eats in baguio

baguio is known for their 'gulay' (vegetables) and anything fresh. at the hangar, a walking distance from the maharlika market, one can find heaps of fresh produce at a cheap price, compared to manila at least.

i was only able to take photos of strawberries and several wine bottles, but let me tell you that their tomatoes and radishes are ridiculously ginormous.

if you are in baguio but you want someone else to cook for you, the next best thing to a home-cooked meal is finding the right resto. since baguio is a tourist town, expect a lot of foodie places to choose from.

i can vouch for the restaurants below because i've had eaten their food and i was not disappointed.

Good Taste

when in rome, do as the romans do. this restaurant offers the best bang for the buck. a single plate serves 3-4, and costs 100-150 pesos. it's a family foodcourt for both locals and tourists, not a dating place, so please keep your expectations reasonable. it's a stone's throw from the west side of burnham park.

  
Ketchup

this place right across the wright park is a small community of 5 theme restaurants: Canto, Green Pepper, Rancho Norte, Happy Tummy, and Rumah Sate. filipino food was our first choice so we decided to eat at Rancho. a single plate serves 2-3, and costs 150-250 pesos. their beef bulalo was generously meaty, and the baboy ramo liempo has that distinct savory, smoky taste. as usual, the vegetables are wonderfully crisp and fresh. not bad overall.

and oh, an alfresco branch of Pizza Volante is just beside Ketchup, but you might want to check out the new Volante Technohub branch and the original Volante Session Road branch instead.


Glenn 50's Diner

the servings are plated with hungry truck drivers in mind. you can choose from a variety of carbo-loaded meals, or you might want to dine light and eat skyflakes instead. yes, i think they have skyflakes in their menu. a plate can serve 2-3, and costs 100-150 pesos. plus the ambiance is unmistakably 50's; go figure. i'd go there again one of these days.

 

Solibao

the branch nearest to us was at the heritage mansion - contrary to the name, the place is not really intimidating so don't hesitate. this restaurant embraces the antique Spanish-meets-Cordillera woods concept; nothing fancy, maybe a bit pretentious but i guess all restaurants do that.

i liked the food. each dish serves 2-3, and costs 200-250 pesos. their special bagoong was a revelation, with a nice contrast to kare-kare. if you can, please ask the waiter where to find the bagoong and do leave a comment here. for now, supermarket bagoong will do. the crispy bagnet dinuguan was also divine, but my friends say the crisy dinuguan at Kanin Club at the Ayala Triangle was a better version.

but before you leave, you must try the puto bumbong, because it's only 50 pesos and it's a decent puto bumbong at that.

Author's note:

it seems that baguio has this love affair with bagnet: bagnet pinakbet, bagnet chopsuey, bagnet dinuguan, bagnet, bagnet, bagnet... bagnet equals clogged arteries, hypertension and kidney failure. i'm not complaining.

on my next food trip at baguio, i intend to eat at the Cafe by the Ruins for breakfast, Forest House for lunch, and Hill Station for dinner. we passed by Cafe by the Ruins but decided to postpone to another date because we were running out of time for pasalubong duties. in toto, Baguio equals foodie haven.