This is going to be the fourth and final part of my review of The Farm at San Benito.  For the first three parts of my travel review, here are the following links:

1.  A Sneak Peek of The Farm at San Benito

2.  The Farm Accommodations:  Anahaw Family Villa and Sulu Terraces

3.  The Farm's Facilities and Activities

4.  The Farm's ALIVE! Restaurant

ALIVE! is an award winning vegan gourmet restaurant of The Farm at San Benito specializing in "living" cuisine perfectly prepared by their living food chefs.  It is so called "living" because instead of cooking the food, they actually use specially designed dehydrators to give raw food a variety of textures.  This process would prevent the nutritional properties and enzymes of the food from getting destroyed by heat.  In addition, they also have their own organic garden where they harvest their fresh produce daily and an extensive Kitchen Garden which produces a wide variety of sprouts used in their menu preparation.  So basically, you can be rest assured that what you eat is fresh, healthy, nutritious, and organic.

The Farm's ALIVE! Restaurant is a tropical inspired bungalow which is located just a few meters away from the reception area.  It has both indoor and outdoor seating areas, so you can choose which ambiance you prefer to have while dining.  If you wanted to enjoy the beauty of nature while having a delicious, healthy meal, you may opt for their outdoor area.  However, since we have my son with us, who is not used to an air continuous environment (problem with kids born and raised abroad where air conditioning unit seems to be a part of their Maslow's hierarchy of basic needs), we decided to just stay indoors.  The indoor seating area is not air conditioned but they do have ceiling fans and stand fans which help to make the area somewhat cooler in order to keep their guests more comfortable.  In addition, it is also noticeable that the restaurant's windows and doors have screens to keep the mosquitoes and other insects from entering the dining place.  By the way, since The Farm is a huge well-manicured garden where there are plenty of plants, trees, flowers, lagoons, and several different types of animals, expect the insects that comes along with this natural environment.  So if you are planning to visit this place, do bring an insect repellant with you.  It is definitely a must!

Our breakfast is a three course gourmet set meal which is complementary if you booked a room with them overnight.  Their menu comes in a set of two different plates for each course.  My husband and I decided to get one of each kind so we could just share and basically have a taste of everything.  As I have mentioned earlier, ALIVE! is strictly a vegan restaurant. Meaning, no meat, eggs, and dairy products.  Please be advised also that The farm is a healing sanctuary, therefore, the food that they serve here is balanced not only in terms of its nutrient content but the amount of serving as well.  So basically, the fiesta buffet or eat-all-you-can type of meal is NEVER applicable here.  In addition, bringing in of outside food is not advisable because they do charge a corkage fee.

Being the carnivore that I am, I was a little bit worried that I may not be able to enjoy the food in The Farm.  To be more accurate, I was actually anxious of not just enjoying the food, but starving myself as well since I am also breastfeeding my one year old son.  To my surprise, I found myself enjoying every bite of food on my plate!  Yes, everything that they served on our table was delicious!  In addition, I also found myself feeling full after finishing my breakfast.  The serving of each course may look like small in size, but it was definitely heavy on stomach.  Not only did my tongue enjoyed their tasteful meal, my eyes were also fed well with the beautiful presentation of each plate.  It was certainly gourmet!

Before we left the restaurant, we were given a complementary cake by their staff since Rafael is about to celebrate his first birthday the following day.  We then sung him a birthday song (which he really loves) and their stand fan was in perfect timing to blow off the candle just in time when I was about blow it for Rafa.  Anyway, their cake was truly irresistible as well!  Imagine eating a slice of dessert without having the guilt of taking in too much calories.  My mind can't think of a way how they were able to come up with such dessert without using eggs or dairy products.  Their chefs must be really talented and well educated of preparing "living" food.

It was indeed one of the most memorable breakfasts I had.  Never have I imagined that there will come a point in my life that I would love a vegan diet.  Kudos to all the living food chefs of The Farm at San Benito!  ALIVE! Restaurant is definitely a must try!

119 Barangay Tipakan Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines

Reservations:  +632 884 8074

Fax:  +632 889 1150

Mobile (6am - 10pm):  +63 918 884 8078

Website:  http://www.thefarmatsanbenito.com