Il Ristorante di Antonio, Antipolo City

Il Ristorante di Antonio, Antipolo City

We've always promoted the city that we call our home - Antipolo. There are lots of places to go to around the city and these include restaurants like those along Sumulong Highway as well as those you will find only in Antipolo like Vieux Chalet, Marison's and Abuela's. For this post, I would like to feature an Italian restaurant, Il Ristorante di Antonio, which is located at a building along the L. Sumulong Memorial Circle and across from the Unciano Hospital (Hint: It's on the 2F of a building that has a Yellow Cab Pizza branch at the ground floor).

The interior for me is very homey. It is a clean, well-lighted place.

Pumpkin soup, which our daughter liked very much

Bolognese cooked and tasted the way we wanted

They had a very good Marinara

Their Quattro formaggi pizza did not disappoint

Sign at the stairs of the building

You can see their full menu and other information in their website (link provided earlier and here). There is ample parking at the building so its no hassle for people coming to dine at the resto. I believe their food is authentic Italian and fairly priced. The restaurant is definitely one I recommend for those looking to eat Italian food whenever in Antipolo.

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Market day at the Antipolo Public Market

Market day at the Antipolo Public Market

We start the month of May with something about Antipolo. Only, this is not about its famous church but about the market. It was quite some time since my last trip to the market in our city. I had written about this market before but here are some more recent photos mostly around my "suki" vendors. Here are some snapshots during one of my recent trips to the market.

Vegetables, spices, etc. at our "suking" vendor

The are a one-stop shop for me and I can always get good prices. They are my reliable source for shiitake mushrooms and asparagus, which I could not get from other vendors at the market.

There's corn, lemons, ginger and practically everything in the "Bahay Kubo" song.

Fish variety at one of my "suki" vendors

I also have a "suki" for my shrimps and prawns

I usually of to the market early in the morning (around 6:00 AM) of either Saturday or Sunday so I can avoid the crowds. One time I was a bit late (7:30 AM), it still wasn't so crowded.

I also have "suki" vendor for kakanin. Here are various rice-based delicacies like puto sa bilao, sapin-sapin and bibingka.

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Mango trees in full bloom

Mango trees in full bloom

The village where I reside in was supposedly formerly a mango orchard. As such, there are many old large mango trees everywhere. The Clairvoyant and I like to think that a mature mango tree is the status symbol for a homeowner in our village and we are fortunate to have one in our home. We actually oriented our house to retain the mango tree in our lot (the right thing to do) and it is one of the distinct features of our home.

Most of the old mango trees where I reside are now in full bloom. Many branches (large and small) are now sagging with the weight of the flowers. I am afraid branches will start crashing down once the flowers transform into fruits.

Our mango tree had not been as productive the past almost 4 years after a large branch was removed by a strong typhoon in 2014. We were able to harvest something like 3 to 4 boxes of carabao mangoes then, and now look forward to a good harvest in a few weeks.

Another street and more flowering mango trees.

We hope to have a good harvest in the coming weeks and are praying that there won't be heavy rains that will ruin the flowers.

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Like a shepherd tending to the flock

Like a shepherd tending to the flock

The past few Sundays that we heard Mass at the Parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (PIHM) in Antipolo City, we have been fortunate to have the Bishop of Antipolo presiding the service. These were the Sunday of December 24 and December 31, the eve of Christmas and New Year's. Here are a couple of photos I took as the Mass concluded on the last day of 2017.

It is not often that you have the Bishop preside over a Sunday Mass. Usually, this happens only on very special occasions including Christmas and Easter, and these are usually with some if not much fanfare. In the case of the two Sundays I was referring to, these were simple, straightforward celebrations of the Holy Eucharist. The only noteworthy part was on December 24 when the Bishop invited all children to come in front after Mass as he and staff distributed candies that were his Christmas gifts to children. I hope this becomes a more regular thing as the Bishop gave good, thoughtful, meaningful homilies.

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Mi Terraza resort in Antipolo City

Mi Terraza resort in Antipolo City

To celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of my in-laws and the 75th birthday of my father-in-law last week, we decided to have a different kind of celebration where family can enjoy catching-up over good food and some swimming. This time, too, it helped that we had additional conversation pieces in the views from the resort. 

Mi Terraza is located in the mountains of Antipolo City, Rizal, our chosen hometown, The infinity pool, terraces and porch affords a splendid view of Metro Manila. I'll let the photos

Infinity pool with a nice view of Metro Manila

The porch of the house is spacious and features really good seating areas

The living area has these two daybeds. Behind is the staircase leading to the 2nd and 3rd floors

View from the third floor

The grounds are expansive and you can do some grilling or eating outdoors. There's also a gazebo away from the house where you can also have a separate session (drinking?).

Here's a photo I took from the infinity pool of the cityscape of Metro Manila. The clouds helped make this a more dramatic image. No filters here for a photo taken with my iPhone 6.

Our daughter had a great time swimming together with her cousins. Our relatives also had a great time. Many of them inquired about reserving the place for future events/celebrations. We were lucky to have good weather so we were able to maximize our day at the resort. I guess it would be difficult to get reservations for the resort during the summer. Nevertheless, with the weather these days, perhaps the place would still make for a good venue for family or even office affairs like team-building seminars.

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Yellow Lantern Cafe, Antipolo

Yellow Lantern Cafe, Antipolo

One afternoon after a trip to the Avilon Zoo in Rodriguez (formerly Montalban), Rizal. we decided to make a "merienda" stop along our way home. The Clairvoyant suggested the Yellow Lantern Cafe in Mambugan, Antipolo City. The cafe is located at the initial steep ascent from lower Antipolo to the upper part of the city where there are several establishments offering nice views of Metro Manila. She had eaten there before with an old friend from university and they had a good snack plus the benefit of good wifi.

Tables included those with all seats facing the balcony. Despite the afternoon sun, the cafe benefited from a cool breeze. There were TV screens strategically located around the cafe where they likely show popular programs including probably basketball games or boxing matches.

Staff congregated at the bar for what seemed to be a downtime for everyone. We were told they were busiest after 5PM when people start coming in for the sunsets and later for the cityscapes after dark.

The cafe has air-conditioned rooms for more private functions and I guess you can also have your own karaoke session in those rooms.

We came at a time when there was only us eating there (around 2:30 PM on a holiday). We practically had the entire cafe and staff to ourselves.

Chocnut cheesecake - a definitely "must try" for those eating at the cafe

The cafe offers this view of Metro Manila. It was mid-afternoon when I took this photo so the sun is basically setting towards the west and giving more emphasis on the smog smothering the metropolis. I can imagine this to be a more spectacular view at night when all the lights give a different feel to the cityscape.

Looking at their menu, Yellow Lantern Cafe has good variety and is not your typical "inuman" place. Prices are fair and the selection gives you choices for food whether its for full meals or light ones like the merienda we had. I would say that it is a good place to go to if you want a place to eat at Antipolo without having to go all the way up and to the restaurants further up Sumulong Highway. It affords a great view of Metro Manila, offers good food, and, based on our experience, good service from the staff.

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Back at Vieux Chalet

Back at Vieux Chalet

We haven't eaten at Swiss Vieux Chalet for quite some time now. And so we decided to eat there again also partly to see if our Ally would like the food.

Vieux Chalet has remodeled their front

Inside, it was almost the same interiors as I remembered from the last time we were there.

Quaint tables, framed artwork and a piano

The patio had a major improvement - the windows

Raclette - this is our favorite appetizer here and we almost always order it to start our meals there

Our very refreshing basil lemon iced tea and calamansi honey cooler

Homemade smoked pork chop with mushroom sauce - this is actually my favorite item on the menu and I have not enjoyed pork chops anywhere as much as I enjoyed these, with or without rice. If you still opt for rice, their herb rice is the one you should order as it is perfect with the chops.

Five cheese grilled pizza

Chocolate cake a la mode - our daughter definitely enjoyed this treat with the homemade ice cream

Today's Mothers' Day so I thought it was a good time to post about our recent lunch there.  Our daughter enjoyed the food (she loved the pizza) but we thought she enjoyed the place more as she was amused by the interiors and the kind chow chow they have who just lay there in front, apparently for guests to pet. We'll be back again soon so we can try other items on the menu. That way, our Ally could also develop her taste for different dishes (and good food).

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