another hidden tagaytay gem

fresh air. cool climate. relatively close proximity. these are just a few obvious reasons why we love tagaytay. to celebrate valentine’s day, i secretly planned a lunch date at our favorite city.

i wanted a new place for that new experience. so i researched as early as january but february came and i still haven’t found the right place. little did i know that i would get the answer from one of selle’s regular magazine buy, yummy magazine. 🙂

bawai’s is a hidden weekend restaurant in tagaytay. it’s actually a house which opens itself up to the public during weekends and transforms into a restaurant (hence the term, weekend restaurant). it’s not surprising that this restaurant is considered to be the source of the best home-cooked vietnamese cuisine in all of the country because bawai (which means lola in vietnamese), the chef, is a true vietnamese.

non-commercialized. practically unknown to both of us. serves the best food. intimate ambiance. what more do you look for in a date place? 😉



and it was a lovely date indeed. we practically had the place all for ourselves. 🙂 even though we’ve tried vietnamese food before, everything we had there was new to us… and isn’t it always nice to experience something new with the one you love? 😉

bawai’s is truly a gem-of-a-find. we will definitely be back… for the food, the ambiance and the warmth of the owners. 🙂 also, next time, we won’t be overdressed. 😆


the smile of a happy wife…. priceless. 🙂






we agree with the experts, the best vietnamese cuisine in the country.
(from top to bottom) 1) hot tea to start everything off. we consumed 2 pots of this. 😀
2) goi cuon or vietnamese fresh lumpia. instantly became selle’s favorite. 🙂
3 & 4)ho tieu and pho bo. vietnamese noodles. sobrang daming laman at nakakabusog. but we’re not complaining. 🙂
5) dessert to finish things off.
yummy meal. 😀


the start and end of our bawai’s visit.


my wife wanted to be a model when she was young… and she can easily be one even without trying. 😉


gotta love the interior….


this is how laid back the place is. guests can literally chill on the couch before or after their meal. 🙂

bawai’s definitely goes to our fabulous discoveries list. go give it a try… we’re pretty confident it would make yours also. 😉