A Day at the T House (Part II)

Tuna Citrus Salad

You can read Part One of this post here.

As I was saying yesterday, people usually make the assumption that going to a restful spa zone also means suffering through a rather monotonous menu of limp raw vegetables and water.  At the T House, however, diners are in for a major surprise.

Hot on the heels of the shooters of soup came a choice of delectable salads made with fresh, crisp greens and a variety of other good things.  While the T House Salad sounded most interesting, we opted for the Tuna Citrus Salad shown at the top of this post and the Roasted Vegetable Salad shown above.  The tuna salad came with hefty chunks of fish, sweet orange segments, ripe olives, and a generous amount of kesong puti [fresh white cheese] from nearby Laguna.  The roasted veggies that came with the other salad were brilliant scarlet capsicums, thick and meaty-tasting eggplant slices, and crunchy circles of zucchini.  Lest you think that we got puny diet-farm portions, let me correct your perception by saying – without exaggeration – that the portions here were huge!

Huge helpings also apply to the generously-proportioned entrees that made up our third course.  At the T House, you get to choose from six delicious options.  Two options are available per protein source of choice: chicken, pork, and fish – no beef, so those craving steak may find themselves askance.  Isabelle being a regular teenaged carnivore who doesn’t care much for fish went for the incredibly tender Grilled Pork Rib served on top of a bed of peppery mashed potatoes with greens on the side.

Mom, on the other hand, went for the Grilled Fish Fillet in Creme Saffrone.  The fish was delightfully tender (though we aren’t sure from which aquatic denizen it came from) and beautifully seasoned.  As for the saffron sauce that surrounded it, it was velvety and came studded with chunks of sweet onion and strips of field [portobello] mushroom that gave it a slightly smoky undertone.  The sauce was so good that Mom asked for another roll to mop up the creamy goodness.  Her one complaint was that there were far too many capsicum strips there for her taste.

The rest of us – Dad, Fr. Jeff, and me – were major salmon fans so the Salmon Meuniere on Wasabi Mashed Potatoes was our entree of choice.  This, dear SybDive readers, is a beautiful example of fusion cuisine: the salmon came with a “belt” of nori wrapped around its middle, wasabi gave the lovely mashed spuds a subtle kick, and the soy-and-mirin sauce drizzled over the whole thing will remind you of the sweetish-salty dip that comes with tempura.

Everything was so good that we all ate to our hearts’ content and completely forgot that we still had dessert headed our way!  T House usually has two dessert options for the set menu: their banana-nangka [jackfruit] crumble and a matcha panna cotta with lemongrass.  Alas, the latter was not available (it would have been a most soothing finale to the meal), so we had the crumble instead.  To describe it would be for me to ask you to think of a classic turon con saba except with a crumb topping rather than a crispy wrapper.  It was good, but rather stodgy after the filling meal so we were unable to finish our desserts.  We capped the meal with their rosemary tea, brewed coffee (sweetened with muscovado sugar), and a hot chocolate so thick it was almost like a pudding.

I would definitely come back here one of these days.  The ambiance is wonderful, the food is fabulous, and I was told that people actually swear by their spa treatments.  (Major plus for me there!)

A tip in case you’re going to T House: lunch and dinner are only by reservation, so be sure to get in touch with them at least a week before you plan to go.  The set meal is reasonably priced at P 550.00 per head inclusive of VAT and service charge; drinks and extra bread will cost you a little extra, though.

T House:  3195 Calamba Road, Tagaytay City.  For reservations, email them at Stay@THouseTagaytay.com or call (046) 483-00-11 / (046) 483-00-12.