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Food binge at the flowerfest: A guide to Baguio's best kitchens


Chaya's beef sukiyaki
Panagbenga, Baguio City's annual Flower Festival, is just a breath away. Droves of tourists will hie off to the mountain city to enjoy the cold and see gigantic flower-bedecked floats parade along Session Road on the 24th, but for those who would rather be on the fringes of the action, Baguio offers what Lonely Planet says is "arguably the best dining in the Philippines pound-for-pound." If homegrown kitchens serving up excellent taste and giving great value for money are to be the standard, then Baguio indeed provides a dining experience like no other. For those who want to take a big bite of the Baguio plate, the city has an answer to practically every budget. $ (up to P150 per person) GOOD TASTE Cariño corner Otek St. Come here for: Buttered chicken and Pinoy fare   A restaurant well-loved by locals, Good Taste is famous for its affordable food, hefty group servings, and its signature buttered chicken: fried to a crisp and glazed with sweet buttery sauce. Half an order costs less than P200 and can feed up to 6 people or even more. Rice meals, meanwhile, go for less than P100. The older branch is sandwiched between Baguio Centermall and the terminal of jeeps heading for nearby La Trinidad. Good Taste's newer branch, meanwhile, is much more accessible, right behind Burnham Park. 50'S DINER Gen. Luna corner Leonard Wood Rd. Come here for: Pancake Tower, Mama's Kidd, Fresh Fruit Shakes   A favorite among the university crowd, 50's Diner serves up five-inch-tall pancake heaps for a little over a hundred pesos, fresh fruit shakes for half of that, and set meals at less than P150 which include fries, pizza, chicken, and pasta. It's every bit the American diner inside—Marilyn Monroe and neon signs grace the walls, and movie posters abound as well. As the place is very popular, prepare to wait a while for a table. PIZZA VOLANTE Session Road Come here for: Great-tasting pizza, pasta, salads, and breakfasts   Volante's pizzas are best consumed in-house, fresh off the oven, because the longer they are kept in the box, the less tasty they become. Volante serves some of the more great-value food in Baguio: breakfasts are a little over P100, and six-inch pizzas start at P69. Fresh salads with chicken strips or shrimps go for P130, and brewed coffee goes for P28 with refill. CHOCO-LATE DE BATIROL Igorot Park, Camp John Hay (near the entrance just outside the Baguio Country Club) Come here for: Hot chocolate infused with Cointreau, strawberry, or cinnamon   Housed in a makeshift space surrounded by trees, Choco-late de Batirol serves mugs of hot tsoko-late (each for around P90) beaten inside a brass pot using a wooden whisk called batirol. The cocoa beans used in all its chocolate concoctions are grown on its own farm in Itogon, Benguet. Pinoy fare such as sisig and adobo are also available, courtesy of its Kapampangan owner.   KAFFEEKLATSCH City Camp Alley Come here for: Coffee, beer, live music   The best seats in this rustic cafe, a favorite hangout of the young crowd, are located in the mezzanine, where one can choose between cushy chairs or low-lying wooden benches. Troop to Caffee Klatsch for live acoustic music coupled with beer or their very own Cordillera coffee blend.   RUMOURS Session Road Come here for: Pub-style Friday nights   Rumours, being centrally located, attracts both the young and the old, primarily for beer on Friday nights and weekends. It can get cramped when full, but nothing beats its convenient location and friendly, no-frills ambience. Beer is cheap and so is the cappuccino (P50). $$ (P150 to P300 per person) KETCHUP FOOD COMMUNITY Romulo Drive, beside Wright Park Come here for: Canto's Baby Back Ribs, Rancho Norte's Pinakbet with Bagnet, Happy Tummy's Pad Thai Ketchup is an outdoor compound of restaurants just across Wright Park. One can choose from baby back ribs or homemade pizza from Canto; hefty plates of Pinoy favorites (pinakbet with bagnet and sizzling sisig) from Rancho Norte; Thai cuisine from Happy Tummy; pastas and salads from Green Pepper; and satay and laksa from Rumah Sate. Diners can fully enjoy the diverse offerings of all the restaurants, because in true community spirit, one can simply choose to sit in any of the restaurants and order from the others' menu. KALAPAW Martinez St., Engineer's Hill Come here for: Authentic Ilocano food such as sinanglao, empanada, and pinakbet Best for families and big groups, Kalapaw is perhaps one of the few restaurants in the city that delivers authentic Ilocano taste to its native dishes. Those craving for Ilocos empanada can have one freshly made here for only P40. The restaurant is also popular for its boodle fight menu, which offers a diverse selection of fried and grilled seafood, dishes infused with bagoong (fish paste), and steamed vegetables. Average boodle fight meals, good for 5 people, are at P600. SOLIBAO Session Road; Burnham Park Come here for: Kare-kareng bagnet, freshly made puto bumbong and bibingka For home-cooked Filipino food right at the city center, head to the conveniently located Solibao (one along Session Road and another at Burnham Park). Kare-kareng bagnet and sinigang are especially good, and servings are often good enough for three. At a separate stall nearby, Solibao also cooks puto bumbong all day. For P45, you get three freshly cooked pieces, topped generously with shredded coconut, butter, and muscovado sugar. Dining al fresco at the Burnham Park branch is perfect after spending a day roaming around the city. PNKY TRAVEL CAFE Leonard Wood Road, in front of Laperal House Come here for: Beef a la Seine and other international fusion cuisine   A brainchild of avid travelers, PNKY Travel Cafe is a fascinating house of lomo prints, battered suitcases, and camera mock-ups that would keep diners fascinated. The small space is cozy but not cramped, and its food selections are creatively curated, such as Beef a la Seine, Anne Frank, and Under the Tuscan Sun. VIZCO'S Session Road Come here for: Strawberry shortcake and carrot cake  
Vizco's Strawberry Shortcake
Hardly anyone in Baguio deserves the claim of serving the best strawberry shortcake in the city—that is, aside from Vizco's. This delectable dessert—with whole strawberries on top held together by gelatin and surrounded by cream—sits on soft chiffon with the slightest sliver of strawberry. You can eat in and enjoy a slice for P80 or you can take home a whole 6-inch cake for P375 or 8-inch piece for P610. Their carrot cake at P90 a slice is equally delicious. $$$ (P300 and up per person) HILL STATION Casa Vallejo, below SM Baguio Come here for: Death by Chocolate Cake, Crispy Duck Flakes, Avocado Ice Cream with Jalapeño
Hill Station's Steak and Prawn Peri-Peri
Housed in Casa Vallejo, a century-old building restored a few years back, Hill Station serves savory international cuisine best enjoyed during special occasions. It follows a regal and yet understated look, with large windows, chandelier pieces, and polished floorboards. A winding staircase from the hotel's reception area leads to the main dining area, but for those who want to skip the works, there is a more low-key entrance right by Mt. Cloud Bookshop. Their Steak and Prawn Peri Peri is rich, tasty, and cooked perfectly each time, but the Crispy Duck Flakes may be a better option for those who love their food with lots of texture. One can cap off the meal with a dash of sweet and spicy with the Avocado Ice Cream with Jalapeño, or else go for the tried-and-tested goodness of chocolate with their bestselling Death by Chocolate Cake. CAFE BY THE RUINS Shuntug Road, just below the Baguio City Hall Come here for: Farmer's Morning Feast, Baguio Bounty Salad, Rizal's Tsokolate-e, Pan De Sal with Herb Cheese, Traditional Strawberry Shortcake One of Baguio's most well-loved kitchens, Cafe by the Ruins deserves every rave it gets for its dishes, whether these are simple breads with spreads, salads, breakfasts, or soups. The restaurant makes its own spreads, jams, bread, and yogurt and uses fresh Baguio greens in its salads. The Baguio Bounty Salad delivers a whole spectrum of taste and texture—shrimps and chicken strips, mango slices and strawberries sitting on a bed of lettuce, topped with alfalfa and arugula, and dressed with strawberry vinaigrette. Their Vietnamese duck soup is their own tasty and filling take on the pho, while their Rizal's tsokolate-e makes for the perfect afternoon snack. Cafe by the Ruins' version of strawberry shortcake is also worth trying: a thick slab of shortbread is slathered with cream and topped with fresh strawberries and mint. CHAYA Legarda Road Must-tries: Cream Anmitsu, Mixed Seafood Tempura  
Chaya's Mixed Seafood Tempura
Perhaps Baguio's best Japanese restaurant, Chaya serves traditional Japanese oriental dishes inside a traditional log cabin that was turned into a dining area. Every meal opens with their delicious homemade green tea ice cream, a sweet and cold concoction that  surprisingly goes well with the Baguio cold. From here, you have the choice to indulge in steaming bowls of sukiyaki, platefuls of perfectly fried tempura (the Mixed Seafood Tempura, which has prawns and vegetables, is a must-try house specialty); or rolls of sushi and fresh slices of sashimi. The restaurant is also tucked in the quieter side of the party place that is Legarda Road and is a short walk from most hotels along the strip. FOREST HOUSE Loakan Road Come here for: Three-Dip Salad, Bagnet   A charming log cabin restaurant that has expanded to a bed and breakfast on its lower floors, Forest House is celebrated for its gourmet takes on Filipino food—their house specialty is the Crispy Bagnet, a slightly less oily version of the popular Ilocano pork dish. Its Three-Dip Salad (strawberry, blue cheese, and vinaigrette) uses lettuce, peanuts, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and turnips. Sunsets are particularly stunning from the restaurant's balcony. — BM, GMA News
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