Punta Fuego Weekend

Lately, I have been stressing at work and putting in long hours. I have been hankering for a quick getaway weekend but stuck on where to go. So when I saw this Metrodeal ad for Punta Fuego, I didn't hesitate and immediately bought the vouchers. 

It's P1599 for 2 Days / 1 Night stay with breakfast and other perks. Club Punta Fuego is an exclusive member only community in Nasugbu, Batangas. A place not normally open to the general public. However, like all discounted deals, there are some catch: 1) You need 4 vouchers to reserve the Casita which is good for 4 person (that means P6,400 total) and 2) You can only use this from Sundays - Thursdays. Nevertheless, I still thought of it as a good deal.

We arrived late Monday afternoon after having a bit trouble finding the place.

nice double infinity pool overlooking the sea

Puffy was taken to the Casita by a golf cart

Casita 4C - Seaside View

The room was very big, clean and nice. Each bed can fit 2 people comfortably but might be a tight squeeze if you add a child/toddler between you. The mattress was thick and very firm with 4 semi-firm pillows for each bed - love that they don't give you the usual 2 skimpy soft pillows that instantly deflates when your head touches it. Strong aircon.

nice alternative to the usual table lamps

small table and chairs

The bathroom was huge with a small pocket garden. No exhaust fan but you can slide the door to let fresh air in. The shower portion can fit at least 20 people (no joke) which I thought was a waste of space. Might have been better to put a tub. Unfortunately, forgot to take a picture. 

However, I did take the most important picture and that was the view from our balcony. Absolutely, perfect. 

could stare at this all day

Punta Fuego did not allow food and drinks to be bought in. However ..... :D

chips and some form of tequila with strawberry cream

My friends and I just relaxed and had a couple of beers which we bought from the room's mini-fridge at P105/can. Knew we should have just stopped at the local mini mart in Nasugbu and bought some waters and beers :P

watching the sun set

Eventhough there were a lot of free things we could have done like go to their beach, watch a movie at their mini theatre, play games in their game room, etc., my friends just decided to stay in our room and relax. So nice to watch the sun set.

For dinner, we went up the hill to their restaurant.

small place

Hamburger for P305 - burger was okay, same with the fries,
bread tasted like something you buy from the local panederia

Grilled Lamp Chops with mashed potatoes and Bearneise sauce  for  P685 -
3 small pieces, nothing really that great but at least lamb didn't taste too gamey

Spinach Canneloni with Cream Sauce for P385 - the cream sauce
was so-so, the spinach was okay, the canneloni was weird since it
tasted like it was disintegrating (old noodle).

Service was really really bad. The Burger came first after 20 minutes, the Lamp Chop 10 minutes later and the Canneloni after 15 more minutes. All in all, it took them 45 minutes to give us all 3 dishes. Since they didn't come out at the same time, the others would look on while one person was eating. The food wasn't that good either. .

Next morning we fared a little better during breakfast. They served it buffet style ensuring that we could eat all at the same time. They had the usual bread, danish, bread with toppings (sardine, corned beef) jams, tapa (very tough), adobong manok, sausage and malasadong scrambled eggs.

After breakfast, explored a bit of the resort.

And back to our Casita for some serious scrabble game.

I like the view and it made concentrating on the game difficult. Still, it was a pleasant way to end the morning. Going back home, we did get lost again because there were a serious lack of signage going back to Tagaytay. Basically, here is the direction going to and from Punta Fuego:

From Tagaytay, go towards Nasugbu town which is about 40 kms away. You will see signs indicating Hamilio coast or Pico de Loro which can guide you on the right direction. Go straight until you reach a rotunda with a Caltex station. Turn right. After a couple of minutes, you reach an intersection with a Shell station. There is a big sign indicating Matabungkay Beach. Turn right and go straight until you reach the Nasugbu town proper. Follow the signs indicating Punta Fuego which is about (a long winding) 6kms away from the town. Don't mistake it from Punta Fuego de Terrazas which has the same developer but is a different place. Punta Fuego is much further down just after Tali Subdivision.

Going back to Manila, just be mindful of the Shell station to turn left. There weren't clear signs and the Shell station was so small that we passed by it and went straight to Calataga town which is about 10-15 kms to the wrong direction.

The final verdict?

The place has become a bit run down. A lot of construction going on which I hope will spruce up the place. Food in the restaurant is very expensive, service was awful and the taste of their dishes were nothing special. Bring lots of snacks and drinks. The room was very nice and the view spectacular. Going there could be a bit of a hassle. Liked that it wasn't too crowded even on a Philippine holiday. Nice place to stay and have a nice cold beer while viewing the sunset. Insist on a seaside view. Any other and it would be a waste of money. If privacy is what you want with nothing much to do except relax, this is a good place. Otherwise it might be better for you to stay elsewhere.

Meat Plus : Carnivores' Best Friend

My visit in Subic would not be complete without going to this very unassuming restaurant, Meat Plus located inside SBMA. Not only can you get steaks at such affordable prices, it is also conveniently located near the duty free shops :D

plenty of tables available on a weekday afternoon

You have the option to pick among the frozen steaks on display and have it cooked by the staff for a fee. Each pack shows the weight and price of the streak.

Or order a steak meal complete with rice and vegetables. 

They do offer combo meals as well.

Desserts and salad options too. 

Since it has been a long time since my last visit, I figured I'd indulge by getting an Angus Steak from the fridge and having it cooked. Mine was about 350 grams which cost P425. With cooking fee, the total cost was P525 which ain't that bad considering how much they charge for a steak in Manila. 

Angus Steak P425 + cooking charge

Rice, vegetables and gravy is free when you order the steak. I asked mine to be cooked medium-well but sadly, it turned out only medium. Since I was hungry, I didn't return this anymore to be recooked. I was kind of disappointed because they didn't even seasoned the steak and it tasted blah. No amount of gravy (which was also blah, btw), salt, A1 steaksauce could make it more appetizing. Maybe it has something to do with being frozen then grilled immediately that changes the taste/texture of the meat. 

Tenderloin Steak Meal - P280

My friend Ana had the Tenderloin Steak Meal which was about 200 grams. When I had a piece, I found it to be really juicy, tender and tasty. The cashier told us they use native meat for this. Had a twinge of regret for paying so much for my own meal.

Bomb - P70

The Bomb is this cup of thinly sliced potatoes with garlic, cheese and milk. A messy potato gratin, if you will. In theory, this sounds really good but execution was a bit off since there was too much milk that the whole thing became watery and too little cheese. 

Burger Meal - P225

The bun is bigger than the burger patty ;p but the fries were great. Didn't taste this one but my co-worker said it was okay. 

Turtle Pie - P120 (not sure about the price)

Just by looking at it my thought was that it wasn't a Turtle Pie since it must have lots of nuts and caramel somewhere between the crust and frozen filling. Nevertheless, it was very good. A cross between chocolate mousse that has been very very chilled and soft ice cream. Yumm!

decorated plates

Right across Freeport Exchange Duty Shop

Final Verdict?

Definitely have a visit to this restaurant whenever you're in Subic. There are still plenty of good things to eat but you might just re-think in ordering steaks from the freezer. The combo meals are good and best of all, affordable. Have some dessert, too! Expect to shell out P250-P300 each.

Meat Plus
Sampson Road
SBMA
Mondays-Sundays
10am-9pm

No reservation required