tagaytay pig-out sunday: verbena, sonya's garden, and bag of beans

we decided to go for a quick drive to tagaytay yesterday to have lunch and just get a whiff of non-manila air. we finally got to eat in verbena at discovery country suites, then go for a walk around sonya's garden, and top the day off with apple pie a la mode at bag of beans.

first stop: verbena at discovery country suites
susie and i have always wanted to try the food there, since we've read a lot of good things about the place. but whenever we're in tagaytay, we always end up eating somewhere else. this time, though, we weren't going to let anything get in the way between us and verbena.

service at verbena is wonderful: we were greeted courteously by the guard as we parked, opening the car door for me, and asking us how he could be of assistance. he ushered us into the cozy country-home style interiors, where a friendly waiter was waiting to accommodate us.

tagaytay was especially hot yesterday, and i was at first disappointed that the restaurant was only fan-cooled. but after a while (and a few sips of beer), i started to cool off while enjoying the view from my side of the table (pictured above).

after browsing through the verbena menu, susie and i settled on the organic mozzarella cheese pot for our appetizer, with additional cream of asparagus for susie. i initially wanted the oysters, but the waiter told us they were all out. for the main dish, susie chose the pork chop, and i decided to go for the burger.

everything we had was just wonderful, including the two complimentary dishes that the chef sent out for us. the first one was an appetizer that was sort of like a breaded deviled egg, and the other complimentary dish was our chocolate dessert, which susie ended up finishing almost by himself.

i feel a bit ashamed because i wasn't able to finish my burger, even though it was really good! i'm really not used to eating a lot of bread before a heavy meal. but i resolve to make it up to verbena by going back and eating there again. susie was also delighted with his pork chop, and he even asked the waiter to tell the chef that his dish was fantastic.

next: sonya's garden
i've never been to sonya's garden EVAR, so we thought this might be a good time to check out the place. after all, we needed to walk the bloated feeling out, and a nice romp in a garden might help with that.

we enjoyed walking along the brick-lined paths and discovering huts and pavilions througout the place. the property was huge that you just end up stumbling into sprawling dining halls and cozy nooks wherever you go. i had so much fun taking photos of the place.

we were also able to check out the country store, where i got oatmeal soap and honey facial soap for P50 each. there was a coffee table book about sonya's garden being sold as well.

after taking a lot of pictures and exhausting all the brick-lined avenues on-site, we left sonya's and drove to...

bag of beans for dessert
i've been having major apple pie cravings for the past few weeks, and i wasn't going to leave tagaytay without having bag of beans's apple pie a la mode. susie couldn't believe that i could already eat something so heavy after the feast we just had. that's just how i roll, i guess.

the apple pie hit the spot. very filling. the crust was yummy, and the mix of cinnamon and apple was just perfect. *sigh* i'll be back there again for another serving, that's for sure!

take a look at more photos of our tagaytay sunday getaway.

contact information:
restaurant verbena at discovery country suites
address: 300 calamba road, san jose, tagaytay city
phone number: (046) 4132540
mobile number: +63915172150
email address: rsvn@discovery.com.ph
take a look at restaurant verbena's menu

sonya's garden
address: barangay buck estate, alfonso, cavite
mobile numbers: +639175329097 or +639175335140
email address: info@sonyasgarden.com

bag of beans tagaytay
address: 115 aguinaldo highway, mendez crossing west, tagaytay city
phone numbers: (046) 413 4356; (046) 413 2724
mobile numbers:+63923 454 4797; +63920 954 6370
email address: bagofbeanscoffeeshop@yahoo.com