Farmer's Table in Nurture Wellness Village, Tagaytay
Whenever I think of visiting Tagaytay, this place immediately equates to relaxation, comfort and good food. I guess, my parents feel the same way that's why we have been frequenting Tagaytay so much since I was in high school and every long breaks would be spent here. A lot of changes have took place since those days as Tagaytay is now filled with rows after rows of establishments thus giving every visitor endless options on where to stay to where to eat. Unlike before where we would quickly pack our bags and head up to Tagaytay during a long break, this time, we would try to avoid heading there on a holiday unless we plan to spend most of our time on the road.
However, this has never stopped us from having Tagaytay as one of our top destinations whenever we just want a quick and relaxing family break. During one of our weekend trips in Tagaytay, we decided to check out Farmer's Table which is part of the Raintree Group of Restaurants. Others may not know this nor would they care as much but for me, I have been a fan of the Raintree brand such as Jones all Day, Chotto Matte, Saboten and back then, they had MoMo, Mr. Jones and Chelsea. They always have the yummiest comfort dishes and they also always give good service all the time.
Farmers Table is located within the same compound as Nurture Spa so it's perfect if you want to stay the night or go for that much-deserved massage. I highly recommend that you make a reservation prior to visiting as despite the size of the restaurant, it can easily be filled up especially during peak seasons.
At the entrance, you can check out various local products that they have on sale. From plants to accessories and even freshly baked breads and spreads that you can bring home with you. I decided to skip shopping though and headed straight to our table as I was starving!
What sets Farmer's Table is that they promise that each dish is made with the freshest produce from their garden or from local suppliers. It's literally farm-to-table in every sense of the word and so we made sure to order more veggies to make the most of this concept.
We started with the Plant-Based Kale Caesar Salad (Php. 450). I have to admit that I was a bit hesitant with this as I am not a huge fan of kale as I find it a bit too bitter. Paul was so keen on trying this though so sige na nga, let's see how it turns out. Apparently, it's not 100% kale. The salad has a mix of fresh romaine lettuce and kale and it's tossed with fresh basil, tofu croutons and their homemade garlic lemon and tahini dressing. It's definitely far from the usual caesar salad that we are all familiar with but I have to say that Paul made the right choice in ordering this. It was good, the veggies were all well coated and the dressing was tasty. You barely can tell that you're eating 100% meat-less as they have added in crispy garbanzos and capers thus giving it an interesting texture.
Given that the Kale Caesar Salad was good, I also tried the famous Kale Chips and Dip (Php. 350). I'm guessing that this is their version of the popular Fried Kangkong Chips. This was just a-okay, a bit lacking in the flavor department and it was just a bit too greasy to be fully enjoyed. Here, I was able to detect the bitter aftertaste from the kale and not even the malungay-pesto mayonnaise dip was able to mask it since it was also on the bland side. Okay...NEXT!
I wasn't ready to give up on our veggie starters and so we had another crowd's favorite -- Hothouse Crispy Cauliflower and Broccoli (Php. 420). Okay, now this was GOOD! So good that I attempted to even recreate this at home. Think buffalo chicken but only with crispy cauliflower and broccoli. Even the kids liked this but they can only take in a few bites before saying "hot hot hot!" I love the bleu cheese dip that also came with it. Yummy!
My kids chose the Beer-Battered Fish and Chips (Php. 575) which we all think was a good choice. The serving was HUGE and it was legit beer-battered fish fillet with coleslaw, local vinegar and tartar sauce on the side. They also had a generous portion of fries which they approved of. They enjoyed this very much and we just ordered a cup of rice because as you know.. rice is life for the #AngTwins.
I saw that they had Mr Jones US Beef Tapa (Php. 450) on the menu but Paul wanted to go meatless all throughout the meal. Boo! Luckily, Ate L was with us that day and she was game enough to share this favorite dish of mine with me. It's just the way I love it -- flavorful and super garlic-loaded fried rice, creamy scrambled egg and the tastiest and most tender beef tapa in town. So good! Even Ate L agreed that it was good.
We could have ordered more but I was with a group of very light (and rather picky) eaters so I will have to wait till our next visit to try more of Farmer's Table's specialties. I totally had my eyes on Pancit Hacienda, Beef Kare Kare and their Crispy Fried Tawilis too.
To end our meal, we had the Dark Chocolate & Rosemary Cookie Dough Skillet (Php. 375) which made the twins very happy. It's freshly baked and served with a scoop of mantecado (vanilla and butter) ice cream and crushed walnuts on top. So good and comforting!
As for me, I had the Cinnamon Apple Pie Flat White (Php. 250) and guys, this is THE BEST espresso-based drink that I've EVER had in my life. I'm not exaggerating ha but it's really the best and I urge all of you to give it a try. Paul asked to take a sip and I guarded him closely. He might liked it so much and might end up taking more than a sip. Haha! It has just the right amount of sweetness and I never thought that you can make your coffee really taste like a warm cinnamon apple pie. I can't stop thinking about this week and even months after our visit. I wish they would have this in their Metro Manila restaurants too.
What a beautiful dining experience at Farmer's Table and it's been a while since we've been back. This definitely calls for a return visit soon.
Farmer's Table is located at Nurture Wellness Village, 7310 Pulong Sagingan Maitim 2nd West in Tagaytay City. Drop them a message on Facebook to make a reservation or call them at +63-905-3877993