Here's Why Cavite's Flourishing Restaurant Scene Is One to Continue Watching

(SPOT.ph) There's something to be said about the Manileño habit of spending weekends out in Tagaytay, Silang, and/or other parts of Cavite—in part for general R&R (something we could all use), but also crucially, to eat. And while Cavite has long held, and still holds, a rich food heritage, its restaurant scene has also grown immensely in the past couple of years. We're not just talking in terms of quantity.

A number of dining spots have opened in the area in recent years, serving well-thought out dishes that satisfy on the flavor front while highlighting local ingredients. These restaurants' skilled and talented chefs find ways to bring out the best of the great-quality produce abundant in the area, and/or update long-time favorites to make them more current without losing their soul.

That much and more was evident at the recent Cavite Fresh! event, a 12-hands collaboration dinner that celebrated some of the best restaurants and related ventures in the area: Farmer's Table, My Country House, Tuny's Resto Farm, Mrs. Saldo's, The Fatted Calf, and Flour Pot.

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Some of the best restaurants in Cavite joined forces at this recent event and here's what went down:

"The dining scene in Tagaytay has changed dramatically over the past five to 10 years, especially after the pandemic," says Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet, a partner of the Manila Food & Wine Festival 2023 (in light of which the Cavite Fresh event was held!) along with the Department of Tourism and the Restaurant Owners of the Philippines.

"What used to be a casual weekend getaway destination with mostly fast food restaurants has now become a popular place for destination celebrations, with a growing number of chef-driven, farm-to-table restaurants," he explains in an exchange with SPOT.ph.

Diaz also dubs the city the "Napa Valley of the Philippines," Napa Valley being the city in California celebrated as a top wine region in the U.S. "Cavite has become a dining destination for food connoisseurs who love the outdoors, boutique food places, and wine drinking with family and friends. It's an hour and a half away from the city and located in a higher, cooler elevation," he elaborates. "Although there are no wineries or vineyards in Cavite yet, more and more restaurants are establishing their wine collections in the area, making it a preferred place for destination wine celebrations away from the city."

With that, the event was all about shining the spotlight on the city's colorful—and continually blooming—F&B ventures. Chefs from the aforementioned restaurants from Tagaytay and Silang gathered at My Country House, where specialties from each establishment were laid out buffet-style for guests. 

Farmer's Table is brought our way by the Raintree Group of Restaurants, and gives remixes classic comfort eats with their use of local produce and fun mashups of varying influences. Chef Kalel Chan displayed precisely that with the Bulalo Egg Custard—think the mellow but rich soul of bulalo turned into a custard stuffed into egg shells, with roasted bone marrow and bulalo flakes to intensify the impact. The Tagaytay "Freshto", essentially vol-au-vent imbued with pesto using local herbs, then stuffed with whipped labneh, likewise made for crisp-creamy, basil-tinged bites.

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Also from the Raintree Group is former rest house-turned-dining spot My Country House (where this very event was held) in Tagaytay. And demonstrating Chef Arnold Gozon's penchant for tying together the familiar and new was his Salted Egg Cream & House-Made Spinach Shoestring Pasta lent added richness by salted duck eggs. His Melting Salmon happily lived up to its name—oh, did it melt—and delivered natural umami thanks to a marinade of red and white miso.

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Led by Chef Anthony Mendoza, Silang's Tuny's Resto Farm is loved for their vibrant plates that—true to their farm-to-table philosophy—highlight produce grown from their own premises. Case in point? The fresh herbs and veg that made for one zingy Tuny's Laksa. That's not to say they can't take on the more decadent side of the spectrum, though. Tuny's Ensaymadas delivered richness on all fronts, what with its buttery brioche base, oozing cheese sauce, and toppings of salted egg and farm-smoked bacon.

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For private-dining spot Mrs. Saldo's in Silang, it's all about celebrating the varied tastes of the Asian continent. Chef Rhea Rizzo brought her signature Thai Fish Curry, made with melt-in-the-mouth hamachi in a feisty curry sauce best wiped clean with sticky rice. She also gave a sneak peek of a new dish she's got in the works: Braised Vinegar Chicken—akin to chicken fricassée with a touch of brightness from vinegar. Rizzo paid ode to the Land of the Rising Sun, too, with her pillowy meal-enders of Hokkaido Sweet Potato Mochi.

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The Fatted Calf recently moved from their original Silang location to a new home in Tagaytay. But the restaurant led by Chef JJ Sycip continues to serve farm-to-table fare with plenty of soul: the signature 10 Hour Roasted Leg of Beef cooked low and slow, rendering the meat tender as can be; and a sampler of Terrines with local flair: Pork Sisig, smoky Rosario Tinapa, savory-rich Old Manila Ham, Raisin Relish for sweet contrast, and crisp, tangy-sweet Wild Pipinito (yup, tiny cucumbers!).

Also read: Farm-to-Table Spot The Fatted Calf Continues to Champion Local at Their New Tagaytay Location

Sweet endings came courtesy of Flour Pot Manila's Chef Rhea Sycip, who makes it a point to highlight local, seasonal produce wherever possible in her bakes. The dessert shop whipped up an eight-foot dessert grazing board with some of their best-loved items: the Signature Butter Rum Cake in its alcohol-soaked glory; a deep and dark Tableya Chocoalte Cake; Tres Leches con Fresas and Strawberry Brioche Doughnuts with Benguet strawberries; the Ube Halaya Cake that pairs their lush ube halaya-infused buttercream with delicate layers of ube chiffon;  bergamot-scented Earl Grey White Chocolate Tea Cake; a superb Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Cake with local rhubarb (yup, that exists!), and a satisfyingly sticky Banana Tatin.

Cavite's F&B landscape continues to flourish, not unlike the bounties of nature abundant in this part of the country. From the looks of it, it's only bound to blossom further with time.

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