an idyllic monday

Pretty daybed at Sonya's Garden

Rarely, if at all, do I describe Mondays as idyllic. But the 26th was different. I went on leave, Francis did too, and we headed off to Tagaytay to celebrate nine years of a blessed relationship.

Monday morning, I woke up to the ringing phone at 8:30. I knew it was Francis beating me to be the first one to greet "Happy Anniversary!". I had to give up. He always wins even in our monthsaries. A little chit-chat and we hung up. I dozed off--proof that these days, I'm having a hard time waking up earlier than 9am. Haha! Anyway, I had to remind myself that that was a big day, so I jumped out of bed at 9:30 and went about my morning rituals. Come 12nn, I can hear Francis turning off his car engine in front of our house. Said my see-you-later to my two loving dogs then we were off to catch lunch somewhere on the way to Tagaytay.


Market! Market! was the chosen luncheon place. It was Kenny Rogers, to be more specific. After satisfying ourselves with Solo B, we headed straight to Tagaytay. I was actually worried about the weather because the previous days brought a heavy downpour. Though it wasn't totally sunny, we're thankful that our prayers were answered: the sun peeked every now and then.


We saw the cloudy sky of Tagaytay at around 4pm, and we immediately proceeded to Residence Inn Zoo--a usual destination every time we're in the area. Took a lot of pictures, of course. And when it was finally getting dark, we headed to the famous Sonya's Garden.


Tucked in Buck Estate, it took us about 5 minutes or so to reach the place. Though it was drizzling, Sonya's didn't fail our expectations. I've already read a couple of reviews about it; a former colleague of mine was even highly recommending that we visit it for a date. The moment we entered the dining room, we knew we made the right choice. And what a sweet coincidence that we were the only guests for dinner (perhaps it was a slow day due to the rain; and it was a weekday).


I've also read about the set menu that they serve, and the reviews are good. But as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. Indeed, the food is superb. The 560 tag (plus 100 service charge) per head is well worth it. For starters, it was a hefty serving of green salad with lots of garnishing. Now I am not a fan of green salad. In fact, I don't eat it at all. But I told myself that I might as well try this for the first time. And with Sonya's Secret Salad dressing, I became a convert. I even had two servings! Then came the freshly baked bread with four choices of homemade dips: anchovies, pesto, white cheese, mushroom paté and tapinade. After that, the main course was up: pasta with two choices of sauce--sun dried tomato and chicken cream with mango. The latter is heaven! I can still savor it in my mouth! There's also black olives, mushroom, capers and salmon belly, which is also gastronomic. By this time, we were already in love with Sonya's. But of course, there's still dessert, and for us, it was a slice each of chocolate cake (yummy because it's not too sweet), caramelized sweet potatoes and sweet banana rolls. And the drink? Bottomless dalandan juice and a cup each of tarragon tea. Man, we were so full and sleepy.


Before hitting the road for coffee, we strolled for a while to check out the garden, and it is indeed enchanting. The scenery would've been better had we visited at an earlier time. Still, there are no regrets, because that only means more reasons to come back (we will, actually!).


Photo ops, photo ops, then we were on our way to Starbucks to cap off the night. After an hour of unhurried conversation, we were hitting the road home.

Nine years of being together is something we'll always be proud of; and we know this is only the beginning...

(More photos here!)