Travel destinations: Tagaytay City, Philippines

Tagaytay City is an ideal destination for a quick escape from the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila being that it is only 60 kilometers away. Perched at more than 650 meters above sea level, this town on a mountain ridge offers breath-taking views of Taal Lake that surrounds Taal Volcano. From its highest point, one can get a glimpse of several provinces in Southern Luzon: Laguna, Cavite, Batangas and Quezon. Because of its cool climate, it is the perfect place for leisure activities such as golf, picnics, horseback riding, and camping. It is also a popular destination for sightseeing because of it breathtaking view of the Taal Lake and Volcano. Numerous hotels, spas and restaurants have set up home in Tagaytay making it one of the most tourist friendly destinations in the Philippines.

The weather in this mountaintop haven offers a splendid clime to many dining hangouts and tourist havens. The place is also synonymous to fabulous food, spiritual retreat or communing with nature. Urbanites also drive up to Tagaytay to simply buy locally grown fruits, honey, flowers, vegetables, plants and handicrafts.

A trip to Tagaytay and its neighboring areas is not complete without sampling its many specialty restaurants. Here are some:

Sonya’s Garden –

Just off the road to Nasugbu-Lemery, Sonya’s Garden is a restaurant inside what is virtually a greenhouse.

The dining area, wrapped in a mix of plastic, galvanized iron sheet and fish net, lies next to a flower garden. The smell of fragrant flower wafts in the air as one walks into the hall.

The set menu includes home-made pasta with a choice of two sauces (white sauce with chicken and a sprinkling of mango and a red sauce with sun dried tomatoes). Bottomless “dalandan” (a local citrus with a cross between an orange and lime) is served along with a generous bowl of salad and a choice of dressings.

Shrimp (or chicken), mushrooms, nuts and other ingredients you can put on your pasta or munch separately are thrown in, plus a small bowl of jackfruit.

Sonya’s people grow some of the vegetables and ingredients in the menu. The dessert-grilled sweet potatoes soaked in caramel sauce-is quite a delight to the palate.

Josephine’s-

Josephine’s is a glitzy restaurant overlooking Taal Lake. Its reputation goes a long way, built over a decade of indulging Pinoys’ taste for home-cooked dishes.

The restaurant’s ambiance is a cross between modern and traditional, but dining at Josephine’s offers a touch