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.
The fish strips (below left) come from Davao. At the lower right is homemade pickled pepper. There's my scrambled eggs, scrambled just the way I like it! Meatloaf, butter, and bread completes this simple breakfast for our guests.
Oh, there's some fresh tomatoes too!
There's Jo-Lo with his camera grin.
This was my order. The predictable me usually just order either apple pie or carrot cake when I don't feel adventurous.
We chatted until midnight, bracing ourselves against the cool night air while chatting with friends.
