Before anything else, let me say that I didn’t find this restaurant by chance but I was lucky enough to have met and traveled with chef, Luigi Muhlach (Uh-huh. He is the offspring of Aga Muhlach and Janice de Belen!!) on my recent trip to Taiwan. We were part of the group that was invited by the Taiwan Tourism Board and Jeron Travels last April (read about it here). After our trip, he invited the group (dubbed as the “Kumquat Krew”) for a reunion dinner to his restaurant to catch up and of course, EAT!!!
Kumquat Krew (from left:) Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet; Chal Lontoc-del Rosario of Jeron Travel, Me, Loris Peña of Preview Magazine, Rovilson Fernandez and Dara David, Chichi Tullao of Happy Tummy Travels, Photographer Erron Ocampo, Chef Luigi Mulach, Aryanna, Czarina Ledesma of The Event Architects
Since the weekend is for out of town trips, time with friends and family and indulging on food, it is my pleasure to introduce to you a restaurant in Tagaytay that’s worth driving to! Ladies and gentlemen presenting…
Amacena at One Tagaytay Place
From the Spanish words “amar” (profound affection) and “cena” (supper), Amacena features Pinoy comfort food with a twist as created by its executive chef, Luigi Muhlach. So basically, Amacena is a food porn hub that guarantees to titillate your taste buds.
Located within One Tagaytay Place Hotel Suites, very close to Tagaytay-Santa Rosa Road (you turn left when you reach the Tagaytay rotunda coming from Manila).
Let’s get it on!!
I would normally recommend a few dishes to order whenever I’m blogging about a restaurant I’ve tried but in this case, EVERYTHING I posted below is a must-try! Honestly, there is not one dish that Chef Luigi served us that I we did not like LOVE!
Organic Tomato Salad
Adobo Flakes Bruschetta with Grape Salsa and Kesong Puti Sauce
Duo of tacos ( Lechon kawali & Chicken inasal)
Tawilis Pizza
5 Cheese Pizza
Tawilis Fried Rice
Smoked Aligue Rice
Honey Bagoong Wings
Dinakdakang chicharon
Sous Vide Crispy US Shortrib Kare-Kare
Lechon Kawali w/ Black rice and Monggo Puree
Bulalo Steak
Kaldereta Pot Pie
Chicken Inasal with Mexican Rice and Chicharon Crusted Corn On Cob
Sizzling Beefsteak
Amacena’s Executive Chef, Luigi Muhlach
Whew!! Writing this blog post was torture because I’m dieting –haha!!! Please eat them for me!
Tip: Bring a big group so that you can order a lot of the dishes and try them all! They are elevated homecooked meals that we all grew up to love and using the freshest ingredients that are locally sourced. Also, Amacena has limited seating so be sure to BOOK A TABLE in advance (they serve all day breakfast too)!
Happy food trip!
Amacena
445 Tagaytay-Calamba Road, Barrio Sunggay West,Tagaytay City (just “WAZE” it!)
Book now at: 63917817.3045
Open everyday from 7:00AM – 10:00PM