This article isn’t just about Spanish bread but also about Cheese Hopia, Pan de Coco, and all the other divinely doughy delights proffered at the now-legendary Sonya’s Garden. See if this article doesn’t get you to planning a trip to Tagaytay ASAP. – Lori
Growing up, weekends meant going on a road trip to camp out at my Auntie Sonya?s farm in Tagaytay. It would be a sweaty day of reveling in the outdoors, playing taguan with my cousins, and harvesting food crops around her property. Our day would be punctuated by homecooked meals prepared by her cook, Gina, who is Bisaya and makes the most delicious dishes with gata. At night, we would all gather around a bonfire and tell stories over grilled corn. We would sleep under the stars and wake up to roosters crowing right outside our tents. Back then, it wasn?t Sonya?s Garden yet?it was simply a small piece of land in Alfonso where my aunt would indulge us all in her love for gardening and the desire to go back to a simpler, slower life. It?s the same philosophy that would fuel the birth of the garden restaurant that started it all (which turns 20 next year!), as well as the bed and breakfast cottages she built shortly after. And when the Panaderia opened some ten years ago, it was to fulfill the same type of longing: simple, nostalgic comfort food that takes us all back.

These pretty little round mounds are made with a flaky crust that gently chips away when bitten into, revealing a bed of rich, sweet Pa...