Tagaytay Food Trip: Buon Giorno

I love pasta and Italian food so I decided to have dinner on my second night in Buon Giorno, an Italian restaurant located at Cliffhouse. I realized at a later visit to Tagaytay that the view of Taal Lake from here is pretty spectacular so it's probably more ideal to have a meal here during the day.

The Buon Giorno menu is quite extensive so it took me a while to figure out what I wanted. As is the custom in most Italian restaurants, I was served bread along with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I love the bottle that contained both the oil and the vinegar:

I started with with the Buon Giorno's Special Salad (P218). This was pretty hefty, and the fact that it came with a lot of different ingredients that had contrasting tastes and textures made the dish quite lively. While some dressing - which was really good - had already been drizzled directly on the salad, a soup-spoon serving of it was neatly placed on the side of the plate in case you wanted more.

For my main course, I went with the Pollo Parmigiana (P507), a ham and cheese-topped chicken fillet with rich tomato sauce, served with spaghetti and a side of vegetables. The dish is quite expensive and taste-wise, I thought it didn't have a wow-factor, but the portion size was pretty good.

Plus points include the location (even if you visit at night and can't enjoy the awesome view, it's still a pretty cool and swanky place with a fair amount of parking slots), the portion sizes, and the wide selection of choices in the menu

*****

Buon Giorno Caffe and Bistro

4 Cliff House
(046) 483-2102

How to get there: From the Tagaytay-Sta. Rosa Road, turn right into Tagaytay-Calamba road. Go past the rotonda along Aguinaldo highway. Go past One Desitation (the place with a lot of restos like Teriyaki Boy, Pancake house, Starbucks, and Kon Tiki) and Leslie's Restaurant. Cliffhouse is right after Leslie's on the left side of the road.

Tagaytay Food Trip: Bag of Beans

I've been to Tagaytay a lot of times in the past and I've seen Bag of Beans several times in the past. Since I hadn't tried the coffee there yet, I made sure I included a stop here in my food trip.

Bag of Beans now has two locations in Tagaytay. One of them is in the rotonda area, which I believe is much newer. The one I have seen multiple times before is a bit past Mendez junction, somewhere between the rotonda and Sonya's Garden. Since this is the one I was more familiar with and I was easily along the way back from Sonya's Garden, I decided to spend my afternoon here. Looking at it from the road, you would think it is a pretty small cafe. What I didn't realize was that there was a much larger dining area at the back.

I found myself a cozy seat, ordered refillable Freshly Brewed Barako (P110). This was a perfect order for me since I planned to hang out in Bag of Beans for most of the afternoon and catch up on my reading.

After a couple of hours there, I decided to order Panacotta (P105).

The panacotta was decent and the coffee was really good. The fact that you can have refillable coffee makes this place a perfect place to just chill out for a few hours.

*****

Bag of Beans, Tagaytay

3650 Aguinaldo Highway, Mendez Crossing West

Tagaytay City, Cavite

(046) 413-2724

How to get there: From the Tagaytay-Sta. Rosa Road, turn right into Tagaytay-Calamba road. Go past the rotonda along Aguinaldo highway. Once you go past Mendez junction, keep an eye out for it on the right side of the road.

Tagaytay Food Trip: Sonya's Garden

Next stop in my food trip was Sonya's Garden. A lot of people I know who have eaten here and they generally have positive things to say. It is known for its organic food and ambiance so given the rich and heavy food I was expecting to eat while I was in Tagaytay and the fact that I wanted to know and experience what other people were talking about, I decided to have lunch here.

When I got there, I felt lost for a few minutes as I didn't know what the set-up was haha. I knew it was some kind of buffet but I wasn't sure how the food would be served. I wasn't in any rush so I just sat there until someone brought some clarity on the process. Apparently, the wait staff bring you each of the three courses one by one and you can tell them if you want more of that course or if you wanted to be served the next one.

To start things off, I got served a pitcher of dalandan juice that was very light and refreshing. They also served you bread along with a few "dips" - basil pesto, white cheese, tomato, and black olive tapinade.

The first course was a salad that came with a variety of ingredients such as mangoes, cucumbers, boiled egg, and nuts.

Second course was pasta. I got served a bowl of fettucini and a couple of sauces - sun dried tomato and chicken cream. They also served you a few options of other food items, such as ratatouille, shitake mushrooms, olives, and crispy salmon belly to mix in with the pasta sauce.

Finally, dessert. I got served three items - turon, chocolate cake, and sweetened camote - along with some tarragon tea. I think this was my favorite course. :)

While the chocolate cake was very rich and chocolate-y which matched perfectly with the tea, I was pleasantly surprised by the camote with mint leaves. There's a bunch of mint leaves in a small glass on the table, and one of the waiters suggested that I pick off one of these mint leaves and eat it along with the camote. This was truly a revelation!

The wait staff are very friendly and provide excellent service. I'd say the food is normal but a meal here is more about the ambiance and overall dining experience than just the food. I mean, there's something quite charming and comforting about eating in a garden setting and knowing that the food you got served was picked from the backyard.

It is recommended to reserve a table since Sonya's Garden does tend to get packed. Most of the tables were occupied when I had lunch there at 1pm on a Tuesday.

*****

Sonya's Garden

Barangay Buck Estate, Alfonso, Cavite, Philippines (near the vicinity of Tagaytay City, Philippines)

+63-9175329097 / +63-9175335140 / +63-9175231080

How to get there: From the Tagaytay-Sta. Rosa Road, turn right into Tagaytay-Calamba road. Go past the rotonda along Aguinaldo highway. The Sonya's Garden directions say that you should drive for about 10km past the rotonda, but I think it was more like 11-12km (I remember going past 11km and wondering if I already missed my exit.) After Splendido Golf Course and Sunrise Hill, make a right turn on Buck State. Drive about 2km. Sonya's Garden is on the left.

Tagaytay Food Trip: Breakfast at Lee Boutique

My hotel stay in Lee Boutique included free breakfast so I decided to claim it instead of driving to one of the many great places in Tagaytay to have the day's first meal. My breakfast included crispy bacon, toast, and scrambled eggs:

The verdict: it was basic. Not bad for a free or included meal but not something you absolutely need to wake up early for. (And by early, I mean before 10am hehehe I know for a lot of normal people that is already quite late in the day.) I figured that since it was "missable", I would just sleep in the next morning and skip breakfast.

Tagaytay Food Trip: Restaurant Verbena

I arrived in Tagaytay on Monday afternoon and decided that I would have dinner that night in Restaurant Verbena, located in the lobby of Discovery Country Suites.

A food trip only makes sense when you try a few things on the menu, so I knew I wanted to get an appetizer and a main course. You can check out their menu from munchpunch here (I can't find an official page for the resto apart from the Discovery Country Suites website).

I opted to start with the Bacalao & Chilean Sea Bass Cakes in the style of Spanish 'Croquetas' with Baby Greens and Caper Remoulade (P295). Quite pricey for only three cakes but they were pretty good.

I am so happy that they had a Verbena Sampler Plate on the menu because it meant I could try smaller portions of three different things that I really wanted to try: Moroccan Marinated Lamb Chops, Grilled Norwegian Salmon with Arugula- Mushrooms Salad and US Beef Short Ribs "Goulash".*

This dish was an absolute 'wow'! Everything on that plate was cooked perfectly. The combination of the items made for a great gastronomic experience, with the lightness and flakiness of the salmon providing an excellent contrast to the strong flavors of the lamb and the goulash as well as the richness and creaminess of the mashed potato. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the fried feta cheese, but overall this main course sampler was a complete joy to eat and has now been elevated to one of my most memorable meals ever!

I can understand why Restaurant Verbena has been rated quite highly. Apart from the great food, the ambiance is cozy yet vibrant and service is superb. It is definitely worth a visit.

I did check the munchpunch menu and noticed that it was updated last November 25, shortly after my visit there. The Bacalao and Chilean Sea Bass cakes don't seem to be available anymore. The Verbena Sampler Plate has a slight difference: the salmon and the beef ribs goulash are still there but they have replaced the Moroccan Marinated Lamb Chops with BBQ Lamb Baby Back Ribs. If I do visit Restaurant Verbena again, I think I'd still try the sampler. :)

*****

Restaurant Verbena

Discovery Country Suites
300 Calamba Rd, Brgy San Jose, Tagaytay City
(046) 413-4567

Directions: from the Tagaytay-Sta. Rosa Road, turn right into Tagaytay-Calamba Road. Discovery Country Suites will be on the left side of the road (lakeside) and you should see it before you reach the rotonda.

Tagaytay Food Trip!

So I finally get to blog about my food trip in Tagaytay! :) Back in November, my workload was incredibly massive so when I cleared my workload, I felt I just had to get away from the city to regain my equilibrium and to get some much needed rest and recreation. I bought 2 overnight stay vouchers for Lee Boutique that were about to expire so I decided to take a few days off of work and spend a couple of nights in Tagaytay. I didn't really have a specific plan in mind apart from watching TV, updating my ipod and just chilling. Then, a though. Food trip! There are so many good restaurants in Tagaytay that I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for me to try a lot of restos that I hadn't been to before.

I decided early on that I wouldn't scrimp on food - I felt I owed it to myself to enjoy the fruits of my labor - so I went to tripadvisor and looked up some of the top ranked restaurants in Tagaytay. I felt that Antonio's, which was given the highest ranking, was a bit too expensive and one meal there would cost the same as a three-course meal plus drinks in the other places, so I ended up choosing the following:

• Dinner in Restaurant Verbena (in Discovery Country Suites)
• Lunch in Sonya's Garden
• Afternoon coffee and snack in Bag of Beans
• Dinner in Buon Giorno
• Lunch in Chateau Hestia

I'll blog separately about the meals I had in each of these places.

Great run, Jessica!

Phillip Phillips was crowned this year's American Idol, which means Jessica Sanchez placed 2nd. I'm not really bummed about the result although I would have much preferred Jessica to win. What I am displeased about though was the massive pimping of Phillip during finale performance night. He got a marching band to back him up and a standing ovation from the judges who practically crowned him then and there, and I honestly don't think that performance merited that deluge of praise. I guess this really is WGWG territory and everyone else is just passing by. :)

It's the first time I followed American Idol closely in a long time, and that is really because Jessica was in it. I first noticed her when she sang 'It doesn't matter anymore' with Deandre Brackensack and Candice Glover (what a fantastic performance that was!) but it was her version of 'The Prayer' right before she got into the top 24 that got me hooked. She followed it up with a whole lot of solid and consistently good performances, sprinkled with a few moments of her own. Not only did she become a frontrunner with her version of 'I will always love you', her save was the best save in Idol history so far! And while she seemed to be losing a bit of ground after being saved, her showstopping rendition of 'And I am telling you' in top 4 week reminded people just how good she was and practically guaranteed a finale placement.

That she got to perform 'And I'm telling you' again in the finale with the legendary Jennifer Holliday who originated this song when she played Effie in 'Dreamgirls' back in the 80s is just icing on the cake. I still maintain that no one sings those big Dreamgirls hits better than Holliday (not even Jennifer Hudson) and you can see how experienced she is with this song when she takes the stage with Jessica, but I do think Jessica held her own. The extended standing ovation they got (that started midway through the song!) was merited, unlike a dozen other ones given this season haha, and their duet will be remembered as one of the best idol contestant-celebrity duets on the show ever. Here it is again:

 
video uploaded in youtube by salinesolution

While it's unfortunate that she didn't win the grand prize, she did leave with a car and a myriad of new fans globally. Somehow I'm confident that Jessica will land a record deal, and if she ends up having difficulty building a career in Hollywood, she can always come to the Philippines where she will surely make it big. :)