The last time I was in Baguio was exactly 10 years ago. We were constantly being invited by friends and had several plans to go up there before, but the travel time was too long and it would eat at least 1- 1 ½ days of our vacation (which we couldn’t afford because we only take 2-3 days off from work quarterly). That’s the reason that for the past years we opted to go to other places which are easily reachable by airplane instead. I mean for example, going to Coron or Puerto Princesa by plane will only take 45 minutes to an hour, while going to Laiya Batangas takes a good 3-4 hours (by land). And before, going up to Baguio would take 6-8 hours!
There were 6 of us on this trip and most of us, it was a long long time since we went to Baguio. Some of us was there when they were still kids, so I wasn't the title holder for the one-who-hasn’t-been-to-Baguio-in-decades. And was pretty cool to be back in back and enjoy the super cold weather of the City of Pines.
Although I t was raining hard and made the Baguio temperature even colder, we decided to sit on the tables at the lanai/garden. The gloominess of the weather didn’t take away the cozy-ness that Café By The Ruins exudes. I enjoyed being there, even before we started ordering I already roam around and took pictures, well you know me, I’m a sucker for places with great ambiance and decors. I love places that are Instagram/Pinterest-worthy. I believe that a restaurant’s great ambiance adds up to having a great experience while dining, do you think so too?
mezzanine area
It was kinda hard to decide on what to order not only because you have so many choices written on the menu, but more than that, everything sounds good. Food offerings by Café By The Ruins consisted of breakfast selections, breads, spreads, signature main dishes, pasta, salads, appetizers, coffee, chocolate, tea, soups and some desserts, well they covered all bases actually. And btw, I read from somewhere that they constantly change their menu or add something new, but don’t worry the old time faves are staying put. So these are what we ordered:
Baguio Bagnet – comes with Sagada Mountain rice, Podas bagoong (fermented fish), tomato relish and Dinengdeng soup. I didn’t get to try this though, I was too shy (yeah right) to take a piece from our friend’s plate. But just by looking at it, it seemed that it’s a winner.
photo c/o Cafe By The Ruins |
The men were in unison when they said how good the kebab was, and they have only tasted the mushroom that was on the top of the kebab. I was so intrigued that I took a mushroom (plus a piece of the lamb of course lol!). And man, they were right, I was smitten by these kebabs right away, the mushroom was crunchy and fresh, the lamb was tender and not oily, another winner!
coal to keep the kebab warm |
For our drinks, we tried:
Chai Tea (Hot): strong black tea steeped with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, peppercorns, topped with frothed milk
Café By The Ruins is a bit pricey, however, the taste, the quality and quantity of their food for me is worth what you’ll shell out after dining here. Let’s be honest, it’s not regularly that you get what your money’s worth; there are those restaurants that are so expensive but the food is just blah, while there are those that those that are affordable yet serve pretty good food (say, like Suzuki Japanese Carinderia). But then there are those that are a little bit over our budgets but are at par to the taste we are expecting for the money that we’ll be paying.
Café By The Ruins
23 Chuntug St Baguio City,
Benguet, Philippines
Contact No: (074) 442-4010
Website:
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/pages/Cafe-By-The-Ruins/38813861009
Baguio Travel Diary Series:
- Baguio City Eats: Café By The Ruins - A Place for Friendship and Fresh Food
- Baguio City Eats: Ketchup Community
- Baguio City Eats: Choco-late de Batirol - Reviving Traditions
Very nice and thanks for sharing your experiences and photos. You all look great! I think the food is always the best part.
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I hope that next time our beautiful city you'll get to try Good Taste, it is a local restaurant here in Baguio. Cafe by the ruins is a nice place to be.
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