Route 55 and Some

Baguio's quite a small place and whenever there's something new, people would check it out.  Something I think happens too is that if its good then it stays, if it isn't then it closes down soon enough (happens in SM Baguio quite often, especially on the side areas).  I think.  Don't quote me on that.

A slightly new place is Route 55, which has specialties of ribs and wings.  And so, that is what we ordered.  I have been to Route 55 with my some of my friends, but this is the first time with my family and the first time I had my camera with me.

Route 55 Original Glaze (?) Ribs

The ribs were tender as described in the menu.  The sauce seemed less viscous as I remembered it to be.  I didn't mind though.  Altogether it was a good meal. :)

Lemon Basil Cooler

This was my drink which was quite refreshing especially with the ribs I ordered.

Coffee Hazelnut Crunch

This was my brother's drink.  He said it was good, but not a good choice to accompany his food.  Sorry about the photo of the wings.  LOL.

Route 55 Wings (I think this is the Original too. LOL.)

 Dessert was pretty interesting, deep-fried cheesecake.  Didn't taste much like cheesecake though cause of the corn flakes, the syrup, and the choco bits, but it was a different treat.  The corn flakes breading sorta balanced out the cheesecake inside.  Different textures too.

 Route 55 is located along Legarda Rd., near Pines View Hotel and it has a big Route 55 sign.  It looks like a casual place to dine, but the plating is quite impressive.  The ribs and the wings were around Php 250.00 and the drinks were Php 85.00 I think.

After that, we head to the Orchidarium, which I wrote about last year.  Read about it here.

 This is the only photo I edited, the rest are straight out of the camera.

And this is me trying not to look awkward, "fumafashion blogger".  LOL!!!  My dad is my paparazzi.  

 I really need to get my hair done.  The jacket I'm wearing has been my favorite ever since I got it.  It is a necessity with the weather lately.  Three layers of clothing is needed, for me at least.

Watch out!  I'm about to attack you! LOL.

 My family loves the Orchidarium.  Give it a visit when you're in Baguio, even if you won't buy any plants.  Just go and take photos cause it is a lovely place. :)

FTW Goes to Forest House

Hi!  Happy Sunday!

My family and I most of the time dine out for Sunday lunch.  This week our choice of restaurant was Forest House, a quaint restaurant that has been recognized by Philippine Tatler as one of Philippines' best restaurants of 2011.  And this time I think I have good photos.   

My dad bought the book, and here's what they had to say about Forest House Bistro & Cafe:

Forest House is the quintessential restaurant in Baguio, blessed with beautiful mountain views.  It has long been one of the favourites to go to in the summer capital - 10 years and going strong among locals, Manila denizens and foreigners alike.

But, lets get on with the food. LOL.   Their signature dish is Forest House Homemade Bagnet, which was actually a starter dish, which I had as my main course with a side order of rice. Very Filipino, am I not.  LOL.  It was good!  I think I'm even craving now as I'm typing.  Hoped for it to be a little bit more crispy but it was fine considering the thickness was just right.  Serving size was not that great too, but I'm not a heavy eater (at least this time I wasn't) so I wasn't too disappointed. 

Dad got the Bagnet with Chicken Adobo.  He said it wasn't anything special and I quite agree with him when I had a taste of it.

Mom's usual order, the safest thing to order actually, is their Lengua con Setas, which I believe is also one of their specialties.

Brother got a chicken dish.  Chicken with peanut garlic sauce of some sort.  I'm sorry I wasn't able to get the exact name but I didn't get a taste of it.  But according to him it was good enough. 

My brother was the only one who ordered a different drink - Chocolate with Amaretto.  He liked it.

While resting before having dessert, I took some shots of the interiors to prove the homeyness.  I get why Philippine Tatler calls it the quintessential "Baguio" restaurant.  The restaurant is made of wood, chairs and tables are wood, and the table setting is sort of country.

 

To cap of our visit, we had Tiramisu and Blueberry cheesecake which were all good, but I've tasted better cheesecake.  But props to their "plate art".  LOL.

So, that was all for this weeks lunch with the family.  I hope this was helpful to those looking for places to visit here in Baguio or at least visually attractive to those who enjoy looking at photos of food. 

FTW (always) goes to O Mai Khan

Hi there!  Long time no blog.  Aside from the stressful quota I have to meet, my brother was 24/7 on the desktop, maximizing all the time he has before school starts.  I'm not really as comfortable blogging in my laptop, since most photos I have are at the desktop.  Anyway, I'm back. :)

If you're from Baguio, it would be a surprise if you don't know of O Mai Khan.  Baguio has a few "tourist go-to's" when it comes to food.  But I think O Mai Khan's one that my family (or as I've observed people from Baguio in general) actually like; thus the "always" in the title.  It used to be a quaint little restaurant near Burnham, which I think had more charm for me.  Now, they've transferred to a bigger and more accessible spot near SM and Victory Liner.

I usually go for their Mongolian buffet or the "Ag-luto Khan Special", which are, if I'm not mistaken, pan grilled shrimps with lemon butter sauce.  Some of their food and the restaurant's name too is spelled in a "Mongolian" way, but when pronounced it actually means something in Ilokano (I.e. O Mai Khan, when said would sound like "Oh, come". Imagine one gesturing you to join them to eat... Something like that. LOL.)  Their a la carte food items are bountiful in servings too; so you get your money's worth.

My absolute favorite dessert has got to be their Calamansi cream pie.  It isn't sour at all.  It removes that after taste you get or in a better way to call it, "suya", you get from the main course.  Their lemon cheese cake's great too.

I don't think I have much pictures of the restaurant itself but here's a bit of a preview for the restaurant's interiors with me in it. LOL.  Its nothing fancy. Its pretty simple actually.  White table cloths, wait staff in aprons and hair nets (not really that appealing to me, but better safe and clean), and pictures of their food hung on their walls.  Still, they're full most of the time so its better to make a reservation.  Parking's quite crazy too. LOL.  

O Mai Khan's great! In a month, our family dines twice or thrice.  Hopefully, you can try the restaurant soon if you haven't. :)

Ketchup Food Community

Here in Baguio, it's not so often that you see new food places. Somehow, the city would still prefer what has been tried and tested. Top three I can think of that residents of Baguio really like and are always full on Sundays are Rosebowl, Mario's, and O Mai Khan.

 For lunch, Kiko and I went to Ketchup Food Community. From the road you would see the white "Ketchup" sign right away against bamboo walls. It looked like a wide area from afar. You could only guess because of the bamboo surrounding the whole area. I wasn't able to get good photos as I didn't really bring a camera, but I'll surely come back to take better pictures cause the place is nice and different. By the name and the wideness of the place, you would know that there wasn't only one restaurant. I'm not so sure if there were 4 or 5 restaurants. We were pretty pressed for time so we weren't able to really look around and check out each of the restaurants menus. Also, it was quite warm (Baguio's bipolar weather).

We ended up eating at the first restaurant we saw, which was Canto.

The ambiance was nice. They had these photos and the right background music for the place. Isn't it a turn-off when the place is so pretty and relaxing and all of a sudden you hear some ads or like the radio DJs talking. Too bad we could still get a whiff of the horses on the other side (Wright Park is just a cross away.).

We ordered ribs.  I was surprised how big they were when they were served. Kiko and I ordered the same thing. Kiko got the part with more bones and I got the part with more meat. Initially, I thought they were good. The sauce was good and the meat tender. That's all you can ask for in ribs. But as I went on with my meal the meat got tougher and I got full. Sad to say, I wasn't able to finish everything. The ribs were accompanied by a certain salad (I wasn't able to get the name) and mashed potatoes, which I liked.

 To accompany our meal, we ordered their almond lychee gulaman. I didn't expect it to turn out lavender in color but it was. Cool. LOL. It was good. Refreshing and not that bad for 20 pesos. Meanwhile, the ribs (half slab, which was already big, at least for us it was) was 175 pesos. Not bad either. I could imagine the place to have an intimate vibe by night. We'll try next time. We haven't tried the rest anyway. :)