Since Les Maisons D’Itac is a secluded resort, we had most of our meals prepared by their staff. (I went out for dinner only once, and even this was a challenge since there was no available transportation going out. The manager was so nice, though, as he offered to drive me to my friend’s restaurant in nearby Dumanjug.)
The food was always served in the main building; it served as the resort’s lobby and dining area.
Late in the afternoon, on the day we checked in, a staff asked us what we wanted for dinner, so I chose Chicken Curry. (This was how they prepared my food: they would tell me the available dishes for my next meal, and I just had to order in advance.)
This was my Chicken Curry.
While delicious, the meat was overcooked, so it was not tender anymore. Still, it was one good meal. I liked how the curry was not overpowering, and the dish had just the right amount of spiciness.
Note that all their lunch and dinner meals already included a bottle of cola.
Breakfast was also included in the room rate, and for my first breakfast in Les Maisons, I ordered longganiza, which was really good. It was served with eggs (over-friend and too oily for my liking), fruits in season, coffee, and fresh juice.
The fresh mango juice was excellent. The fruits were also sweet!
For my lunch that day, I ordered Adobong Pusit. I did not like it because it tasted sweet, and I couldn’t taste the squid ink at all. I prefer a blacker, saltier, and more squid-ink-infused Adobong Pusit.
I ordered Grilled Fish for dinner, and I consider this my best dish in the resort.
It just looked burnt, but it was grilled perfectly, with the white meat all fleshy and soft and tasty. The sawsawan was perfect, too!
My friend visited me on my third day in Les Maison. She arrived early, so I included her in my order for breakfast. It’s funny how the staff misunderstood my order. I told her to prepare an order of hotdog and another order of longganiza, but she mistook that as one order of breakfast, with one piece of hotdog and one piece of longganiza.
This was our lunch.
It’s on this day when a staff gave us a proper menu. Before, they would just tell me the options for my upcoming meal (fish, chicken, beef) or show a list from a torn page of a notebook.
My friend ordered Pork Adobo while I ordered Fish Fillet. Her son had hotdogs, and I also ordered a plate of French fries for him.
My friend said the adobo was sweeter than she would have liked.
My fish fillet was okay, but dry.
We had chocolate cake for dessert, and we did not like it. It was too sweet and tasted like it’s prepared straight from a carton of cake mix. (My friend bakes, by the way.)
That evening, I skipped having dinner in Les Maisons to dine in my friend’s restaurant instead.
On my 4th and last day in the resort, I had Corned Beef and the usual egg, fruits, juice, and coffee.
It was good, though I would have liked it more if they served Delimondo or Purefoods Corned Beef instead of Argentina.
Note that Les Maisons only had one restaurant, so if you’re staying 3 nights as I did, the food may get boring. They do cook for their guests, though. That is, you can bring the ingredients and have the resort chef cook your preferred dish. Had I known this, I would have arrived there with groceries in tow. Te he.
And this concludes my dining experience in Les Maisons D’Itac. Click HEREfor my full blog about the resort.
Hobbes on the Cocoon Swing, perhaps Adlawon Farm’s most photographed feature.
We stayed here for a night, and it was one short vacation that stirred up fond memories of my childhood. You see, I grew up in the province and being in Adlawon Vacation Farm was like being home in Aklan, where trees and not buildings dotted the land and the crowing of roosters signaled the break of dawn.
The Lodge This is the main structure on the farm. It houses the restaurant (Kusina Luche), two (2) function rooms, a library, lounge and entertainment center, a view deck, and the guest rooms.
The Lodge also serves as the reception/Front Desk area.
Our Room I loved our quaint room and its country-style furnishings. I did find the beds small, though.
The workstation was nice, too, but as I was here on vacation, I did not bring my laptop. The TV even remained untouched because while here, I spent most of my time outdoors, just taking in the smell of fresh air and enjoying the views.
The bathroom was spacious, but its shower was weak, especially the hot water.
Other cons of the room include the smelly mini-ref and the noisy air-conditioning unit. Since the lodge is right under the restaurant, I could also hear footsteps and the scraping of chairs.
All-in-all, though, I was pretty satisfied with our room and my stay.
Room Details: Rate: Php 5,000 per night Inclusions: room and breakfast for 2 Check-in time: 1 PM Checkout time: 12 NN
All three (3) rooms are located on the ground floor of The Lodge.
Note that pets are not allowed in the room. They allowed me to bring Hobbes only when I agreed to make sure that I would not let Hobbes hop on the bed and the sofa. They also asked me to bring his own bed. I did more than that and even brought a waterproof bed and seat covers; these are, in truth, unnecessary because Hobbes never had any accidents inside the house and especially not in the room or the bed.
The Food in Kusina Luche Everyone online raved about Adlawon’s food, but I was disappointed with 2/3 of my dining experience here.
I ordered Chicken Sisig for lunch, and I found it sweet, with more dollops of mayonnaise than I would have liked; I prefer sisig that’s salty and a little spicy.
My buko juice was also bland. I also would have preferred it served in its shell instead of in a mason jar.
The only meal that I liked here was my dinner. Their Lechon Kawali was perfect! The pork skin was crunchy while the meat and fat were soft. I loved the banana fritters and atchara, too!
The guyabano (soursop) shake was also good, with just the right amount of sweetness to counter its natural sourness.
I had homemade corn ice cream for dessert, and while it tasted good, I didn’t like its consistency. It wasn’t smoothly blended and seemed like it underwent a cycle of being frozen, thawed out, then frozen again.
My breakfast was my most disappointing meal here. The lady who took my order the night before mentioned that their chorizo was homemade, so I ordered it for breakfast.
It was served dry! And the hot chocolate tasted too diluted and served lukewarm. Too bad, as it would have been nice to sip it slowly while taking in these views.
They also served my breakfast late. We agreed on a 7 AM serving time, but it was not served until 7:20 AM. I also ordered a hard-boiled egg for Hobbes, which they forgot so I again waited for another 15-20 minutes.
Despite my disappointing experience on the food. I’d still recommend Adlawon’s Kusina Luche for its hospitable staff and ambience/views.
Price-wise, I found it reasonable. Here’s the full menu.
The Farm Itself The farm is huge, as one could tell from the map below! It has a mini-forest, gardens and nurseries, animal pens, camp site, orchards, and even a chapel and its own station of the cross.
Hobbes was such a ball of energy during our stay here. It was his first time to see other four-legged animals, so it was amusing to see him whine or bark at goats and horses and a carabao.
Here’s a slideshow of some of the farms other facilities:
If you have children, the farm has a game arcade and playground. They’ll love the animal encounter site, too.
I just didn’t take a photo, but aside from the above, Adlawon has an aviary and a stable.
I just didn’t take photos but aside from the above, Adlawon also has an aviary and a stable.
Celebrity Steps This is another popular feature of the farm as seen on countless photo shoots. Of course, Hobbes had his picture taken here, too.
Catching the Sunset Always the sunset-lover, I headed out of our room by 5:30 PM in hopes of catching the sunset, but I was afforded with just these views of a pastel-tinged skyline.
Still, it’s pretty, don’t you think?
Moonrise We were lucky that during our stay, the still-not-full moon clearly showed itself.
Here are photos of Hobbes with the pastel-colored skyline and the moon as his background.
At Night Nighttime here may be boring for some because there’s nothing to do. If, however, you’re like me who loves to stargaze and listen to the chirps and buzzes of insects, then you would love it here.
Tip: Bring an insect repellant if you plan to be out at night here.
Good morning! Considering my (lack of) sunrise experience here, I didn’t know if there were sunrise spots in Adlawon, so I wasn’t keen on waking up early. Fortunately, Hobbes has his own body clock so by 5:15 AM, he woke me up so he could go out for his morning business.
And I was glad he did that, because outside, I was greeted with this view:
Still unsure of the sunrise spot, I just chose to follow the orange-tinged sky.
I was glad I did that because I was rewarded with this view at the Organic Farming area.
I continued my morning walk and found the perfect spot for sunrise-watching by the thickets of bamboo near the Mango Swing.
I got lucky, too, that there’s a carabao here as it framed my photos nicely. Here are my favorites.
The Swings These are my favorite feature of the farm. I spent most of my hours here reading a book. Hobbes, too, loved lounging around while enjoying the breeze.
This one is my favorite because Hobbes looked so chill, like a haciendero enjoying his lot in life. Ha ha!
AVF Farmer’s Market Aside from plants, the market sells fruits and vegetables that are guaranteed fresh and reasonably-priced. The ladies manning the market were also friendly and accommodating.
Here, I friend asked me to buy her soursop and three varieties of the mayana (Coleus blumei) plant. I also bought boiled peanuts – a treat that I haven’t had in years – and a pot of mint.
If you’re into souvenirs, Adlawon sells handmade bags and mugs and pasalubong items like olive oil, vinegar, cookies, and pastillas. I recommend the pastillas.
I would have loved to try their Olive Oil, but both were out of stock.
Guidelines on Pets While pet-friendly, Adlawon does not allow dogs inside the restaurant or the room, as previously mentioned.
But pet parents need not worry because they have a designated pet station.
Refer here for the complete pet guidelines:
Before I end this post, I’m sharing this tip: if you don’t want to stay overnight and just wish to dine and take photos, avoid coming here during the weekend and on holidays when the place was teeming with people. When we were there, people started arriving in batches from 11:30 AM to 6:30 PM.
Thoughts, Tales, and Whatnot 