An immaculate white room, hand-painted with bare trees and falling leaves, opened up as I climbed my way to my quarters. Above, a modern chandelier hanging from exposed rafters illuminated the hall. This isn’t bad at all, I told myself, as I unlocked the door to my room.

It was our first night in Tacloban and we went straight to Lorenzo’s Way Bed & Breakfast right after our plane hit the tarmac. We thought of eating first, but with our backpacks in the way, we thought of dropping everything off in our lodging first before setting out for dinner.

► SEE: MACARTHUR LANDING PARK

Located in Alfonso, Cavite; just barely on the outskirts of Tagaytay City is another favorite spot in the area of Metro Tagaytay, the amorous Sonya’s Garden.

The garden was originally a private escape for Sonya Garcia where she can entertain friends and families but through time grew to accommodate guests looking to experience country living amongst the lush trees and fragrant flowers.

It’s now become the getaway of choice for couples and families looking for something to soothe their city-weary souls.
Everything at this not-so-secret-garden-anymore speaks of the earth. The food is grown organically and harvested from the grounds itself by its owner, the products are earth-based, and the place can really be described as an Eden; flowers abound everywhere you look, vines hang down trellises in wild abandon, bushes and trees line its brick-laden paths, and greenhouses which are open to visitors are as common as houses on a subdivision.
Pass through it’s bakery and you’ll no doubt be hooked by the aroma wafting from its screened door.

Here they sell freshly baked goodies for visitors; from the humble pandesals, the French baguettes, to their specialties the Hispanis Bread and Cheese Hopia, they have everything to satiate the palettes of all bread lovers.
Their famed (or infamous for meat-lovers) eat-all-you-can set meal (Php610.00) is also something to try out. The fare starts out with a collection of leaves, flowers and everything green, then moves to their freshly baked wheat breads and assortment of spreads, culminating with their Salmon Belly Pasta and ending with desserts.

I loved everything, including the greens even if I’m not really a salad lover, except for the pasta course. The pasta itself was okay but the salmon that goes with it was just too hardy and was almost unpalatable.

Do check their full menu at this link: Sonya’s Garden Menu.
The garden also offers massages and wellness thingies for those wanting to ease off their bones and muscles. Those who can’t afford the somewhat steep prices for such (like me) though need not worry as sitting and relaxing in the many fairytale-like nooks located inside the garden would be enough to rejuvenate anyone’s tired-from-the-city-bustle bodies.
For those wanting an overnight experience of Sonya’s Garden, they do have accommodations for such since this is in fact a bed and breakfast. Prices are expectedly on the high side, and we haven’t really tried their rooms yet (so no photos, they’re off limits to non-guests). But judging from everything I’ve seen about this place, I’m totally betting it won’t disappoint.

Sonya’s Garden
Barangay Buck Estate, Alfonso, Cavite
(0917) 532-9097 | (0917) 533-5140
info@sonyasgarden.com | http://www.sonyasgarden.com

How to commute to Sonia’s Garden:
Ride a Nasugbu-bound bus and ask the driver to drop you off at Sonya’s Garden’s tricycle station (it’s around 15 to 20 minutes from Leslie’s in Tagaytay, look at your right for Sonya’s signboard in case the driver forgets to drop you). 
You may then ride a tricycle straight to the place (get the driver’s number for the ride back in case you are unable to get a tricycle on your way back.)

To cram the full Coffee Farmhouse experience into just one post I feel would be a great injustice to the place so I am dedicating a full article just for the food they served us during our stay there.

Upon confirming our reservation thru e-mail (we had a hard time getting thru their celphone), we were given a list of dishes to choose from. We were asked to pick our brunch, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, the next day breakfast, brunch and lunch. That’s a total of seven lip-smacking, gut-busting, home-cooked meals.

Leaving Manila at around 7am, we were unable to make it to their 10am brunch. They moved our missed meal without us even asking if we can have it as an afternoon snack the next day. Now that is excellent service if you ask me.

Now on with the food. 

First meal at the farmhouse; lunch. We had pritong lumpiang shanghai (fried pork spring rolls) and ginataang sitaw at kalabasa (squash and stringbeans on coconut milk). What surprised us was that main meals were also accompanied with desserts.  And the first one we had were four slices of sweet melons.

Off the outskirts of Tagaytay City lies one of the best bed and breakfast place I have ever stayed at. A former coffee plantation, it has since been turned into a resort catering to people looking for a quiet getaway from the daily rush of the metro. Just when I thought I have seen everything Tagaytay has to offer, here comes The Coffee Farmhouse.

The farmhouse started out as a mere business acquisition for husband and wife Bert and Bebet Arenal, they purchased the land hoping to sell it again. Lucky for us, they were unable to find a suitable buyer and they had to resort to Plan B.

An open wrought iron gate, zigzagging darkly lit wooden pathways, mysterious life-sized paintings, old earthen jars and mystically lighted trellis tunnels.  This is how we were welcomed to one of Tagaytay’s secret getaways, The Moon Garden.

Departing at three in the afternoon from the blistering heat of Manila, we crisscrossed our way past the infamous traffic along Cavite and chased the setting sun for a taste of the cool Tagaytay breeze.  Stepping down at the Olivarez Plaza, we flagged one of the tricycles in the area for a direct ride to the Moon Garden.