Sonya's Garden: the place to heal a heart

I'm a bit late with blogging about my food, travel and whatever adventures I've had and this is one of them. Sometime last year in the middle of my "I'm heartbroken" drama, I went on a road trip with three high school friends to Tagaytay. At that time, I was craving for breakfast food at Antonio's but everyone wanted to try Sonya's Garden. I didn't really mind since I heard a lot about it and wanted to see if I'm happy with what they can give.

A friend told me how Sonya's came to be. She basically started gardening because her heart was broken and eventually decided to open her doors to the public when her friends convinced her to do so because of the great ambiance that she has created and the good quality of food that she can cook wherein the greens and herbs comes from her own garden.

Whether the story is true or not, I'm glad to have come to this place. We had their eat all you can menu but failed to make a reservation beforehand so we did not have any meat during our dinner. For 650 PHP, the dinner includes:
 -Unlimited bread with 6 kinds of spreads and pate
-Green salad with house dressing
-Pasta with Marinara and Mango Sauce
-Unlimited freshly squeezed Dalandan juice
-Chocolate cake and Turon

We loved the bread and the tomato and garlic spread as well as the salad. The mixed greens were really fresh and crunchy to the bite. For the pasta, I found the marinara sauce a bit sweet and hopefully they can make the mango sauce tastier. For chocolate cake, my only request is to make the servings bigger. 

I liked how they furnished the place and the lighting was not too bright but not to low either. I love the plants all over the place and the seats in the garden with with the white sheets hanging. I believe this is a great place for dating but for someone who went there with a broken heart just like when I did...I just felt good vibes all over.

Here are some of our pictures:

 

 Sonya's Fresh Green Salad

 

 Turon

 

 The ambiance at Sonya's Garden

 

 Some furnishings

Some pictures of us at the garden and the gift shop:

Breakfast Haven

A family trip to Tagaytay was one thing I did not expect. Despite the lack of sleep, I did not fail to convince my parents that we eat at Breakfast at Antonio's.

If you think you're going back to the nice white house with the beautiful view of Taal volcano, think again. They have actually transferred to the old Antonio's but nevertheless, one could not be disappointed.

We were greeted by a nice sunny weather, cool Tagaytay air and very hospitable staff. The furnishings were not disappointing as well.

We ordered salad with pears in white truffle vinegrette. The greens were fresh and crunchy. The candied walnuts gave just the right amount of sweetness. The pears were sweet. I love the nutty kick of the arugula as well. But the truffle oil in the dressing was what made my day.

I ordered the spanish chorizo fritata and was craving for it for a long time. The eggs were fluffy, the spiciness of the chorizo also made it a very good morning. The cheese made a good binder of the different tastes and textures of the dish.

My Dad got the corned beef and he is an avid fan of corned beef as I can remember. He barely talked as he ate. I was able to taste it. the beef was really tender and tasty.

My baby sister got the Eggs Florentine. It looks so good. I'll order it on my next visit.

My other sister got the 4 cheese omelette...really good too. I lack words to describe it.

I forgot the name of what my mom ordered. It was beef on top of thinly layered potatoes. The beef was really tasty too.

Our guests got the Recado longganisa, they said it was really delicious too.

It's just not the food though that I enjoy at Breakfast at Antonio's but it was the dinning experience. The chef even greeted us, turns out his wife was my mom's student in AC. The staff was very friendly and the service was fast. They seemed to make sure you get served right away. The ambiance was just lovely...perfect for a nice family brunch.

I would definitely go back especially they gave us a gift certificate. Even with no GC though, I would definitely have another Antonio's experience.

Escape to Taj

After a weekend outing in Anilao Batangas with my old team, some of us decided to head to Tagaytay to have some Indian food. It's a first for some of us to eat at Taj, an Indian and Asian fusion restaurant. Josh drove us to Tagaytay. We had a short stop over at Rowena's to get goodies for those who can't join us. Sans, Tom, Shai and I were just excited to experience this new gastronomic feast.

As we walked in, I was awed by the Indian decoration all over the place. What really caught my attention was the wall mural of Shiva right beside our table. The rich colors of that mural made me realize that it can produce a great picture. We had crazy photos amidst a great back drop. I made my friends pose right in front of it where I can eventually edit the photograph and make us look like models. I had to have my own pose too as this was too good to pass.

But this really made me feel the Indian culture as we were waiting for our food. Aside from the decors, the music adds to the charm of the place. It is not just the Jai Ho song we get to hear a lot lately but really good Bollywood music.

The food was great. We had beef and mutton biryani. The meat of both dishes were really tender and tasty. The basmati rice in the dish perfectly compliments the taste of the meat.

Beef/Mutton Biryani

We also had Chicken curry for our non-beef eating friend. The chicken was really tender and the sauce was really tasty.

Chicken Curry

We ordered Rogan Josh, for two reasons: 1st its a mutton dish that Sans wanted since she loved mutton, 2nd its because of the name of the dish which Sans and Josh wanted to order because Josh is in the name of the dish. The mutton was really tender and the sauce was great for dipping the two kinds of bread we ordered.

Rogan Josh

The 2 kinds of bread that we ordered were Roti Cannai and Buttered Naan. The Roti was really soft contrasting to the Naan which was a bit chewy. The Roti was also a bit sweet and I just loved dipping it in the curry. The butter in the Naan gave it a different kick.

Buttered Naan

I got to experience a unique kind of drink, the Rose flavored Lassi. Lassi is a yoghurt based shake but what made it interesting is the Rose flavor. It's sweet and light tasting at the same time. The pink color just made it really appetizing.

Rose Lassi

The decorations of the place was unique and it added to the Indian flair of the restaurant. The also have a hotel called Andanita and the rates was really reasonable when we asked. Rooms come with free breakfast and a free massage. Taj is definitely one place I would like to visit again. Here are more photos from Taj.

Wall Decor

Tile details on the table

Ceiling Drapings

Decor made of grains of rice