Guiltless Getaways: Gourmet Foodie Find at The Dining Room in Cavite and Preparation Tips on Coffee Dripping and French Press from a Coffeeholic Place near Tagaytay!

I've been a Tagaytay goer ever since I was a child and I've only discovered this place now.. Restaurants have began sprouting from home cooked meals, salad affairs and fastfood chains in the area for the past few years. The Gourmet Farms restaurant in Silang, Cavite (15 mins away from Tagaytay) actually has a "K" when it comes to the flavors (Italian and Mediterranean) that come out of their kitchen - I mean I prefer the things I've eaten here so far than other widely renowned ones known near here. I'm craving for their unique Nachos and that veggie Pizza right now haha. Being in the forefront of coffee roasting in the country, one bonus I got from this Gourmet Farms visit was a short course on the French press and manual drip way of preparing ("brewing") coffee. Because brewed doesn't mean a mechanical machine was used. By the end of it all, there's this newly found appreciation for coffee on a very full tummy :)

Our journey began with a farm tour and a surprise visit to St. Joseph's sanctuary. By lunch, we went back to a blue and white building that is The Dining Room.

There's buffet style salad with Gourmet Farms signature dressings.

They have banaba iced tea which "helps regulate fluids and blocks fat cells". I loved the a la carte menu from the pumpkin soup (P170)

to the Carbonara pasta (P280)

and to every last bit of this veggie pizza... The zucchini, parma ham, shrimp, herbs and grains of salt make a great combo!

My super favorite has got to be this Nachos. I could taste some lettuce chips, the Gourmet Farms salsa dip, olives, onions and tabbouleh (yummmyyy!).

There are so many more entrees available from tenderloin to salmon.

I have a soft spot for pianists, esp. when dining. Tea or coffee is available after your meal.

I'm not much of a coffee drinker because I don't feel well whenever I have a cup. Lucky for us, Mr. Len Reyes was there to shed light into some of the questions plaguing me this whole time. He told me to try putting 1 raw egg as I brew my coffee so that it will absorb the acid! Then maybe try dark roast, while bitter, is not as acidic as the medium and light counterparts. Arabica relaxes you even if you take it before bedtime because there's not much caffeine. Robusta is usually eaten with sweet food. Coffee takes the flavor of the surrounding plants in the area. More importantly, the beans have to be harvested at perfect maturity (not at 80%) red when picked then dried. The beans have to be sorted by size (they do manual sorting here) before roasting or else some that are deformed might burn easily or crack. It's also better to buy whole beans and store them in an airtight container then grind as needed because it loses texture, flavor, aroma and many other things to consider by 50x. Single-origin coffee comes from a single farm. He talked about the Philippines being the best coffee producers in the world during the old times. The Spaniards brought coffee growing technology to us and we can grow all three types for export. They planted first in Lipa, Batangas. Then the Gourmet Farms coffee roasting facility was put up and commercialized by Ernest Escaler.

For the preparation, the proper ground size must be observed according to the equipment you will use. Perhaps coarse grind for a coffee press and very fine grind for espresso. The temperature of the water must be before boiling point (92 to 95 Celsius) to prevent over-extraction (bitter). First, warm the cup and press.