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Even their kitchen looks picturesque from the outside.

It’s that time of the week when we’re daydreaming of the weekend and making plans (oh, and hey, it’s a long weekend next week!), so if you’re up for a quick road trip, I suggest you head on over to Tagaytay for a visit to Nurture Wellness Village (click here to book your stay)—and this time, why don’t you try their healthy and delicious selection of non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes?

Fresh fruit juice from the juice bar, anyone?

There’s more to Nurture than their signature massages and body treatments, wellness programs, communing with nature, and beautiful and cozy accommodations (which I reviewed here recently). People now also visit Nurture to sample their delicious fare, specifically the Arroz Caldo, which we heard is quickly gaining a cult following.

The massive pot of Arroz Caldo

One order is good for two persons or more (if you’re trying other dishes) but would just set you back P250 per order. Maybe some of you are thinking, “That much for arroz caldo?! What in the world is in it?” Well, let me tell you: A LOT!

Arroz Caldo with seven toppings—order Kale Pandesal and Bread Sticks to go with it, too!

There’s chicken, of course, and then you can customize your Arroz Caldo by adding as much of the toppings served with your order as you want, according to your preference. That’s why I said this is the best arroz caldo ever: Besides the delicious timpla of the actual arroz caldo itself, I was able to put in as much of the ingredients I liked—and some were ingredients I never saw offered in other places that serve arroz caldo, or at least not all together in one order!

Toppings (clockwise from top left): garlic chips, chives, ginger, puso ng saging, chili, eggs

Toppings are ginger, puso ng saging, very strong chili, garlic chips (my favorite!), eggs, chives, and calamansi—all of which are grown in Nurture’s organic farm, so you know it’s all fresh, natural, and extra healthy. If there are certain toppings you like more, you can request another serving, too. And, they certainly don’t look it, but all the toppings are actually detox ingredients—so you don’t even realize it, but you’re getting a detox while you enjoy your steaming bowl of arroz caldo! It’s the best way to enjoy carbs!

I just had to have a close-up photo of the calamansi cut into the shape of Mickey. Haha!

Even the presentation is impressive, and the smell of the Arroz Caldo and the toppings instantly made my mouth water. Imagine the torture I had to go through to put off eating my Arroz Caldo long enough to photograph it. It’s a beauty, don’t you think so?

My masterpiece Arroz Caldo, after I’ve put all the toppings, with extra garlic chips of course!

It’s just the perfect comfort food and exactly what you want to be eating when you’re enjoying the cool Tagaytay weather, especially when it’s raining! Sarap! Feeling a bit under the weather? If there’s any way you can take the one- to two-hour drive to go there, this would be an awesome way to relieve yourself.

My boyfriend and I enjoying our Arroz Caldo for breakfast at Nurture

And, it definitely fills you up! It is served in a massive clay pot. I suggest you get a side order of Kale Pandesal and Kale Bread Sticks, too, if they’re available. Both are delicious, soft, and definitely healthy. They make it right in Nurture using kale they grow in their own farm (as mentioned in my first post, they actually have a kale garden, and you can get your supply of kale here!). The bread is served with butter and homemade pineapple marmalade.

Kale Pandesal and Bread Sticks in a basket

We had the Arroz Caldo for breakfast, but you may want to order it for merienda too. For dinner, I tried their Pork Binagoongan, the serving of which is so huge, it’s actually for sharing even if it’s meant to be just a solo order (as it comes with one cup of rice). I was overwhelmed by the huge portion at first, but then I ended up eating all of it anyway, because it’s THAT good. (Disclaimer: Pork binagoongan is one of my favorite Filipino dishes, and the one in Nurture is one of the best I’ve tried.)

Nurture’s Pork Binagoongan

The bagoong sauce has a creaminess to it that makes me think it was also cooked with gata with a little bit of chili for that mild heat. It also had a great balance of saltiness and slight sweetness, making the overall flavor delicious. Ang daming laman, and they used lean meat, not much fat—which I appreciated. They really make an effort to serve all their meat dishes with fat skimmed from them so they’re healthier. I hate taba; I work too hard to get my own fat off my body, why will I eat animal fat, right? Haha.

A closer look at the Pork Binagoongan

My boyfriend ordered the Tuna Inasal, which I didn’t get to try, but he told me it was cooked well and had a light sweetness to it from the sauce, which I’m guessing is traditional sinugba sauce. He said it tastes like your favorite chicken inasal, but instead of chicken it’s tuna. Haha. It’s served with buttered vegetables and a cup of rice, too.

Nurture’s Tuna Inasal

For dessert, we had Suman at Mangga, which is basically sticky rice and slices of mangoes wrapped in banana leaves and served with rich native tsokolate (that I drained after we finished the delectable and tasty suman).

Suman at Mangga

We washed down our meals with their refreshing signature Kale-pineapple Juice. Kale is their signature product, known to be rich in protein, Vitamin K, A, and C. The unique juice tastes healthy but delicious—unlike your typical drink when you’re doing a juicing program that seems to punish you more than it should, haha. Nurture’s juice has a sweet, leafy taste about it, so you know it’s good for you, yet every sip is so enjoyable.

Nurture Wellness Village is located at Pulong Sagingan, Barangay Maitim II West Cavite, Tagaytay. For reservations and inquiries, call 02-4019030 or 0917-6878837, or email info@nurture.com.ph. To book your stay at Nurture via Agoda, click here.

Photos by Trixie Reyna

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