. YAY! I asked my mum what she was up to for the day and she said she was heading to Tagaytay to do some furniture hunting.

It's no secret that Tagaytay is a common destination for folks in Manila especially during the weekend. But lately, the traffic has been increasingly intolerable, a supposedly 1 1/2 hour trip turns into a long ass journey. Once you get there, there's always the issue of where to eat. And these days, common restaurants in Manila have been setting up shop up there, people just usually pick whatever that seems convenient otherwise their usual or favorite.

It's because of those sorts of things that small restaurants like Tootisie's have a rather small opportunity to shine.* The place is very cozy, sort of a country home setting almost. It's fairly reminiscent of Mom & Tina's too. The items on the menu are obviously personal and dear to the owner. Some were even noted with the respective person that it was associated with.

Kansi Bulalo- P445
The bulalo pride of the Visayas.
Subtly zipped with Bacolod Batwan, souring gruit
grown only in the region.

A bit oily you see.

It was an unusually cold rainy day, and as we all know, there's nothing better than a piping hot bowl of soup. A typical Filipino favorite would be Bulalo, and adapting the Batangueno style, it was Kansi Bulalo for us. I'd describe it as the wonderful union between Bulalo and Sinigang. There's the richness and fullness of the Bulalo, and the same time the sourness of the Sinigang. It was something.

Manang Jo Tadyang Inihaw- P260
Pork ribs charcoal broiled to my eldest, Maijo's specifications.

We ordered tadyang na inihaw as well. More than anything, it was glorified liempo. I have nothing against liempo per say, but it was mighty fatty. And if you've been reading my previous posts, you'd know that I'm definitely not a fan of fat. The difference between this and liempo is that slight hickory flavor, the smokiness is great with the dish.

Kilawing Puso ng Saging- P165
Banana blossom spiked with vinegar.

Kilawin is one of my favorite Filipino dishes. It sure is simple, but it's one of those simple stunning ones. The sourness is ever present. There are bits of mince, shrimp, sour tomato, and tender wilted sliver of heart of banana.

Turon Halo-halo- P120
Modern take on turon, with leche flan and ube,
drizzled with our special langka sauce.

As for dessert, there was something that caught my eye right away, but then it was unavailable which was a bit of a letdown. So, we decided on getting something else- and that something else was totally innovative. It's a fusion of turon and halo-halo. For the non-Filipinos out there, traditionally, turon is banana and jackfruit wrapped in a springroll wrapper then deep fried to perfection and sprinkled with sugar after. Halo-halo is a modge podge of ingredients ranging from beans to jello to ube to ice cream. So the dessert basically had the ingredients of a halo-halo encased in the deep-fried springroll wrapper. It was very smart, we enjoyed it a lot.


Tootsie's, Tagaytay
Home-cooked Specialties


J. Abad Santos cor. Aguinaldo Highway,
km 57.5 ( after Lourdes Church)
Tagaytay City, Philippines


Contact Numbers:
(046) 483 4629
0917- tootsie





*It's been up and running for over 2 years already but hasn't seen much of the press and media.