Snacks and lunch are part of the Cintai by Corito’s Garden day tour package (we got ours for a discounted price via Ensogo.ph), and their website boasts a Filipino-Asian fusion offering. Let’s talk about what we had last January 11, shall we? 
The Day Tour is from eight in the morning but we got there at around half-past. Immediately we were offered pineapple juice as our welcome drinks as we settled down from our two-hour drive. The chikka session started from this reception pavilion and continued onto the next two cottages we chose. Eventually we got up from our comfortable seats and roamed around the five hectare resort, taking a butt load of pictures and draining our smart phones in the process.
It was a little bit after noon when we stumbled upon the resort’s restaurant, just in time for lunch. I can’t speak for my companions, but I was famished from the stroll. Just like the rest of the resort, the attention to detail in designing the restaurant was astounding. There were a lot of knickknacks littered around the area to remind us of the Balinese inspiration. I admit, taking photos of these things was a good way to help pass the time while waiting for the food.
The restaurant had tables inside but because the weather was so nice that day, we all chose to sit on one of the long tables outside.
They started us off with a seafood sinigang soup which was just divine. I’ve never had a fishless seafood version of sinigang before, so this was definitely a first for me. The soup was thick from gabi and was perfectly tart. There was no lack of seafood in each bowl; there was squid, shrimp and a little bit of oyster meat. The vegetables were plentiful as well and tasted very fresh. I wanted seconds but was too shy to ask haha.
The main was a plate that consisted of a cup of rice, two pieces of grilled chicken and julienned vegetables as a side. There was nothing particularly special about the chicken and the rice, but the vegetables were very good. I guess because the resort also doubles as a garden, the Coritos’ Garden staff have a plentiful supply of fresh produce for their use.
The desert was panna cotta topped with legitimate Batangeno tsokolateng tablea served in little shot glasses. Theymust have not refrigerated them long enough because the panna cotta hasn’t quite set fully yet when they were served to us. Regardless, we still gobbled them up quickly because damn, that chocolate tasted so gooood.
After lunch we went in for a quick dip in the pool, just to burn off what we’ve eaten. And we must’ve burned a lot from shivering so much because the pool water was freakin’ cold. By the time we’ve rinsed off, we were already hungry again. We made the trek back to the restaurant where we had our PM snack, and had the gustatory highlight of the day: Kapeng Barako and Balete suman with Batangeno hot chocolate.
The coffee was typical Kapeng Barako, which was very strong and exactly what I needed to perk me up for the drive back to Alabang.
The suman and tsokolate, however, was truly something else. The smell of the hot chocolate to be used for smoothering the suman was so strong that it wafted in the air just as the plate was being set down. I don’t know how these Balete suman are made but they were so good that we even resorted to asking for Nelva’s share (her voucher was part of the reservation but she couldn’t make the actual trip) just so we could have another round. The Cintai by Corito’s staff must’ve seen how much we enjoyed the suman that he gave us another piece each.
We all decided that the suman Balete was the perfect pasalubong so we all ordered a bag at 150php for eight pieces (well, three bags for ma’am Noreen haha. B3 eh) before going back home (after another half hour’s worth of picture taking, I mean).
