Mario's Baguio

Finally, to cap the food trip off, the pièce de résistance, we headed off to Mario's along Session Road for dinner. I read here that this particular branch has been in existence for already 37 years! Talk about history!

What greeted us upon entering was the desserts display. Not even seated yet, already, I was eyeing the Chocolate Truffles for dessert. There wasn't a lot of people that Sunday evening and so we didn't have to wait to be seated. It was most unfortunate that we failed to notice the fireplace, otherwise we would have asked to be seated near there to complete our Baguio experience.

Sidetrip to Oh My Gulay!

My boyfriend decided to include Oh My Gulay into our food trip itinerary because he thought I'd be interested in how the place looked, not necessarily for the food. Our meal from lunch at Cafe by the Ruins still not yet fully digested, I also told him that we shouldn't eat much, maybe just order a round of drinks for us both, considering that we still have Mario's to go to for dinner.

Oh my Gulay is on the 5th floor of the La Azotea building along Session Road. So those who haven't had exercise, this will be a serious climb for you. There was no elevator in the building so my bf and I were both panting when we reached the 5th floor.

The Rooster (what looks like a rooster to me) is representative of the place. Made from scratch materials (I don't know if always), it has a paintbrush for its head and beak, wine bottle for its body, pieces of broken plates for its tail and feathers, inverted bottles and spoon for legs. We arrived at the place at around five in the afternoon and so the sun was still out. I could see dust covering the place. It looked like bits and pieces of scrap materials put together to make something new, not rather sturdily (at least to me) so I was worrying the whole time that the floor beneath us would give out (we were seated on the "2nd floor"). If you're into shabby chic, I guess, mixed with art, then Oh My Gulay is the place for you.

Tam-awan Village, Baguio

After that hearty meal at Cafe by the Ruins, we immediately hailed a taxi to get to Tam-awan Village. Tam-awan means vantage point and named so because one can view the China Sea sunset from the village on a clear day. However, in our case, such didn't happen because the sky was overcast with clouds and I even had a hard time taking a picture of some of the huts since I still don't know how to limit the light entering into the lens (I know I need to either read the manual or take basic photography lessons). Still it is interesting that the word tam-awan which means vantage point is so similar to the Cebuano word tan-aw which means "to see" or "look". I wonder who influenced who. Don't you?

Tam-awan Village was initially started by the Chanum Foundation with the objective of providing people with a view and feel of the Cordillera Village. Knocked-down huts from Banga-an, Ifugao are transported and reconstructed here.

Above is an upper class Kalinga hut.

Cafe by the Ruins, Baguio

The next day Sunday, we decided to have lunch at Cafe by the Ruins. This was the only restaurant that I requested that we eat at. I read that it is a great place offering great food ran by Baguio's artist and art-loving community. I wondered whether it'd live up to its reputation.

It was already past two in the afternoon when we reached the restaurant. We figured the place should be winding down by then but as it turned out, there was still a line of people waiting to be seated and we were third in line. I busied myself by taking pictures of the place while waiting for our turn. I wondered where that wall was, the wall that originally belonged to the house of the last civil governor when I realized it was right in front of me covered with bougainvilleas.

PNKY Cafe, Baguio

So Saturday night, we headed off to PNKY Cafe along Leonard Wood Road for dinner. It was already past eight in the evening and we were starving. To get there, we took a taxi which dropped us by the road and we had to walk uphill around ten meters or so to get to the cafe.

I expected PNKY Cafe to have a bigger space but when I got there, I saw that the place is quite small. I'm estimating there couldn't be more than ten tables in that space. The height of the ceiling is only about 7-8 feet or so, cozy, and I think that that is its charm. There was only one couple there aside from us so waiting for our dishes to be served didn't take that long. We decided on Salad Balsamico, my bf had the Beef Fever, and I, the Chicken Elenaise.

Pacquiao Wins VS De La Hoya

I'm going to break from regular programming just to bring this news. Hurray for Pacquiao! The fight ended after round 8 wherein team De La Hoya decided to quit the fight stating that Pacquiao is just too fast. Another great and well-deserved win for the Pambansang Kamao!

Ridgewood Residence, Baguio

Over the long weekend last week due to the Bonifacio holiday, with less than a week to find a place in Baguio, we decided to stay at Ridgewood Residence. We decided to get the standard deluxe room because it had a veranda. For PhP 3,100.00 a night, it wasn't exactly cheap. We initially wanted to stay at Camp John Hay Manor but the PhP 5,2000 rate per night for a superior room is just so expensive. We found out too late that they had a lean season promo at 50% off which ended last September 2008. Maybe next year it'll be the same, and we'd be able to avail of it. Anyhow, enough of Camp John Hay Manor. This post is about Ridgewood Residence.

Ridgewood Residence is a bit of a distance from the bustling Session Road. Its nearest landmark is actually The Mansion and since it's also several meters from the street, to get around, we request the guard at the hotel to flag down a taxi for us. The good thing about this is that we are spared the noise of city life.

Bonifacio Long Weekend in Baguio

Over the long weekend last week, my bf and I were at Baguio (for lack of places to go considering commute time) gorging ourselves, hopping from one restaurant to the next. We arrived past noon in Baguio after a 7-hour bus ride. After hours of containing himself, my bf swore he'd never ride a bus again. I think the 8-hour winding bus ride we took last December from Cagayan de Oro to Davao, where he did end up getting sick, left him wary. The bus ride we took this time, wherein he could hardly contain himself, sealed the deal.

Immediately after arriving, we flagged a taxi that'll lead us to Ridgewood Residenceswhere my bf had already made reservations. We haven't had any sleep yet the night before and so we ended up sleeping the whole afternoon. Before arriving, my bf already made plans where we would have our meals for the entire 3D/2N stay and for our first dinner, we headed off to PNKY Cafe. The next day we gorged ourselves silly. We started with the complimentary buffet breakfast at the hotel, went to Cafe by the Ruins for lunch, then Oh My Gulay! for merienda, and finally Mario's for dinner. We only took a break from restaurant hopping when we went to Tam-awan Village in between lunch and merienda. As a result, we spent Sunday night passing gas! Hahaha! It became so bad that we had to escape our room to the verandah where we could pass gas to our heart's content. Nevertheless, armed with a fleece blanket, we spent another hour or so enjoying each other's company under the moon and the stars. In stinkiness and in health, so it seemed.

The next day, after having a relatively not so hearty breakfast (compared to the day before. We were done passing gas! :P), we busied ourselves packing and checked out at 12 nn. We were back in Manila past eight in the evening and readied ourselves for another workweek ahead.

Desserts at La Marea, Cebu

La Marea was the only restaurant that caught my eye while walking around The Walk. After eating at Kul's Kitchen in Skyrise 1, we headed back to The Walk to get some desserts. Below is what was waiting for us.

Kul's Kitchen, Cebu

My friend Bicar brought me to Kul's Kitchen because he happens to like this restaurant. Unfortunately, I don't share his sentiments (Peace Bicar! (-.-)V). I'll just let the pictures do the talking though I do think I took better pics of the dishes than it actually tasted.

Shrimp Salad
"Bits and pieces of shrimp meat, lettuce, bell pepper, tomatoes, corn & onions tossed in mango vinaigrette".

A Night in Asiatown IT Park Cebu

It was a good thing that my friend Bicar was free for the night, otherwise I wouldn't have had known where to go or what to do to keep myself occupied in Cebu with my sister not getting off from work until past ten in the evening. All the other people I know who are in Cebu were either busy or sick.

After hearing that I'd already been to Casa Verde, Bicar decided to bring me to Asiatown IT Park. It was one of the stops included in our plant tour back in college which was about 5 years ago. The place has changed a lot since then. More buildings have cropped up like The Walk - a shopping, dining and entertainment destination catering to the 24/7 lifestyle of BPO professionals.