Tagaytay Getaway: Marcia Adams

Day 126

An aunt/blogger friend, whom I refer to as Tita D, invited us to go try out a restaurant in Tagaytay. By us, I mean our set of food blogger friends. Unfortunately, it was only Smarla and I who were able to attend the little getaway she planned for us.

Our meeting place was at Starbucks, Greenbelt 1. It was a Saturday that I left my work behind and decided to bring my camera instead. The good part was that the travel to Tagaytay did not burden us. We were in Marcia Adams in just an hour.

While we were still making plans for our little getaway, I already knew we were going to eat at Marcia Adams. But I did not have an idea what the theme of the restaurant was. So I decided to check out other food blogs: Our Awesome Planet, Trip or Treats, and of course Between Bites. When I found out about the theme of the restaurant, I was instantly excited for my visit.

I have long been a fan of quaint cafes and restaurants that pay attention to their furniture, theme and setup. Just like my articles for Sparkazine on Fat Michael's Place, The Room Upstairs, and Cafe 1771; plus Mary Grace for my own blog, I truly appreciate these establishments. It reminds me of a time when I frequented a place in my hometown which made me truly feel at home. Knowing this about Marcia Adams, I decided to trade in my laptop for my camera.

Entering the restaurant, this is what you will find:

Smarla walking outside the restaurant

Parking Area for Marcia Adams

There wasn't a sign for the name of the restaurant so I think it's important to look out for this parking area setup. 

The restaurant

It's a short walk from the entrance with an incline. For those who can't walk this far, they have a car drop off area on the other side.

We made a reservation and they placed us on the table right across the entrance. To my right, this was the view.

Entrance

Looking straight ahead and this is what I saw: 

The balcony

Beyond the balcony

And of course, the wine selections were simply divine...

Wine

 A quaint little corner for lovebirds....

Seats

The Chandeliers

I especially liked their restroom! It was clean and had a great amount of character into it-- so beautiful! 

The restroom was simply divine!

The restroom

 Upon arrival, we were handed the menu.

The Menu

Farmhouse Style Bread, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

You get to choose an appetizer, main course and dessert for a set price-- which was really good because it just made everything sound more delicious! 

The Appetizer

As an appetizer, we all decided to be healthy and get the Aegean Salad.

Aegean Salad

Aegean Salad

The salad was a mix of fresh greens, grilled Italian Ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, roasted pistachios in a herby, tangy dressing. It was also topped with a grilled slice of pear-- which was so wonderful. It completed everything! I love how it tastes so fresh and clean. I think I'll go back to Tagaytay just for this!

The Main Course

Since it was still a Saturday, I decided not to get the lamb or the pork. I'm following my own diet of not eating red meat during Mondays-Saturdays. Sunday is my only cheat day so I stayed true to it during this trip. I ordered the Fish Souvlaki. 

Fish Souvlaki,
Marcia Adams (P700)

Fish Souvlaki
Marcia Adams (P700)

Fish Souvlaki was an order of their "catch of the day." Chunks of marlin was marinated in olive oil, herbs and lemon and put in skewers. Instead of rice, I decided to get couscous. The last time I had it was when I was still in culinary school.

Moroccan Fish Stew
Marcia Adams (P755)

Tita D's order was the Moroccan Fish Stew, another order of fish marinated with harissa and preserved lemons. She also got couscous instead of rice.

Here's Smarla taking a picture of her order

Grilled Aromatic Pork
Marcia Adams (P700)

Since Tita D mentioned that the Grilled Aromatic Pork was one of the restaurant's best sellers, Smarla decided to get it. I was shocked when her order arrived because it was a really big slice of pork. Despite Smarla's size, I have trouble keeping up with the amount of food she eats! The girl can eat a lot and not gain any fat! I envy her for it. :( 

The Dessert

For dessert, Tita D and I got the Banana Split with Chocolate Ice Cream. 

Banana Split with Chocolate Ice Cream 

Banana Split with Chocolate Ice Cream

It was literally banana split into two halves-- the skin was even on the plate! The ice cream was so rich and delicious! 

Meanwhile, Smarla got the Fried Bananas with Dark Chocolate Dip

Fried Bananas with Dark Chocolate Dip

Fried Bananas with Dark Chocolate Dip

The Fried Bananas with Dark Chocolate Dip looked like Churros con Tsokolate! I'm so excited to make this dish next time! :) 

Time for the bill... 

What I love about Marcia Adams is the atmosphere of the restaurant, the stellar food, and the friendly host. I loved the fact that it was really home cooked and you had time to converse with your friends. If you're in a hurry, Marcia Adams is not the place for you. You really need to be patient and enjoy everything because the food is really worth the wait! I can't wait to go here with my dad and sister!

Marcia Adams' is located along the border of Tagaytay and Alfonso, Cavite across Ville Sommet.

To go to Marcia's, just drive all the way to Tagaytay and turn right at the Tagaytay Rotonda.
Go all the way to Alfonso, Cavite. You will pass by the restaurants along the Ridge, the Mendez intersection, and the turn to Antonio's.

You turn right when you see the Tagaytay Arch with Pineapples, and Residence Inn on your left. You should see a sign leading to Ville Sommet. You will see the entrance of Tuscany on your left.

Directions from OAP blog.

For reservations, text 0917-801-1456.

SPARK is Online

After a few months with SPARK Magazine, they were finally able to release their maiden issue last September. I was able to get my complimentary copy and was looking forward to seeing my articles posted on their blog. (I was their blogger).

A few days ago, I got an email from them announcing the launch of their blog. Of course, I had already been aware of it since I check the website everyday! To share with everyone, here are the photos I took for SPARK features and such.

Super model Jo-Anne Bitagcol

I took a picture of Jo-Anne Bitagcol and the contents of her Balenciaga bag as a feature of the mag's "What's In Your Bag?" Read the article.

Jo-Anne Bitagcol's Balenciaga bag

One of the best things I got out of SPARK was that I discovered I had the talent to take beautiful pictures. Armed with my dad's Sony a380 camera, I played around with the gradient lighting and fixed the settings through what I felt was good. I do have basic knowledge in photography so I used this to "intelligently" tinker around with the settings of the camera. 

With the many shoots I have done for SPARK, the shoot with Bea Valdez for the "Behind the Scenes of Our Cover Story" was one of my favorites. We worked from 10am until 8pm and it was worth it! I ended the day with hundreds of raw images waiting to be criticized. This was perhaps the first that I shot with a real model, as I was taking pictures of food and inanimate objects in the past. Read Article.

Polaroids taken by Jan Michellardi

Taking a photo of Bea with the photographer, Jan

Another set of Polaroid shots by Jan

I remember my editor, Carla Sibal, loved this shot!

Bea, gorgeous as ever, on the 7th wardrobe change of the day

And who could forget the delicious feature I covered for Cafe 1771? Not only was the food so delicious, I was also able to take loads of photos here! Too bad SPARK only uploaded a few of them. READ ARTICLE.

Cafe 1771

I'm looking forward for the next batch of articles SPARK posts under my name. I'm especially eager to see the features I wrote on Fat Michael's Place, L'Incontro, Manila Collective, MINI, and The Room Upstairs. These were the articles which I also took beautiful photos of! 

Aside from that, I look forward to the next photo shoot I take (not necessarily with SPARK). Keep posted on SPARK Magazine by following their blog! 

Intellipen Pentastic Launch

May 27, 2010-- Intellipen unleashed 2 products to the public by bringing some of the top bloggers in Manila to rendezvous at Café 1771, Ortigas. The team released their wireless and wired Intellipen products to this small group of writers as well as friends from the media. TheGypsyWrites was lucky to be a part of the event (thank you Vince Golangco) and was able to witness this cool pen!

There are two different types of Intellipen: the wired and wireless. Depending on the user, these pens will be able to benefit each individual according to his needs. Take me for example, there are times that I don’t want to bring my laptop along with me when I leave the house. Instead, I carry a small notebook and pen so that I can write some ideas. But there are several times when I have been able to construct a well made article on paper that I don’t have the time or even am too lazy to type those words into a Word format. So instead, I end up having a notebook packed with write-ups that are stuck inside the pages of those notebooks. With the wireless Intellipen though, I can simply clip the receiver onto a piece of paper and write freely like I normally would. When I arrive home, I can then attach the receiver to my computer and it will be converted to a file in my computer.

The good thing about this device too, is that I can doodle and design logos using my own handwriting. Although I don’t have the best handwriting, I can have a unique font that other people cannot use.

I prefer the wireless version. The wired version acts like a Wacom pen tablet that is connected to the computer. But instead of using a tablet, you can draw onto a piece of paper and still be able to get your drawing inked on the material.

SRP for Intellipen Pentastic is P4,500.00 for the wired version and P5,995.00 for the wireless. *Please correct if I am wrong :)