seven thousand one hundred islands continuation…

From Taal we made our way to Tagaytay, just a short drive away in the neighbouring province of Cavite. I had not been back in a while and nothing quite prepares you for what time does to a place you once knew like the back of your hand.

Upon arrival I was genuinely stopped in my tracks. Condominiums reaching up into the sky. Shopping malls. Big hotels. The kind of development that makes a place almost unrecognisable. For a moment I felt like a tourist in a town I grew up visiting. Lost, a little disoriented, looking for something familiar to anchor myself to.

And then I saw it. The old Taal Vista Lodge — now renovated and reborn as the Taal Vista Hotel. New facade, polished and modern. But behind it, unchanged and unbothered by all the development around it, was the same breathtaking view of Taal Volcano rising from the lake. The same view my folks brought me and my siblings to see when I was young. Some things, thankfully, you just can’t build over.

We didn’t have time to stop at Taal Vista this trip, but the sight of it was enough. A quiet nod from the past that said — yes, you’re home.

Mushroom Burger

There are places you visit out of curiosity and there are places you visit out of duty. Mushroom Burger in Tagaytay falls firmly in the second category. A must stop. Non-negotiable. It has been that way since I was a kid and nothing about that has changed.

The place still looks and feels exactly the same. Same energy, same smell, same honest no-frills approach to feeding people well. We sat down and ordered everything — because that is what you do. I had the Mushroom Royal and the Mushroomburger King. And that first bite… I’m not exaggerating when I say it sent me straight back to being nine years old. Sitting at that same table with wide eyes and no idea yet that food could do something like that to a person. That it could hold a memory so tightly and hand it back to you decades later, perfectly intact.

If you have never been, go. And if you have been before, you already know exactly what I mean.

(For those of you who want to recreate a mushroom burger at home, I have my own version on the blog — check out The Mushroom Burger.)

Mahogany Market

After settling into our Airbnb we were back out the door shortly after midday. Because what is a trip to Tagaytay without a visit to Mahogany Market? It simply cannot be done.

The market is loud, honest, and alive in the way that only wet markets in the Philippines can be. Vendors hollering, steam rising from pots, the smell of charcoal and broth thick in the air. Whole carcasses of fresh Batangas and Tagaytay beef hanging from hooks, pork trotters piled high, innards of every kind laid out with no apology and no pretence. This is not a place you visit for the ambiance. You visit for the food. And the food does not disappoint.

We had Bulalo — that slow-cooked beef shank and bone marrow broth that Tagaytay has claimed as its own. Rich, deep, and warming in a way that makes complete sense given the cooler highland air of the region. We had Tawilis, the freshwater sardine unique to Taal Lake, deep fried to a perfect crisp and served on banana leaf with a sweet chilli dipping sauce. And Tulingan, the braised bullet tuna that I have already written about after our Batangas leg of this trip.

But the dish I had been most excited about — the one I had been thinking about since we planned this trip — was the Goto.

Goto

Goto is not a dish for the faint-hearted or the uninitiated. It is a thick, rich congee-style broth made with beef innards — tripe, intestines, heart, tendon — slow-cooked until everything is tender and the broth has taken on that unmistakable deep, offal-forward flavour. It is finished with ginger, garlic, fish sauce and topped with chopped spring onions and a squeeze of calamansi.

It is the kind of dish that divides a room. You either love it or you don’t. I have loved it since the first time I tried it as a kid and I have been chasing a version as good as that memory ever since. At Mahogany Market they do it properly. A bowl arrives steaming, thick, deeply fragrant. You add your calamansi, your patis, your chili if you want the heat. Then you eat it with rice and you stop talking for a while because there is nothing to say that the food isn’t already saying better.

Back home in Melbourne, I had to recreate it. I had to. Here is my version.

Goto — Migs’ Version

For 6 people

300 gms honeycomb tripe, cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces
300 gms blanket tripe, cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces
200 gms beef heart, cleaned and diced
100 gms small intestine, cleaned thoroughly
500 gms beef tendon, cut into chunks
2 large red onions, chopped
100 gms ginger, pounded and chopped
3 pcs long green chilli
1 litre rice wash water (the water from washing your rice — don’t throw it away!)
1/2 cup annatto seeds, diluted in water
2 litres water
2 beef stock cubes
2 tbsp salt
1 tsp crushed whole peppercorns
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp patis (fish sauce)
1/2 cup spring onions, chopped (for topping)

To serve: steamed rice, calamansi or lime, extra patis, birds eye chili

Step 1 — The most important step before anything else is cleaning your innards properly. Rinse each piece thoroughly under cold running water. For the tripe and intestines, turn them inside out, rub with salt and rinse again. Blanch everything in boiling water for 10 minutes, discard the water, and rinse again. This step is not optional. Take your time with it.

Step 2 — In a large heavy pot, combine your cleaned innards and tendon with the 2 litres of water and 1 litre of rice wash water. Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. The rice wash water is the secret — it naturally thickens the broth and gives it that distinct goto texture.

Step 3 — Once the broth has cleared, add the onions, ginger, peppercorns, beef stock cubes, garlic powder, salt and long green chillies. Stir well, lower the heat and cover. Simmer for at least 2 hours, or until the tendon is completely soft and the tripe is tender but still has a bit of bite to it. Check and stir every 30 minutes.

Step 4 — Add the annatto water to the pot and stir through. This gives the goto its warm golden colour. Add the patis and taste for seasoning — adjust with more salt or patis as needed. Simmer for another 20 minutes until the broth has thickened to that signature goto consistency.

Step 5 — Ladle into bowls and top generously with chopped spring onions. Serve hot with steamed rice, calamansi on the side, extra patis and chili for those who want it.

*The longer you simmer this the better it gets. If you have a pressure cooker, use it for the first hour to get the tendon soft faster, then finish on the stove top.

Tagaytay has changed enormously. The skyline is different, the roads are busier, the development is relentless. But Mahogany Market remains. The Goto remains. And as long as those things are still there, this place will always feel like home.

Happy Cooking and always remember to cook with your Heart…

More from my Philippine food adventure when we continue…