I was recently part of a business trip to Baguio City with some of my colleagues at work. Being the foodie that I am, I made enjoy sure that we get to eat at some of Baguio’s best.
For our lunch in Baguio, we had it at one of the city’s popular restaurants, Cafe by the Ruins.
THE PLACE
Cafe by the Ruins is a beautiful cafe that blends rustic and modern aesthetics.
I love its garden at the front. I find it to be really welcoming and sets the mood for your dining here.
The restaurant has two floors. The second floor is an open air deck.
The restaurant catered most of its guest in the first floor. It was quite packed when we visited the place.
With Baguio having a cool climate, it is given that it was very cool at the restaurant. Better eat your food fast before it cools down.
FOOD and BEVERAGE
The restaurant serves Western, Filipino, and local dishes. They serve good coffee too. The price of their food, while it can be expensive to some, is worth it because the servings are quite generous.
For our lunch here we ordered the Fillet Mignon (P360), Mama Jean’s Bamboo Bowl (P340), Pinikpikan (P340), Baguio Bagnet (P340), and Beef Sinigang (P360). We also tried some of their pastries, the Basil Bread and Camote Bread. I also tried their Ruins Coffee (P80).
The Beef Sinigang and Pinikpikan were really hearty soups.
The Pinikpikan is a traditional Cordillera chicken soup with smoked salted pork. While the soup was really good, the chicken meat was quite tough.
The Baguio Bagnet is a typical Ilocano meal where the pork belly is double fried. This was one of the most beautifully presented bagnet I have ever seen. Also, it tasted really good.
The Fillet Mignon is a thick slice of tender beef loin wrapped with the cafe’s bacon. It also served with sauteed spinach and pan roasted marbled potatoes. The beef we had was tender and I find it to be flavorful.
The best part of the meal was Mama Jean’s Bamboo Bowl. It is bamboo shoots topped with steamed chicken, bacon, and shitake mushrooms. The dish was very herbaceous and I enjoyed every spoonful of it.
However, while it is my favorite of all the dishes we had, it was not the favorite of some. Probably because of how it tastes — herbaceous and a bit of bitterness and saltiness. Nonetheless, I won’t hesitate ordering this again. It was the perfect dish for the cool climate in Baguio.
Their Basil Bread and Camote Bread were also a hit among my companions. Both were really good. My favorite was the Camote Bread.
I also loved the Ruins Coffee, which is arabica coffee steeped with cardamom and topped with whipped cream and cinnamon. I just love that spiciness coming from the cardamom.
Before leaving the restaurant, I also took home some of their scones. They have three kinds available, their regular scone, mango scone, and cheese scone. My favorite was their mango scone.
SERVICE
The service at the Cafe by the Ruins was pretty good. The food was served within 15 minutes as they had promised. I also find the staff to be accommodating. I asked a few questions about the food and they were very much happy to share about it to me.
BOTTOM LINE
Overall, it was a pleasant visit at the Cafe by the Ruins. The food and service was good too. I also love the vibe of the place, rustic but modern.
Whenever you visit Baguio City, do drop by at the restaurant and enjoy a serving of one of their delicious dishes.
dimmmit i promised not to read your diaries when I’m hungry and now I did it again! grrrr. Lol great read.
(P.S. nibalhin na ko sa http://www.travelwands.com ha gikapoy na kog wander wanderingraks . See u there!)
Hahaha thank you teee 😁😁 more food to come in the coming weeks nakalugar na ko sulat balik