Bag of Beans' Pinoy Toppings

Originally posted @ http://cdsaint.blogspot.com

Yesterday was go-to-Tagaytay-at-magpalamig day!Ü And true enough, Tagaytay did not disappoint! It's my 2nd time to go to Tagaytay on the early days of January and like the first time that I was there, the weather was oh-so-cool...one that you'd dream of having in Manila one day (libre naman ang mangarap Ü). But enough about the weather coz i'm here to talk about this new great find at Tagaytay: Bag of Beans' Pinoy Toppings.

It was around dinner time and we were looking for a place to eat. We checked out two places before seeing this place and decided that this is where we want to eat. The name "Pinoy Toppings" itself made me hungry (the first two restos failed to do that).

From the looks of it, the place is fairly new, although I forgot to ask when they opened. The resto is from the same makers of Bag of Beans located a little further down the road in Aguinaldo Highway. They have similar dishes like the pies and their famous coffee but on the backside of their menu is where you'll find the distinct Pinoy Toppings dishes that (i'm assuming) you'll only find in this particular branch.

After checking out the menu, we decided to ask what their best sellers are and the waiter said Kalderetang Baka and Bistek Tagalog, so we ordered that, plus Cream of Broccoli Soup. At first I was actually torn between Kalderetang Baka and Lechon Kawali with Bagoong Sauce, but since the waiter mentioned that the former is a best seller, I decided to order that but only after he said YES to my question if the beef of their Kaldereta is tender.

True enough, the beef of the Kaldereta is tender! And the overall taste is a thumbs up, with just a bit of spicyness and sans the lingering taste of the bell peppers. It also had a bit of cheese for toppings, which melted perfectly on top of the beef and the rice. Their Bistek Tagalog tastes good as well, with just the right blend of saltiness and sourness...and a bit of sweetness too! Their toppings came with a bowl of hot soup, which was perfect for Tagaytay's cool nighttime breeze. The soup was both a pleasant surprise and a disappointer: It was a pleaseant surprise because I initially didn't know that their rice toppings came with soup, so that was a plus. A disappointer because I was expecting to taste Bulalo Soup, which is famous in Tagaytay, but the soup was Sinigang instead of Bulalo. But overall, the pleasant surprise outweighed the disappointer Ü [Next time, Candy, manage your expectations!Ü]. The Cream of Broccoli Soup was just the right mixture of creaminess and broccoli taste, and being a fan of creamy soups, i'll definitely come back for more of this (or probably ask Mom to add this to her home-made, signature dishes...so Mom, start experimenting please!Ü). However, at P120 worth, you'd get more bang for your buck with the rice toppings which is just at P150 each. Although the soup came with two slices of bread and butter.

Had we known that their rice bowls are actually good for two (well, it seems like it), we would have just ordered one and shared the meal since we actually had a hard time finishing all those food that we ordered. We actually didn't get to finish all the rice that was included in our order because we were just so full. Maybe Bag of Beans' ought to "re-size" their rice toppings and offer a P100-worth regular-sized meal aside from their current P150-worth large-sized ones.

All in all, our dining experience in this new nook in Tagaytay was an enjoyable one that we'd definitely come back for more.Ü The rice toppings are good and reasonably-priced at P150 each. Parking was just a-OK since only around 6-7 cars can fit in the resto's parking area which is located in front. The place is quite new so the furnitures and overall look of the place is still clean and well-maintained. It would have been fun to dine in their open-air area to complete the Tagaytay-dining-experience, but the breeze at that time was just too strong that it was just not a wise idea to dine outside.

To those going to Tagaytay and are in the lookout for a cozy but reasonably-priced place to dine, i'd definitely recommend Bag of Beans' Pinoy Toppings!Ü

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Bag of Beans' Pinoy Toppings is located near the rotonda at Aguinaldo Highway (on the left side of the road if you're headed to Batangas).

Menu

Cream of Broccoli Soup (with 2 slices of bread & butter)

Bistek Tagalog Rice Toppings

Kalderetang Baka Rice Toppings