A Holy Holiday

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Originally uploaded by margauxlicious.

Unlike our usual Holy Week where we read the pasyong mahal in Bulacan with the lolas, last Holy Week my sister and one of my best friends and i went up to Baguio. We were there for just two days actually - but it was enough time for us to play mini-golf, visit church, and pig out. We stayed at the Suites, the new wing of the Manor. I have never stayed at the Manor so I really have no basis of comparison but it was very comfortable and convenient, an overall pleasant stay at quite a reasonable price (P4000 - 6000 for a deluxe room).

Grabe Baguio is so different now from what I remember. There's a Starbucks ergo di na siya virgin location. People don't really go there just for Don Henrico's pizza anymore. Although come to think of it I'd like to visit again and try that out just to see if it's what I remember.

The picture up there is what greeted us when we got to our hotel room, compliments of The Manor's Restaurant (which I therefore could not review - which was ok because all they had was a buffet spread for the Holy Week instead of their regular menu). Accompanied by a bottle of wine. I felt like lying on the bed and having someone feed those grapes to me Roman-style.

Some food memories as submitted to Sunday Inquirer:

NORTHERN EXPOSURE

Baguio summers were an integral part of growing up for some of us. Horseback riding, mini-golf, roller skating ... we were a bunch of pre-teens in a van singing at the top of our lungs up the Zig-Zag to the displeasure of adults ready to vomit from the thinning air and (now that I think about it) our screeching versions of Eternal Flame and Manic Monday. We were scunci-wearing, friendship band bearing, Swatch generation kids (circa Mikee Cojuangco's Who's That Girl days) who had no hoity-toity demands for food. We were happy with our cups of Ovaltine hot chocolate which I would also "papak" or munch spoonsful of raw, pan de sal which we would dip into the sun of the accompanying sunnyside up, and strawberries in a bowl of milk and sugar for dessert ... as long as we got to go horseback riding!

Twenty years and a food writing job later, the drive up the Zig-Zag swings to Jay-Z instead of the Bangles and the anticipation is not as much for horseback riding as it is for fresh salads, fruits and all the promising delicacies Baguio has to offer.

True to form, Baguio continues to create fine memories for its guests. A few notes from my last couple of visits ...

The Manor

Tripping on a budget, I would call on a friend and stay at his or her house if it was free for the holiday. But should you have the budget for it, the best splurge would be to book yourself at The Manor in Camp John Hay or at The Suites next door, a new wing that is more pocket-friendly. The Manor is a lavish setting with an American feel, what in my head I picture the United States' Camp David to be (of course I wouldn't really know). If I had enough time I could spend a couple of days just lounging the Manor, having breakfast, lunch, merienda and dinner at the Restaurant.

On my first visit to the Restaurant, I chanced upon Chef Billy King, who also owns and runs French Corner in Alabang. I asked him what was best on the menu and he gave me a rundown that will take me another six trips to truly appreciate and write about honestly: "It depends on the weather. It varies a lot. Lamb sinigang is my personal favorite at the moment. The best sellers are pepper steak and avocado roasted prawns. Also the goose liver salad or the duck breast with plums and black cherries." A blonde American lady interrupted our conversation. "Hi, excuse me, are you the chef? I'm (Blondie Smith?!) and I just wanted to say that your French onion soup is amazing. I had it both at lunch and dinner. My son is a sous chef so I appreciate these things and I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoy our meals here." Fancy that I overheard that. Well I didn't try the French onion soup, you'll have to trust Blondie on that one, but I did fall in love with the Restaurant's chocolate mousse. This is served in a glass and is highlighted by drizzles of white chocolate. Very sexy.

Drop by the Delicatessen on your way home. The Baguio Country Club may be famous for its raisin bread but the Delicatessen's raisin bread can compete. So can its strawberry jam. Jam and bread and Montanosa Cordillera Arabica will keep your tasty memories of The Manor alive when you get back to Manila's sweltering heat.

Manor, Camp John Hay, Loakan Road,Baguio City. +63 74 424 0931 to 50 | Manila Hotline: +63 2 845 0892 / 845 0911 | Fax: +63 74 445 0420.

Forest Cafe

One of the advantages of setting up a restaurant in Baguio is that you can have seating on a terrace that can take advantage of the beautiful Baguio weather. That is exactly what Forest Cafe has. Although it also has indoor seating in a log cabin-like setting, the terrace is where guests would crowd on a cool summer day. Sadly, this cafe doesn't seem to see the forest for the trees, i.e., food is not its strong point. The menu is enticing enough but the food execution fails to meet the anticipation. The Waldorf Salad drowns in its mayonnaise cream and the chicken in wine sauce is all sauce it's practically carbonara. However, the mushroom soup comes in a beautiful bread bowl and is so heavenly you find yourself scraping the bowl for the last bits of mushroom that you can scrape with the bread. The salmon is quite tasty, too. Hot chocolate is powdered so it might be wise to move on to the next cafe for dessert.

Forest Cafe. No. 16 Loakan Road, Baguio City.

Chocolate de Batirol

The original of the cafe found in Serendra (not to be mistaken for the more commercial and less learned Choc-Nut Batirol in SM Makati), this cafe serves hot chocolate as it should be appreciated. You find yourself lost in its maze of twig walls as you look for a table but once seated and lost in Pilita Corrales' mesmerizing voice in the background, you can truly sit back and sip hard core tsokolate. I would stick with the original hot chocolate, which the Baguio batirol experts have mastered, instead of the experimentations that mix in flavors like strawberry, which takes more getting used to.

A fab find at this cafe, however, has nothing at all to do with hot chocolate. They have an amazing spicy dilis at their take out counter that is sold by the bag: fat dilis slightly caramelized and then made spicy. Delish!

Choco-late de Batirol, Scout Hill, Camp John Hay

Cafe by the Ruins

How can you visit Baguio and not drop by the Ruins? The Perry Mamaril lamps that still hang from the ceiling and the Dap-ay or that circular stone area (that elders of the tribes in Northern Luzon supposedly used to hold council and rituals) are now as much a part of Baguio history as Camp John Hay.

The great thing about this cafe is that the menu remains outstanding. Save for the P25 pandesals which, I must apologize, I couldn't bring myself to purchase because I couldn't fathom how their dough could be so expensive (pandesal is just P2!), and the hot chocolate which you are better off enjoying at Chocolate de Batirol, everthing I tried was excellent. The Baguio Bounty Salad is a glorious amalgamation of fruits and leaves, with strawberries and mangoes vibrant in both color and taste. Mushroom risotto is as appetizing to the eye as it is to the tongue, an exploration of soft textures with soy cylinders on the side. Even the fresh fruit shakes wake you up because they are so alive with flavor. What can I say, it's a glorious ruin!

Cafe by the Ruins. 23 Chuntug St. Baguio City Tel: (074) 442-4010

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This summer I'm determined to drive up that Zigzag more than a couple of times to appreciate the North's great weather, great produce and great meals! Baguio is really such a great escape. Great weather and great food just a few hours' drive away - how blessed can we be?