Saltitude Dive & Beach Resort is the freshest Anilao Batangas hangout.  While you can wallow the day away in their comfortable huts, there are also many fun activities for the more adventurous soul. 




Actually, Saltitude Dive & Beach Resort is the new and revamped Anilao Beach Club.  It now has quirky-decorated themes rooms which represent activities you can do by the beach.




Brunchin' at the Beach




Just for the launch, we had an Intercontinental Brunch from American to Italian Cuisines.  For the next Saturdays, it will changed to other themes such as Spanish, Asian, Mexican and the like. 


Every dish we tried was delicious!

With this kind of execution during the launch, we have no doubt that it will be even better as it continuous.


The Asian selection was quite luxurious with California Maki and


Steamed Fish which is a typical Tsinoys' favorite.


With so many choices, remember to save room for dessert!

So clearly, Saltitude Dive & Beach Resort has it all!  Eat. Drink. Dive. Snokle. Windsurf.  Do them all at Saltitude Dive & Beach Resort.

A hotel staycation should always be complimented with great food.  During my stay at Hotel Benilde Maison De La Salle.  I found it convenient to have my dinner at the hotel's mainstay restaurant - Cafe  Romancon.


Located at the ground level by the entrance, you surely can't miss it.  For hotel guests, they are acquainted with it as soon as they arrive as this is where they can claim their welcome drinks.  During mornings, they also offer a buffet breakfast.

Food

Salad

Kani Mango Salad (190 php)

The Kani Mango Salad really surprised me because it was very different from the usual Japanese kani salad I've had.  It had crunchy rice noodles, dried mango, crab stick bits and lots of greens.  I loved it!  I appreciated the creativity that was invested into this.


Main Entree

Friesian Express (350 php)

I'm not sure where the name Friesian Express came from.  But, this looks like a good piece of steak to me at an unbelievable cheap price.

Friesian Express (350 php)

It is cooked medium which I appreciated for having the tenderness and juiciness that I preferred.

Desserts

Sizzling Brownies (225 php)

Cafe Romancon is very affordable compared to other hotel cafes.    Yet, its offerings are quite creative and impressive.  I would surely love to dine here again.

Fresh Seafood Station
And, it has the longest Sushi Bar.

It has a variety of rolls.  But, the rolls seem similar to one another.

Plus, fresh Salmon sashimi along with other sashimi options.  My only disappointment was that it didn't offer Mackarel that night. 

Bread Station
With so many choices, I'm not surprised that we all overlooked the Bread Station.  Although we didn't get to try their pastries, I'm happy to share that they have "gluten-free" options.

Cheese Station
Cheese selections are not as grand as the other stations.  But well, it has one.

Deli Meat Station
It has the finest deli meat selections from La Prudencia of Spain. 

There are so many choices... I didn't get to try them though.


Grill Station
I think one station that distinguishes High Street Cafe from the rest is their Grill Station.

On most eat all you can and hotel buffets I've tried, I usually find the grilled selections either cold, tough or dry.  But here, everything is cooked juicy, tender and still warm.  The marinade and sauces are a delicious and flavorful too.

The highlight is their ♥ Wagyu Steak!  You can have it cooked according to your preference.  I believe that some portions where better than the others.  I unfortunately got a really tough part and so did my celebrant uncle.

Main Course Station
There's a main course station with a mix of international cuisine.  During our visit, there's ♥ Mac and Cheese, ♥ Angus Belly and ♥ Angus Beef Cheeks and some sort of ♥ Mediterranean Chicken.  We loved all of those!

There are also fusion dishes like the Steamed Bun with Lechon Kawali.

Noodles Station
Although it has a lot of noodle soup variants, the Laksarap comes with a tempting image that lured us all to try it.

Laksarap

You can choose the ingredients you want for the Laksarap.  But, it comes in only 1 size - this huge bowl which I did not finish because it was tad too salty.  I felt like I was drinking salt with a hint of coconut milk.  I checked its ala carte menu, it charged 650 php for this.  If I ordered this for that price, I'd be very disappointed.


Chinese Station
High Street Cafe's Chinese Station really stands out from the rest.  Although found at the far end portion of the restaurant, it is huge and circular. 

Chinese selection begins with its Dimsum Carousel.  I forgot the options.  I was just certain it didn't have Shrimp Har Gaw that night.

Peking Duck Station

I believe the highlight should have been the Peking Duck Station.  But at around 8:00 PM, they already ran out of Peking Ducks with no refills through out the night. 



You can skip these cooked dishes...

And, save room for the ♥ Claypot Rice which everyone was raving about throughout the night.


Fruit Stand
For a healthy ending, you should pass by the Fruit Stand. 


Dessert Station
I don't think you'd be able to resist their dessert selections though.


It's a bit odd that there are tag prices on its Cake Selections. 

So my 10-year old nephew reasonably thought that they charge extra for those.  I had to go with him to clarify.  And, the staff pointed out that they only charge if you want to take out.


It offered Filipino desserts.  I didn't have the tummy space to try them.


The Gelato Station was noticeably more popular.  It even ran out of Vanilla Gelato.  Just like everything else that ran out for the night, this too was not replenished.  I don't understand why its system is like that.  Isn't refills expected from buffets? 

♥ Molten Lava Cake

I wanted to have my Molten Lava Cake in ala mode style.  The usual flavor for ala mode is Vanilla but since it doesn't have that anymore, I opted for the ♥ Ricotta Orange Gelato.  The Ricotta Orange Gelato complemented their rich, dark and bitter sweet fudgy Molten Lava Cake well.

Remember the The Cafe of Hyatt City of Dreams' Chocolate Fondant I've happily shared before?   This is at par with that.




I didn't get to try many of their cakes because we were all full from the cooked dishes.  If I were to pick two of my favorites, it would be the ♥ Green Tea Mousse and

♥ Berry Cake

this beautiful Berry Cake.

Drinks

Cappuccino (160 php)

The Juices are free.  But, wine and coffee have an additional charge.  This is actually our first time to encounter a hotel buffet that charges additional for coffee.  This cup of Cappuccino is priced at 160 php.  According to the staff, the reason why it is excluded is because they now lowered their buffet rate.  It used to be 2,480++ php for a dinner buffet rate and that night we were priced at 1,980++ php only.  Do you think that's fair?  Well, my uncles' thought it was. 

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Based on majority feedback from the Tsinoy Foodies clan (around 50+ of us), our dinner at High Street Cafe is money well spent.  Service is good!  The servers are happy to abide with any requests.  They even prepared a birthday surprise for my uncle with a cake and a song.  However, I think they should really work on the refills.  It's a bit disappointing to find out that they run out of food half way through their buffet hours.