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.
This old stove which is also incorporated into the Cafe by the Ruins logo is new to me. It was the first time that I saw such a contraption. I am used to seeing the dirty kitchens of the past but not this. Interesting.
Finally, more people left the restaurant and I was glad to be seated, and so was my stomach which was already grumbling. I decided to get the Rattan Fruit Beef Sinigang while my bf decided on Tita Susie's Crispy Tapa. A fan of anything chocolate, he also ordered Chocolate de Agua.
The Chocolate de Agua hot drink served with "cinnamon toasts made of whole wheat bread" tasted of tablea which reminded me of childhood afternoons having champorado for merienda. It also reminded me of those rainy days or those days wherein we'd run out of Milo or Ovaltine and we'd turn to boiling water with tablea to enjoy a hot chocolate drink.
My bf's Tita Susie's Crispy Tapa turned out to be exactly that - crispy. This is "fried shredded and seasoned beef on top of mountain rice, served with fresh tomato-onion relish and a cup of beef broth" though I do think that it has been shredded first and then fried. The combination of the crispy tapa and tomato-onion relish is great, sort of fried small dried fish on vinegar.
I don't know what rattan fruit looks like, even more, how it would taste so I don't have any idea at all how this fruit enhanced the taste of the Rattan Fruit Beef Sinigang that we ordered but we both liked it. It is "composed of soup, meat, and vegetables. The fruit of the Rattan vine is [sic] scaly spheres, like snakeskin balls, very sour with a tinge of sweetness...". What I gather from the description is that instead of using sampaloc to give the sinigang that sour taste, they use rattan fruit instead which also adds a sweet flavor to it. I think I have to see and cook something using this rattan fruit to really taste for myself the difference. It's quite a hefty serving, already good for two so we were really full by the end of the meal. But not quite satisfied, we still ordered Mango Madeleines for dessert. These tasted like muffins to me with mango filling, heated before serving. It's not something I'd rave about. But all in all, it was an interesting experience, being able to taste dishes using not so familiar ingredients and leaving with a resolve to try and cook these myself.
Cafe by the Ruins
23 Chuntug, Baguio City
Tel. 442-4010 / 446-4010
Fax. 442-5272
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.
This old stove which is also incorporated into the Cafe by the Ruins logo is new to me. It was the first time that I saw such a contraption. I am used to seeing the dirty kitchens of the past but not this. Interesting.
Finally, more people left the restaurant and I was glad to be seated, and so was my stomach which was already grumbling. I decided to get the Rattan Fruit Beef Sinigang while my bf decided on Tita Susie's Crispy Tapa. A fan of anything chocolate, he also ordered Chocolate de Agua.
The Chocolate de Agua hot drink served with "cinnamon toasts made of whole wheat bread" tasted of tablea which reminded me of childhood afternoons having champorado for merienda. It also reminded me of those rainy days or those days wherein we'd run out of Milo or Ovaltine and we'd turn to boiling water with tablea to enjoy a hot chocolate drink.
My bf's Tita Susie's Crispy Tapa turned out to be exactly that - crispy. This is "fried shredded and seasoned beef on top of mountain rice, served with fresh tomato-onion relish and a cup of beef broth" though I do think that it has been shredded first and then fried. The combination of the crispy tapa and tomato-onion relish is great, sort of fried small dried fish on vinegar.
I don't know what rattan fruit looks like, even more, how it would taste so I don't have any idea at all how this fruit enhanced the taste of the Rattan Fruit Beef Sinigang that we ordered but we both liked it. It is "composed of soup, meat, and vegetables. The fruit of the Rattan vine is [sic] scaly spheres, like snakeskin balls, very sour with a tinge of sweetness...". What I gather from the description is that instead of using sampaloc to give the sinigang that sour taste, they use rattan fruit instead which also adds a sweet flavor to it. I think I have to see and cook something using this rattan fruit to really taste for myself the difference. It's quite a hefty serving, already good for two so we were really full by the end of the meal. But not quite satisfied, we still ordered Mango Madeleines for dessert. These tasted like muffins to me with mango filling, heated before serving. It's not something I'd rave about. But all in all, it was an interesting experience, being able to taste dishes using not so familiar ingredients and leaving with a resolve to try and cook these myself.
Cafe by the Ruins
23 Chuntug, Baguio City
Tel. 442-4010 / 446-4010
Fax. 442-5272
1 comment:
[...] 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 [...]
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