Tagaytay Tripping

I had a wonderful, Badiday-ful weekend last long weekend, thanks to Ninoy Aquino and GMA's economic holiday policy (which I don't agree with, by the way, but that's another story and anyway I made the most of it!).

Tagaytay is not Tagaytay to me without a stop at either Antonio's or Sonya's. Surprised to find that Fine Dining is closed until September 30 as it is being renovated to accommodate Breakfast, which will move to the 'house', we made a detour to Antonio's Breakfast to check if the restaurant maintains its consistency with the Fine Dining menu now that Fine Dining is temporarily located there. I am happy to say that, as expected, Tonyboy Escalante's done a great job, somehow giving Breakfast that air of romanticism that Fine Dining has become known for (fight for a balcony seat, though, if you're there for the romantic ambiance as much as the food).

If you decide to visit, don't miss out on the Steak Tartare. Badiday is terrified of raw meat but after one bite of Breakfast's version, he became a convert. Meanwhile I fell in love with their Pear Salad, which is fresh as the dawn. Their rib eye is a whopping slab at the whopping price of P3,500 (roughly $80) but I would sooner order the duck because, aside from being gentler on the pocket, (1) it's easier on the colon (hehe) (2) it's easier to chew and (3) it comes with the most soft and sinful foie gras (well, ok, I guess they're even on the cholesterol count then). The seabass is also a winner, each bite like snowflakes in the winter. With the Tagaytay weather it truly is a wonderful weekend escape from hot hot hot Manila.

I skipped Sonya's on this trip because Badiday, through a friend, discovered a restaurant called Chateau Hestia, located at the other end of Tagaytay, toward Highlands. It's quite a drive and you will need specific directions to find it because it's in the "inskirt" of the city, but once you do find it, you'll be happy you took the effort to drive. I know I was.

We arrived at Hestia the same time as a man who drives a vintage Benz, and with the trellis at the restaurant's opening, it somehow felt very Gatsby. Then we were greeted at the entrance by Johannes, the Austrian restaurant owner, who opened Hestia with his Filipina lawyer wife around eight months ago. It always feels different to be greeted by a white dude when you enter a restaurant in the Philippines. I get disoriented, like, Where am I? It also feels weird giving your order to them. Maybe I'm alone on this but I always feel like I should be the host and the foreigner the guest in this country. Of course, I got over these exaggerated feelings of hospitality right away and placed my orders with the white dude anyway.


Given the hints of Europe all over the place - wooden crests on the ceiling posts, signs of imported beer, and of course, the very amiable white dude with heavy accent (I had to pinch myself to keep from asking about the Sound of Music and the Vienna Boys Choir) - I figured their sausages would be good. True enough, they were fantastic. They have a sausage platter that has different European nationalities (German, Austrian, etc.) and it was wonderful for brunch. I wished it came with scrambled eggs, though, but given the speed at which my ass is growing from all the eating I've been doing, it was just as well that it didn't.

Badiday had rib-eye again. (And again the next day, but that's another post.) Their rib-eye is very good. Aged twelve days, according to Jo (naks, close). We bumped into Mon of Myron's the next day and learned that this aging thing is very naks! because few people anymore actually still know the art of it. Come to think of it, that meat was very tasty. And very reasonably priced too, at just around a thousand bucks.

Midway through the meal, we noticed that a lot of foreigners flock to the place. A group of Lebanese businessmen on one side, an English (Danish? German?) couple across us. Badiday and I got a hearty laugh when the waiter picked up the chalkboard menu and brought it to the couple across us. Talk about a large menu!


Of course, Tagaytay wouldn't be complete without bringing home some pies from Bag of Beans (I've realized I like their pie with beef and inerds - parang dinuguan) and espasol! I just hate how small espasol's become these days. They're like the size of pastillas now in extra big wrappers!

CHATEAU HESTIA. Tagaytay City. 0929 711 3289. www.chateauhestia.com.
ANTONIO'S FINE DINING/BREAKFAST. 0918 899 2866.
BAG OF BEANS. 115 Aguinaldo Highway, Mendez Crossing West, Tagaytay City. 0920 954 6369. bagofbeanstagaytay.com