Baguio Revisited: January 12, 2013

Baguio Revisited
Date: January 12, 2013

Cool weather, nice people, sumptuous delicacies are the things I love the most in Baguio.  I’ve been here many times, seen all the must see places, tasted all its unique cuisines, but this trip aimed to experience something different… : )

Baguio City is located in the province of Benguet which is about 5 hours away from Manila.  I left Manila at around 2:00am via Victory Liner bus from Cubao. Standard transportation rate is Php440.00 per person. 

I arrived in Baguio at 7:00 in the morning, had a quick nap and the story begins…

 A good trip always starts with good food..

Chill out and relax at this quaint and charming Café by the Ruins.  The café’s friendly and attentive staff will serve you with the café signature dishes whether you are an Artist, a Banker, a Clown, a Diplomat, an Entrepreneur, a Foodie, a Genius, a Healer, an Inventor, a Joker, a Kid, a Lover, a Millionaire, a Nun, an Optimist, a Poet, a Queer, a Rebel, a Singer, a Teacher, an Undertaker, a Vegetarian, a Widow, an Xtremist, a Yogi or a Zealot. 

The restaurant’s interiors are embellished by wooden bamboo, black and white photographs, and furnished by wooden chairs and tables with low lighting fixtures that gives a sense of tranquility. Café by the Ruins was literally built from the ruins left by World War II.  They said that, “The ruins we lay claim to are the remains of a garden theater which was later converted into the gracious home of Phelps Whitmarsh, the first civil governor of Benguet.  The house was built early in the last century and destroyed in World War II.  A meeting place and venue of many canaos (rituals to appease gods), the café occasionally hosts poetry readings, art exhibits and dance performances as well.”

My food treat starts with Tilapia Tarlaqueño.

You can have this deep fried tilapia with red rice buro, steamed eggplant, bean and bitter melon for Php 280.00 per serving.

Followed by rich, flavorful leche flan with mint leaves for dessert.

And of course… the experience will never be complete without a steaming cup of Ruins’ Coffee

Served with cardamom (plant belonging to the ginger family), topped with whipped cream, mascovado sugar and cinnamon powder for Php 85.00 only (hmmm… there's nothing like it in Manila?)

Address:        #23 Chuntug St., Baguio City (near Rizal Park) 

Contact No.:  (074) 442.4010

Baguio’s finest fruit--

Strawberry farms are located in Trinidad, Benguet, about 10 kms from the center of Baguio City, but you can surely find fresh, bright red color and sweet fleshy strawberries anywhere in the city, I found this charming fruits just outside the hotel by the Burnham Park at Php 120.00 per kilo.  Though nothing beats the experience of picking them with your own hands, it won’t hurt to remember that the best time to pick them is from November to May.

Baguio's best street foods--

Smoky and chewy grilled pusit for snack at the Mine’s View Park.

Php 25.00 per stick.

Next to balut, this one-day-old chicken is a real challenge; you can easily spot them around Burnham Park among other street foods.  This is the strangest tiny four-legged food I ever had aside from adobong palaka.

In and around Baguio--