SMOOTH AS SEDA: SEDA NUVALI

         Throughout my entire life, I've always thought of Laguna as "The place you pass on the way to Tagaytay", or "Where Enchanted Kingdom is". It wasn't until a few years ago when Nuvali began to grow, did my perception of Laguna begin to change.

    With its restaurants and the outlet stores at The Solenad Strip Malls, a stop at Nuvali there every time we head out to Tagaytay has become a given. Although I am always excited to see Nuvali's selection of restaurants, not to mention Rina and Rain love the fish feeding, I never really thought of Laguna as a vacation spot.

  The rise of Seda Nuvali changed all that.

ANSWERING THE CALL OF NATURE TRAILS CAFE

        For the long weekend last August, I planned a trip to a resort in Cavite for Rina and I. However, due to the unpredictable weather, my mom thought it wouldn't be the best idea for Rina to go on a long road trip (She's on her 8th month of pregnancy!). Given her expertise in the use of a rubber slipper in lieu of a shuriken, I have accepted the fact that I should never EVER argue with my mother, so we decided not to risk it. I still did want to take Rina somewhere a bit further than our usual Greenbelt-Eastwood routine, so we headed off to Solenad, Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. 

     I had heard about about a restaurant there that Bikers would frequent during their rides, called "Nature Trails". After making sure that it wasn't a Vegan place that exclusively sold Granola Bars and Tofu for lunch, Rina and I decided it give it a go. 

WHO LET THE PIG OUT?!

It finally happened. I've eaten so much pork, I've transformed myself into a pig.

        During the Christmas break of 2009, a group of my friends from work, together with Rina and I, went on a road trip to Laguna, with the intent of going to Enchanted Kingdom. Given that it was the Christmas season, It should have been a no brainer: Theme Park + Christmas Vacation = Chaos. That trip eventually turned into our visit to Kanin Club, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. However, as I mentioned in that previous post, The signs for the restaurant "Pig Out" stuck clearly in my mind.

    I love the name, Pig Out. You instantly know it's all about the meat, and you can eat to your hearts content without being judged. In fact, I found it funny no other restaurant ever thought of using that name before, especially since it got my attention. I swore to Rina that she and I would eventually go back some day. Of course, since it was out of town, it wasn't really that easy to schedule an excursion to Laguna. 

       Funnily enough, roughly around one year to the fateful day that I saw that sign, Rina and I, together with my father in law, my sister and law Chaikka, and her irrepressible partner-in-crime, Don, had planned to visit our Aunt's vacation home in Batangas. I did a little research before I left, and I saw a dish that left me intrigued.. "Chicharon Fried Rice".

      Given that dish in mind, I thought it would be perfect time to make a little side trip to Pig Out.  (Pun intended)

THE FIRST RULE OF THE KANIN CLUB..

        During the Christmas vacation, Rina and I planned to go with a few friends from my work to Enchanted Kingdom. Believe it or not, my buddy Mark had never been there yet at that time, and it ended becoming a running joke between us. (No matter what he has achieved, it didn't mean anything cuz he still hasn't been to Enchanted Kingdom) Mark felt it was finally time to rectify that situation, and so we all planned a trip to Laguna so he could finally feel the magic of the Country's premiere amusement park. 

       Unfortunately, fate had a cruel game to play with my poor friend. Upon entering the gates of EK, we quickly realized that this was not going to happen today. The lines for ticket admissions were ridiculously long, and based on the sign boards outside, each ride would entail a minimum of three hours of waiting in line. We realized that it wasn't the ideal way to spend our free day, so the gang decided to head off to Tagaytay instead for a road trip. 

     Of course, since I was part of the group, the so-called "Road Trip" instantly became a "Food Trip" :)

       To everyone, it was a no-brainer. If you're hungry, and you're in Laguna, you go to Kanin Club. I heard about the place before, but it didn't really interest me because I heard the star of their menu is the "Crispy Dinuguan". I haven't heard a single bad review about it, but still.. I don't eat dinuguan. Nothing personal to people who do, but the Picky Eater in me just thinks that eating pigs blood is a waste of stomach space. Why eat that when you can eat something like BBQ or Liempo? hehe

      We saw signs for a newly opened restaurant called "Pig Out" and that seriously caught my attention, but alas, I could not thwart the will of the majority - so it was off to Kanin Club we went.