Taaleña board member Tong S. Puno says the idea behind Taaleña is to offer old-timers and young diners a chance to taste old-fashioned dishes. Other co-owners are Mar Galicia, Dr. Fernando Piedad, Bert Salanga, and Ernest Hiansen.
"We want to bring dining enthusiasts the best recipes from the different towns around and near the Taal Lake area, as well as other Batangas specialty dishes," says Puno.
Taaleña was the brainchild of Galicia, who is lucky to be married to the former Lilia Montenegro de Leon, whose parents come from the towns of Lemery and Taal. Lilia’s aunts were cooking experts who specialized in little-known recipes, such as pork relleno, chicken and pork pastel, kalderetang kambing, champayne, inihaw na maliputo, adobo sa dilaw, taghilaw, crispy dilis, sinaing na tulingan and more.
Lilia inherited her aunts’ cooking prowess and introduced her friends to all these dishes. In fact, many of the Galicias’ friends prefer to get gifts of her homecooked food rather than the usual gifts.
That’s what diners at Taaleña will be served. In fact, the restaurant pays homage to Lilia and her aunts: Taaleña means "the lady from Taal."
The restaurant has been designed to look like a Spanish colonial house, and this sits well with its position on the ridge. From picture windows, diners have a vantage view of Taal Volcano down in Taal Lake. Of course, the volcano is only visible during daytime. At night, the cool breeze from the ridge blows sweetly into the restaurant. If you want to get close to nature, there is a verandah setting that is truly romantic, especially on moonlit nights. If indoors, open the picture windows and be cooled by the wind. However, stay inside or at least close the windows when you intend to order bulalong Batangas (P260), or else you’ll find yourself slurping cold beef broth.
Other Batangas specialties are adobo sa gata (P150), ampalaya con carne (P130), callos (P220) and sinigang, with a variety of seafood to choose from: maliputo, plapla, hito, sugpo, talakitok, and tuna belly.
The restaurant has two floors of dining area, both seating as many as 300 guests, and a garden dining area for 200 more guests. This early, it already has 22 confirmed bookings for wedding receptions, says general manager Jun Giron. Since it first opened in early December last year, he says the restaurant has been a venue of choice for wedding and baptismal receptions and corporate seminars.
When we dropped by a few weeks ago, we ordered the unfamiliar items on the menu. The tawilis were fried to a crisp and served with a dip of bagoong sauce, making it perfect with a mug of cold beer. The sinanglay received a makeover, making it a tasty gourmet dish. Instead of a whole tilapia, a fillet is fried to a crisp and served with a nutty coconut cream sauce.
The inihaw na maliputo came in a more manageable chunk of fish. Giron says the maliputo is too big to be served whole for a group of two or three. That’s why it is halved to a more manageable meal. It came with a sweet sauce similar to teriyaki sauce.
What is a Batangueño meal without bulalo? Served in a clay pot, an order is just right for two to three diners. You get choice beef that is tender from being simmered the whole day. The broth itself was divine; ladled on rice or spooned from a soup bowl, it warmed our tummies from the cool Tagaytay wind.
Giron says the restaurant doesn’t use MSG or any flavoring in its dishes. Everything is cooked slowly, using only choice ingredients, to assure guests that they are getting the real deal. With the view of Taal Volcano across the lake, this is the best way to discover Batangas’ delicious cooking.