TAGAYTAY was the closest they could get to reliving for themselves and giving their children the kind of life they used to have, growing up amidst a nature setting of vast sugar plantations and wide open spaces.

This motivated 43-year-old Antonio Agustin ?Tony Boy? Escalante of the Montilla-Escalante clan of Bacolod, and his wife Mary Agnes Hechanova to acquire property, build a home and move their family to this elevated city that has become a cool weekend retreat for a lot of Metro denizens.

The couple especially wanted it for their children, Ready2Race Team kart driver champion Antonio Sebastian, 11, a fifth-grader at De La Salle Santiago Zobel Alabang, and Manuel Pedro, a special child who would benefit most from a clean environment and a diet of organic food.

So in 1993, after a brief stint as a flight attendant when Tony Boy had fun traveling the world, the couple decided to make a move towards their goal. Serendipity then took over. On the very same afternoon that he started his search, Tony Boy found what he wanted: a sprawling, sloping 1.3-hectare property in Tagaytay, close to Nasugbu, Batangas.

The couple bought the former coffee plantation at P400 per square meter and started a culinary herb farm which Agnes managed while her husband took culinary studies in The Regency of Tafe, Adelaide, Australia in pursuit of his original dream to be a chef.

When Tony Boy was ready, the Escalantes bought the adjacent lots and opened Antonio?s Fine Dining Tagaytay ? the now famous restaurant that sits on two hectares of land alongside their organic fowl and herb farm.

?This is our home. This is how we like to live ? it speaks of ourselves,? Tony Boy says of his dream restaurant. More than just a business that caters to its clientele, Antonio?s is considered a home not just for the Escalante couple but also prime space that they can share with guests whom they would like to feel truly relaxed and de-stressed.

But there must be more to Antonio?s Fine Dining than just the relaxing ambience that has given it a place in the Miele Guide as one of Asia?s top 20 restaurants for two years in a row.
In 2008, Antonio?s placed 10th in this restaurant guide whose objective is to be the most reliable and credible for Asia. On its second edition this year, the Guide has expanded its list to include the top five restaurants in each country in Asia, on top of its extensive list of 450 well-rated restaurants in the region which were determined after four rigorous rounds of judging.

For the 2009-2010 edition of the Miele Guide, Antonio?s landed at the No. 17 spot among the top 20 restaurants in Asia. At No. 18 is Aubergine. Antonio?s was also rated by the Miele Guide as among the top 5 restaurants in the Philippines, joining Aubergine, Mamou, Abe and Sala.

A review of Antonio?s describes its menu ?as spoon-worthy as its ambience is swoon-worthy.?

Regular diners however cite 10 more reasons why Antonio?s remains a favorite:

1. Food, food, sumptuous food! The menu is well-thought out. ?I just don?t do anything I myself don?t like,? says Tony Boy. The bestsellers include lamb, oysters grown by Tony Boy?s uncle in Negros, the steak, duck confit, as well as appetizers like white asparagus and bone marrow. Antonio?s constantly changes its appetizers to make for an exciting meal so no two meals at Antonio?s are ever the same.

2. Fresh produce. Most of the vegetables on the table are harvested an hour or a few hours before the meal is served, from Antonio?s own organic farm in Tagaytay. Several hotels in Makati (Dusit, Intercon, Peninsula, Mandarin, Resort?s World) as well as Diamond Hotel, Santi?s, Cibo and Italianni?s also source their culinary herbs from this same farm. Antonio?s also grows its own vegetarian fowl, with the eggs cooked and served on the same day they are hatched.

3. Warm welcome. No less than the host and chef himself, Tony Boy Escalante, will greet you as you enter the restaurant. And just in case he?s extremely busy in the kitchen, affable restaurant manager Johna will find the best seat for you.

4. Luxury of time. You can sit down for hours, savor your coffee and chat. No need to hurry. No one?s dying to get your table as guests are asked ? as much as possible ? to make prior reservations so that no one ever has to wait. ?When I say the place is full, I mean it?s full,? says Tony Boy.

5. Ambience. Antonio?s has that old-world genteel feel reminiscent of haciendas: solid wooden floors and hardwood furniture, huge windows that look out to lush gardens, high ceilings, chandeliers, wide staircases and men and ladies-in-waiting in uniforms. Wait, did we mention the lush gardens maintained by six gardeners?

6. A large support personnel and services. Apart from the men and ladies-in-waiting, Antonio?s has a support staff of 35 that includes cooks and waiters, gardeners, cleaners and electricians. That means quick service and well-maintained facilities. There?s also a deep well and two stand-by generators to cover all contingencies.

7. Privacy. No fawning over celebs here. Everyone is treated equally: like royalty. Businessmen, expats, and ambassadors can?t be wrong. The restaurant has also hosted the Prime Minister of Bahrain and the President of Switzerland.

8. Attention to detail. Where else can you find a place where they serve ice cubes that match your drink? Case in point: ice cubes made from strawberry juice for my strawberry balsamic juice drink!

9. Proximity. Without traffic, one can drive to Antonio?s in as little as an hour and a half from Makati. If you have the wherewithal and you?re really really hungry, there are also two parking spaces to accommodate helicopters.

10. Weather. Tagaytay is cool and breezy so there?s no need for air-conditioning. Baguio offers the same open-air comfort, but then you?d have to travel at least five hours to get that garden feel.

Sure, dining here is not cheap with lunch for two costing P4,200. But that?s a six-course meal that includes soup, salad, sorbet, entrée, dessert and coffee or tea. One can actually dine for as low as P1,300, and that would include all of the above except the steak as main entrée.

Ask the chef himself what he likes having in his restaurant and he says with reasonable pride, ?Everything!? ?
Antonio?s Fine Dining. Purok 138 Barangay Neogan, Tagaytay City. Tel. nos.: 0918-8992866, 0917-8992866, Telefax: 046-4131054. E-mail: antoniosfarm@ yahoo.com