Tagaytay City Getaway

December 10, 2010. To celebrate our wedding anniversary, Stephen and I planned a trip to Tagaytay City. We decided to leave the kids in the care of my MIL and their yayas so that we can spend time together as a couple.

As soon as we got to Tagaytay City proper, we immediately looked for a place to stay the night. This is the typical us as travelers, we like spontaneity. Especially that we got there on a Friday, we were confident we can find a reasonably priced lodge. However, the OC in me still brought in our itinerary and a map, just so our overnight stay will not go to waste. 

I found out about Keni Po while searching in the web for a cheap but nice lodging, so it was one of those places we searched. The others were just too pricey, we just need a place to spend the night because we intend to really make the most of our Tagaytay trip. According to the address, Keni Po is located in San Juan but not really familiar with the towns in Tagaytay, we had quite a hard time looking for it. After a while we just decided, 'let's look for that house we stayed in a few years ago'... but we don't know it's name or it doesn't have a name :( Anyway, when we finally found Keni Po, we realized it's the house we were looking for and we've been there before. What a coincidence! We got the room for P1,500.00 :)

Keni Po rooms, clean, with hot and cold shower, a mini ref and blow dryer.

After checking in we decided to eat lunch. It's already 1pm and we were famished! Stephen could only think of Bulalo and so we headed to Leslie's. This restaurant is overlooking Taal Lake and the view is such a plus.

Taal Lake

We ordered nothing else but Special Bulalo. Can you see the dish, it looks nasty, eh? But we were nastier because by the time we finished only the bone and soup were left. hehe.

Special Bulalo (beef marrow stew), around P330.00

Next stop, Bag of Beans! I was hoping to taste Alamid coffee but it's not on the menu anymore so I just orderred their house blend. Yum! Here are some of the photos I took in Bag of Beans. This placing is really relaxing. 

 Then off to Sonya's Garden we go! We got there a little late in the afternoon already. Strolled around the area, bought breads (the focaccia bread is superb, by the way) and took pictures, of course.

Ssshhhhh....

Oopps!

bed and breakfast area

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On the way out, it was getting dark already and this is what we found. Pretty!

Sonya's Garden really has interesting little nooks and crannies. Downside would have to be the bugs and mosquitoes which got me all paranoid.

Our last stop for the night, Fat Bill's Bed and Breakfast. I also found this on the web to be a nice bed and breakfast but we found Keni Po first. Maybe on our next visit, we'll stay at Fat Bill's. That's exactly what I said to our very cordial and hospitable hosts, none other than Bill himself and wife Esther. Bill happens to be a master chef, worked for many years in a Dubai hotel before retiring a couple of years ago. They are residents of Tagaytay for decades, though.

That's Bill right there smiling for the billboard :)

The restaurant's interior filled with British flag. I love the red theme, very warm and cozy

the Villas, price for an overnight stay starts at P2800.00

Because we were still full from our late lunch and coffee, we decided to order booze and a light meal. I ordered King Ranch Chicken. It was delicious, more like our chicken pastel with added herbs and spices. It came with fries. Perfect dish to go with my San Mig Light :)

Best part of our Fat Bill's experience was that we met 2 guys, one from New Zealand and another from Boston. One happens to be a professor in one of the major universities in Manila. We had a very mentally stimulating conversation with them. We exchanged calling cards and hope to see each other again.

Unfortunately, we were not able to go back the next morning for their English Pies but I heard they're sumptuous. 

This was out of our itinerary but ,on our way to Sonya's Garden, we found a sign pointing to Flower Farm  so we headed there. Now I remember this is the reason we reached Sonya's Garden late in the afternoon already. However, Flower Farm doesn't accommodate walk ins, you have to book in their Manila office prior to your visit.