Baguio was never so much fun as it was on my last visit. A few weeks ago, our food show “Foodprints” did episodes on dining places in the City of Pines.
I brought along my eldest daughter and fellow foodie Ali who was raring to see what we would be eating.
Unusual beer
At night, the temperature would hit below 10ºC. We did a feature on Baguio Craft Brewery (120 Marcos Highway; tel. +63 74 8231320) whose beers were unusual and great-tasting.
What made the experience even more exciting was that the place had a deck where one could enjoy the drinks. It reminded me of Canada. Bring a leather jacket.
Foie gras pizza
We visited La Trinidad, a vegetable trading place. According to my restaurant purchaser, a kilo of cabbage usually costs P60 in Manila. When I asked a vendor in Baguio, it was only P12. She said if I went directly to the men unloading them from the trucks, a kilo would cost only P8!
A new place to go to is Amare La Cucina (1 Ignacio Villamor St.; tel. 0916- 3321522) that serves freshly baked pizzas. I really enjoyed them, especially the foie gras pizza. I also got the chance to make pizza from scratch. I’d rather eat, though.
Amare La Cucina, #1 Villamor St.; tel. 0916-3321522
Hidden restaurant
Ozark (2 Bears Trail and Bareng Drive; tel. 0947- 4450873) is a hidden restaurant run by a couple. The chef is from southern America.
I enjoyed the smoked chicken, the freshly made cheeseburger and the pulled pork.
Also worth a visit is Mitos Benitez-Yñiquez’s Hill Station Bistro in Camp John Hay (Ayala Technohub; tel. +63 74 4230389). She also smokes her meats. A must is her Reuben Sandwich: crusty bread, sauerkraut and mildly salty, homemade corned beef strips. I hear she will be serving churros soon.
Route 55 (55 Legarda St.; tel. 0917-5735904) serves delicious shiitake ravioli. I also enjoyed the crispy fish fillet sandwich with crusty bread. Yummy!
Real surprise
Baguio Country Club has one of the most delicious prime ribs I have ever tried. US prime-grade baked rib with mashed potato topped with Cabernet sauvignon gravy was out of this world.
But the real surprise was an authentic Pakistani and Indian restaurant (Ahmad Brothers Café, 4/F, Abano and Legarda Streets; tel. 0905-5592124 and 0908-7407284).
After doing a shoot at the place, we went back to eat again. It was that good.
One of the Ahmad brothers is the cook. It took a while to warm up the charcoal but when it began spouting burning embers, it didn’t take long for the freshly cooked chicken tikka to get done.
I also loved the beef and chicken shawarma with yogurt sauces.
The biryani rice with chicken was most delicious. The vegetarian biryani was another version which I tasted on our second visit.
The Arabian shawarma was outstanding. So were the masalas and the beef skewers.
Chicken tikka, or beef skewers, and biryani rice are a perfect combination. I also enjoyed the sweet yogurt drink.
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