17 April 2007

Good Taste!

For somebody who's lived in Baguio for practically his entire life, you'd think that I would know every nook and cranny of Baguio City, right? Wrong.

I had familiar haunts and playgrounds as a kid and as a student and with friends, but I wasn't really the outgoing kind of person. It is only recently when I'm working in Manila that I'm rediscovering Baguio City and appreciating it more. Not that I ignored Baguio when I was there. Heck no. In fact, I love having spent my childhood and school years there. We cooked on clay pottery, wandered all over Baguio, saw a pitcher plant and venus fly trap in the wild, caught tadpoles and grasshoppers (I left spiders to my brother who expertly cared for them and had spider fights), and as students we'd read books and do our assignment under the relaxing shade of pine trees in Burnham Park.

But I digress.

Here is another wonderful discovery that's been in Baguio City for the longest time. It was actually a place my wife learned about from her colleagues. The restaurant, called Good Taste Cafe and Restaurant, is hidden behind Baguio Center Mall in Magsaysay Avenue. I think the terminal behind this mall is also where you can get your ride to Sagada.

The look of the place is a testament to a simple past when Baguio didn't have Jollibees and McDonalds, and the mall before it was once a huge open-air jeepney terminal where enterprising folks would put up magic trick shows with snakes and sell medicines in small bottles while they make their pesence known using megaphones (these very popular then; I used to mill about with the crowd and gawk at the magical things they did).

Whoops! I got lost in memory lane again...

The place was simple but generally clean.

We ordered just for the two of us: sinigang na tilapia (fish in sour soup), lumpiang shanghai, yang chow fried rice, and drinks. When our orders arrived, it was sufficient to feed four!
The soup was excellent, the fish fresh! There was more lumpiang shanghai than we can manage. The rice too, advertised as good for three (I count as two hehehe), but it was more than we can handle.

The only qualm my wife had was that her mango juice evidently came from the can. She was served the same from a similar restaurant before... so I hope she sticks to iced tea next time. hehe.

Other than that, the food was great!

We finished eating already and look at what was left unfinished. We had our leftovers packed up. So guess what was for dinner.
Guess how much the bill was!

***
After attending to some matters, we visited my parents. Our youngest sister Ruby was there with her daughter. "Oh, where is baby Jaja?", we asked. It's been ages since we last saw her. And there she was, no longer a baby! How time flies! But we still called her baby Jaja. Too bad they're all growing without seeing much of their cousins. We asked Kiefer and Kyle (my younger brother's kids) to visit us one time and play with baby Jo-Lo too.

28 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:47 am

    uyyy..... first ako ditooo!! yahooo.... patingin nga!!!

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  2. Anonymous5:49 am

    yessshhh... ako nga ang first! hihihihi!!

    ang sarap naman nun! grabe! ang dami pa, talagang busog na busog ka paglabas mo ng store! haaay! kita ko yung fried rice, yummy! waaahhh.... lalo na yung sinigang!!

    hmmm... magkano??! for sure.. affordable talaga yan!

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  3. ok, i give up. magkano talaga? yung rice they said good for two -- goodness it looks like pang family size.

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  4. Uy Sige na hulaan nyo naman yung presyo pleasssssssse.


    Rho: Natawa ako ngayong umaga. Salamat! Naku Rho, kanin pa lang, nabusog na kami.

    Purplegirl: Ang dami talaga nung rice. Promise.

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  5. sarap naman ng fried rice at lumpiang shanghai! san ba natatago ang resto na yan at baka mapadaan kami next week mula sa pamumundok, for sure kukulangin ang good for two sa akin hehehe.

    link pala kita ha. :)

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  6. Zherwin: nagtretrek kayo? Sama naman ako! Link rin kita ha

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  7. bilib ako sayo nick, you actually found time to take pics BEFORE eating. kami ni bebert parating nalilimutan mag picture. by the time we realize it, ubos na ang pagkain! sige makapunta nga dyan someday. i rarely visit baguio but i'm always happy when i'm there. lalo na sa john hay at sa palengke.

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  8. Anonymous5:33 pm

    How can I lose weight kung puro masasarap yung nakikita ko sa post mo? haha..Di pa ako napunta dyan pero I know where it is. Magdadala ako ng apat na homeless! Just curious what they will do to us. I did this same skit with Solibao Resto at Burnham nine years ago. I brought four stinky homeless and fed them there. Mgr and da waitres
    kinda remember me so they gave me and my asungots excellent service.
    The trick: I tipped pretty good!
    hehe....hay Pinas, money talks!!!
    Sad, very sad....

    TruBlue

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  9. Anonymous5:46 pm

    hmm... less than 500?

    sige nga, pag napunta kami ng baguio dalawin namin yan. mukhang ang sarap nga ng food. pag nasa baguio kasi ako gusto ko yung mga dating pinupuntahan.

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  10. Hayan, nagutom tuloy ako. Makabili nga ng makakain. I will guess na cheaper yung bill nyo compared when you eat here sa manila... Gusto ko tuloy pumunta ng Baguio.

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  11. Let me see... price is around Php300.00

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  12. Anonymous6:51 pm

    Dear, baka pwedeng dun natin i-treat si Fr. Wren... what do u think?

    tina

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  13. Anonymous8:03 pm

    nakasubok na ako kumain dyan, susme ang daming tao kapag peak season sa bagiuo. pero tama ka oks dyan!

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  14. Anonymous10:32 pm

    Got it! Sana makabisita ako diyan. Sana makapunta akong Baguio. Hehehe.

    Was your bill P575?

    Feeling ko nasa Price is Right ako.

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  15. Donna: I also sometimes see other peopletaking photos of their food. Chances are bloggers sila hehehe. There were occasions when I forget too, especially if common yung place, o talagang gutom na ako.

    TruBlue: I also know of a friend who's mom spends her birthday with the streetchildren at McDonald's. She'd buy all of their sampaguita so they can stay and play at McDonalds and not worry about selling... so good of you to occasionally share with the kids in Baguio. It's true... money talks. But how you use it talks even more about you, di ba?

    Pero maganda yung gimik mo ah! A curious take on human nature, on how they react to stimuli outside of what they are accustomed to. uy pwede ako maging psychologist!

    Lady Cess: ah oo nothing beats familiar places op cors. Pero kung bigla kang nagkaroon ng company at gusto mong makatipid at the same time masarap yung food, try mo dito.

    Jho: Ako rin nagutom bigla hehehe

    Jho: that was close! Bill namin 320-250 pesos! Grabe, ang mura diba? May take-home pa kami.

    Dear: pwede... pero kung sya lang, treat nalang natin sa Ruins o kaya sa Oh My Gulay for the ambience ek-ek

    Iskoo: Salamat ha! At last somebody's been there too and vouched for this post! hehehe

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  16. Toni: I think halos sabay lang tayo nagcocomment. Hahaha. The price was somewhere between 320-250 pesoses!

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  17. Anonymous12:00 am

    very... very... mouthwatering! i can't remember the last time i ate at goodtaste...

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  18. Anonymous2:18 am

    o sige huhulaan ko kuya!! hmmm.... mga P200-300??! yaaay.. pero naku, kahit ano pang presyo nyan basta masarap!! hehehe!

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  19. Anonymous2:20 am

    ayyy... hindi ko nabasa! sinabi mo na pala kung ano ang presyo! after ko kasing mabasa yung reply mo sagot agad ako dito! hehehe! very affordable nga talaga!

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  20. waaaaa i love good taste! haha! perfect for big blowouts na small ang budget. nakakatakot nga lang kung medyo gabi ka na pupunta dun kasi nakakatakot sa likod ng centermall hehe

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  21. Ellygears: baka may alam ka pang ibang place na di ko alam sa Baguio... let me know ha!

    Rho: In fairness, malapit rin hula mo. hehehe

    Snst_blvd: Yeah... malapit sya sa terminal. Well... I would guess maraming tao so baka hindi rin naman ganun ka-dangerous sa gabi. Pero you never know of course sa panahon ngayon. Thanks for dropping by!

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  22. omg, ginutom na naman ako. So how much was it? I bet it is something ridiculously cheap like 400 pesos or something, right? You always make me homesick :)

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  23. dapat nag basa muna ako ng comments..nilagay mo na pala ang sagot. haha!

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  24. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... Good Taste! Every baguio citizen's fave place to buy cheap but oh soo delicious food! I am pining for their buttered chicken right about now. :)

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  25. JMom: ang dami ko pa ring hindi alam sa Baguio ano? Pasok sa school at uwi lang kasi ginagawa ko noon eh. hehehe

    Alternati: Buttered chicken's next on my list when I visit again!

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  26. Anonymous8:26 pm

    I think I've been here! I just don't remember if I had the sinigang or the bulalo. Whatever it was, it was a yummy and very satisfying meal :)

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  27. Anonymous8:15 am

    does anyone know their contact number/s? and if they provide free delivery?

    -wild-

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  28. Mia: I was there a second time recently, and there were lots of people. It's really famous, huh?

    Wild: Unfortunately, I do not have their contact info...

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