Having “Thursdates with Mu” and apo says Tagaytay gives her Sapa vibes. Sapa in Northern Vietnam was our recent travel together and we still remember that hill town “in the clouds”. Foggy when we arrived in Tagaytay, rainy when we slurped our ramen somewhere in Alfonso, and clear now as we sip our beers. Hello, everyone! Let’s do a field trip / cafe crawl in Tagaytay /Alfonso, Cavite. Apo had a long list of cafes, restos and a brewery to visit, all very neatly plotted on a map. My “trainee” is doing even better than me in the travel research department! On our ride here, we settled on 3 spots in her itinerary. A ramen lunch, a coffee stop and a brewery to check out. Sounds like a good plan?

Surugin Ramen House reminded me of an Edo town somewhere near Kyoto as we slurped our steaming ramen and devoured the gyoza. It drizzled while we enjoyed our lunch al fresco under a shed. There were just the two of us here on this Thursday though I hear weekends are real busy. As in long queues! Just as well we came on a weekday. Took us all of 2 hours though, driving from Makati. Some portions of the expressways ain’t no express drives. Especially before and soon after the toll exits. Anyway, we “owned” the place so we took the chance to loiter around the gardens and checked out the cottages while waiting for lunch to be served. A pity though that they don’t serve hot tea. The only “flaw” to a good ramen meal. Tsk. Tsk.

Post-lunch, we headed to our next stop for some coffee. Frankly, café has been more a dessert for moí lately. The coffee concoctions have been bolder, sweeter and overall more “sinful” unless you settle for a simple, straight-out espresso or good ol’ black coffee. We chose to drink our coffee hot this time, as it started to rain and the temps grew cooler. It even went foggy on our drive here which triggered our Sapa memories. 😍 We were also pleasantly surprised that Kape’an even has a fishpond and a hotel. The sprawling gardens make for perfect spots to enjoy your latté or non-coffee bevs like my “Nut-so-coffee”. We spent more time here than necessary. Drawn to check out the hotel rooms, we walked deep into the estate and passed a pond and several more al fresco coffee spots on our way to the hotel. I can’t believe this hotel existed since 2015! Very well maintained, I must say. We checked out the rooms and found a detached unit that suits a family of 6 or even 8. The unit has a bedroom and a loft (with 4 beds!) plus a sitting room and a kitchenette. I was tempted to book it right away for a family staycation. Staying in shouldn’t be a problem since there’s Kape’an and a restaurant within the hotel compound. The swimming pool looked very inviting too.

There could have been a couple more stops but we opted to spend more time in this brewery before calling it a day. We’ve heard horror stories about the traffic even on expressways. Papa Bolo Brewery is a revelation. I’ve been to Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam and find that the same experience can be repeated here. The place looks so impressive with all the modern touches. The menu has many offerings and while we’ve tried only 2 kinds of beers, both were good. I can imagine many events taking place here. And seriously? The place looks so inviting with the barrel dining and drinking spots on all 3 floors, each with a view of the glasscased brewery . Then there’s an area where bigger groups can enjoy small parties in comfort with game machines around.

All told, it’s been a good day to discover new places. I’ve always loved Tagaytay. It’s my own “Disneyland” when I was a child. My happy place. Of course, it was way simpler, less busy and not crowded then. I am delighted that there has been many flourishing restos, boutique hotels and shops around here. And the vibrant coffee scene! I only wish the authorities manage this development very well. There have been a lot of blunders in the past administrations but I remain hopeful that local businesses here can be nurtured while made responsible and sustainable. After all, it’s a go-to destination for most tourists as well as locals because of its proximity to Manila. With the traffic even getting worse, I hope for better infrastructure for ease of transport and access for everyone. There’s only one Tagaytay and one Taal Volcano and Lake, the sights of which never fail to mesmerize me. Fell in love with that scene as a child, and still recall a big painting in our living room of the same scene. As a child, I don’t remember a morning that I didn’t look at that painting. Still stuck in my mind. 🥰