Sweet afternoons at Choco-laté de Batirol

It was the kind of restaurant that will not escape my attention: a charming shanty surrounded by plants and flowers protected by tall pine trees. I saw it first from the jeepney that brought us to BenCab Museum, on the afternoon we arrived in Baguio City. It’s near Gate 2, just down the road from the Igorot Lodge in Camp John Hay where the fellows for the 50th U.P. National Writers Workshop stayed for ten glorious days last April. I thought it would be a wonderful hike going down from our lodge.

How could I forget the restaurant’s name? Choco-laté de Batirol. It was immediately carved in my mind. It was an instant obsession - I couldn’t stop thinking of it. I told myself, I have to go there. The place reminded me of my favorite restaurant in Puerto Princesa City—the Kamarikutan Kape at Galeri owned by my artist-friend Dinggot Conde-Prieto and her goddess mother Nanay Dayang Macasaet. These two wonderful women divide their time between Puerto and Baguio. Kamarikutan is a lot bigger but the flowers, art works, and overall ambiance is almost the same. Puerto Princesa is, of course, warm and humid most of the time while Baguio is sensually cold. On a Wednesday afternoon, during the free day of the workshop, I did not go with my friends who went to Session Road. Instead, I hiked down to Choco-laté de Batirol after a short siesta. The tall pine trees standing straight were almost impersonal. I walked slowly, savoring the green and cool surroundings. I passed by the golf course and stopped to observe three rich-looking men playing the game. Again I wondered, what pleasure do people get from playing golf? I had asked this question during the merienda break on the first day of the workshop. Below the venue is a tee hole, and I was looking at the men playing and I thought they were as bored as I was by their game. I asked the question to no one in particular. Somebody answered, “Perhaps you need to have a Swiss account to appreciate the game?" I stopped asking, and thought of my ATM account that had a balance of less than P100 most of the time. When I reached the restaurant, I discovered that it is located in the section of Camp John Hay called Igorot Garden. The area is rather shabby, with a statue of an Igorot woman in the middle. The name of the restaurant is lovingly carved on wood with designs of flowers, the pitcher for mixing the traditional tsokolate-e and the batirol, a wooden mixer used manually. The staff welcomed me with friendly smiles. They had no other customer that afternoon and so they were extra attentive to me. They were delighted to know that I like their restaurant very much. Loida, the cashier, said Chocolate de Batirol’s first location was at the Scout Hill, also inside the expansive Camp John Hay. They were there for 10 years, and have only been in their new location for two years. I chose a round bamboo table outside. It is under a big beach umbrella painted with birds and flowers. I ordered the specialty of the house—what else but the traditional tsokolate-e. I also got a small plate of turon with langka, mouth-wateringly drizzled with a generous amount of chocolate sauce. Ronald, a young and handsome waiter with a winsome smile, expertly beat my tsokolate-e at the table. After the wonderful merienda, I checked out the counter for Baguio goodies—all products of Choco-laté de Batirol—to bring home to Pasig. There was choco paste, garlic chips, and oraru, among other food items. I bought a bottle of garlic peanuts and two packs of mamon tostado and happily hiked back uphill to the Igorot Lodge. On our last afternoon in Baguio, I went back to Choco-laté de Batirol, this time with my co-fellows at the workshop who are all authors—Genevieve Asenjo, Nerisa del Carmen Guevara, Clarisa Militante, Jennifer Ortouste, Yvette Tan, and Ronald Baytan. The beautiful poet Nerisa and I ordered a fresh cacao fruit. We had spotted two guys at the other table eating the fruit, and we were suddenly envious and intrigued. We were delighted to discover that fresh cacao tastes like santol and mangosteen. As we were about to leave, Loida approached our table and asked us if we wanted to taste their Baguio blend tsokolate-e, on the house. Of course, we said yes unanimously! It was strawberry flavored tsokolate-e and was lovely and refreshing served with ice. Choco-laté de Batirol is one very good reason for me to visit Camp John Hay again. I wouldn’t mind spending an entire afternoon in this cool garden restaurant, enjoying thick and delicious tsokalate-e while waiting for the birthing of another Baguio poem. – YA, GMA News J.I.E. TEODORO was conceived by his mother from a poster of a mermaid and adobo chicken feet, which explains his love for the sea and condemned him to a peripatetic life. He was born in a village along the Visayas coast that nurtured the poet in him. Currently, he lives in a small but colorful house near the legendary Pasig River