Sonya’s not-so-secret garden 17 April 2007

I first came across this little-known secret hideaway in Mabuhay Magazine (you know, the glossy travel mag you get during your Philippine Airline flights). Then I remember my cousin from the US mentioning that she wanted to visit here, as she apparently had read the same article. It boasted of beautiful gardens, healthy food, and quirky, homey way of decorating. It also had a spa (read, girly haven). With this combination, it had to be good.

With summer upon us, this is a perfect place to spend a lazy afternoon (or weekend) for a much-needed bucolic respite.

At Grandmama’s table …

Of course, by the time we got there, it was almost lunch … so lunch it was! I didn’t realize that Sonya’s had become such a huge hit. I guess that Mabuhay article really upped their clientele. Instead of the picturesque little tables in the garden, there was a huge dining area. It felt like you were in a greenhouse, with the gardens off to one side and the constant drip drip drip drip of water on fiberglass panels was quite soothing – needed since the place was packed (mostly balikbayans, and quite a number of business meetings going on)!

Seems like you are eating in your grandmother’s garden. And the tables were decorated ala “shabby chic” with dominant whites, and mismatched cutlery and china. Very informal and quaint!

No ala carte menus here. You ate what they served you. They had a fixed menu of crisp salad, freshly baked bread, 2 pasta choices (tomato-based and/or chicken mango in a cream), and dessert. To wash it all down, there was bottomless dalandan juice. Not sure if the menu rotated, as my companions said that they ate the same things on their last visit.

Fresh salad, hot bread
The salad was extremely fresh – everything was sourced from Sonya’s gardens we were told. It had an interesting mix of romaine, iceberg lettuce, lollo rosa, and rocket. There was one leaf I couldn’t identify – it tasted strangely of papaya but looked like takip kuhol? There was also an assortment of fresh fruits (mango, pineapple), cucumbers, boiled egg, peanuts. Vinaigrette – you pour it how you like it.

The bread was nice and warm, wrapped up in cloth napkins and snuggled in little baskets. Well, they had a panaderia here, so it was baked fresh. Along with the bread came an assortment of spreads – anchovy, tomato, olive, humus, white cheese, just to name a few. It was nice to be able to sample everything and vote for our favorites.

I prefer my pasta al dente
The main course, the pastas were a tad disappointing. After the salad and bread adventures, I was expecting the pasta to blow me away. The noodles were mediocre and obviously had been cooked a while back, they had stuck together and some bits were even hardened and uncooked!

Another array of little containers came out for the pasta. It was another round of mix-and-match the ingredients. I snubbed the seemingly overly creamy chicken and mango, for the tomato-based sauce and added grilled eggplant, black olives, capers and anchovy sauce (to make a quick puttanesca). I didn’t eat much pasta but decided to try all those things in the little white containers. There was some salmon belly there, but it was overly oily so I decided to just wait for dessert.

Sweet tooth
When dessert finally came, the table was just so packed with little containers it was getting to be quite cluttered. Everyone seemed full and quite ready to stop eating. But the sight of dessert made even the strongest wills crumble. The chocolate cake with sinful chocolate frosting came first – a little too sweet for my taste. Then strangely, there was mini fried turon (saba banana with langka wrapped in dimsum wrapper and deep-fired) and camote drenched in caramel. What a strange combination with chocolate! Most passed on the second dessert course. Talk about overindulgence!

I generally liked to concept of eating this way – no need to look at a menu, and the make-your-own salad and pasta. The salad and the bread get my thumbs up. But the sad reality is that I had the feeling that the dips had been “recycled,” and with the pasta having been cooked way in advance, it was just a damper on an otherwise lovely meal. Then, the dessert wasn’t such a sweet ending, it was just too much of a good thing …

Garden of my dreams
To walk off all that food, we decided to wander around the famed gardens. When I finally got to visit the gardens, I swear it was déjà vu – it seemed to be place was where I had dreamed I would have my dream wedding. But maybe for our second wedding (9 years late, ha!)

The gardens have a very relaxed feel to them, giving the illusion of effortless grace and beauty. But I do know much work must’ve gone into their making and their care.

What I really love about the place is these little semi-hidden nooks, perfect for an afternoon of reading (and snuggling with a special someone).

The same goes for the cottages (where you can stay overnight). The very personal touches give you the feeling that it isn’t some commercial space, but rather you stumbled into someone’s home.

(As this is getting lengthy – and my hands ache – I will let the photos speak for themselves.)

Prices:

• Full meal - PhP 500
• Cottages: PhP2,500/person (weekdays), 2,800/person (weekends and holidays) - inclusive of breakfast, dinner or lunch (includes serenade) and “the art-of-doing- nothing activities” (massage, free lessons in basic gradening, compost making, plant propagation, flower arrangement, wreath making, cooking lessons using herbs)
• Sonya’s Pampering Salon - body scrub (1.5 hrs- PhP1000), massages (1 hour, range from PhP600-1000), facials (PhP300-950), aromatherapy steam bath (20 mins. - PhP300), body wraps (40 mins. - PhP1000), other beauty treatments

Sonya’s Garden Restaurant & Country Bed and Breakfast
Buck Estate, Alfonso, Cavite
Tel: 0917.533.5140, 0917.532.9097, +634.6413.2081
Email: infoATsonyasgarden.com (replace AT with @)
URL: http://www.sonyasgarden.com

Directions: From South Superhighway, exit Sta. Rosa. Take right going to Tagaytay. Upon reaching main Aguinaldo Highway, turn right towards Nasugbu, Batangas. Go past rotonda, proceed 10 kms. After Splendido Gold Course and Sunrise Hill, make a right on Buck Estate. Drive 2 kms. Left gate.

Others blog about Sonya’s too:
Angelhouser
Biagkensiak
Sweetlouie

Photos at firefly digital designs.
Reviews on 43places.