Azalea Baguio: Your Home in the City of Pines

When you think of summer in the Philippines, you would immediately imagineÂ white sand beaches and crystal blue seas. But did you knowÂ that the place that racks up the most local vacationers every yearâ€”even beating El Nido and Boracayâ€”is actually high up the mountains and boasts of a year-round cool and breezy climate, making it the perfect escape from Manilaâ€™s scorching heat? It is no other than the City of Pines itself, Baguio City! And weâ€™re so elated that we were able to cap off our summer in this lovely city, all thanks to Azalea Baguio!

One wonderful Tuesday in May, top fashion, food, and lifestyle bloggers were all hurled into three different vans for a long, butt-numbing 5-hour drive! Our destination? Azalea Hotels and Residences Baguio! Our mission? To visit the Summer Capital of the Philippines and enjoy one last summer getaway before we officially welcome the rainy season!

Azalea Hotels & Residences Baguio

Azalea Baguio is the first and only 4-star serviced apartment hotel in Baguio City. They have luxury suites that each come complete with their own kitchen, living, and bedroom areas. What I love most about Azalea Baguio is its proximity to the cityâ€™s top tourist attractions BUT, because it is far from the busyness of the city and not located directly along a major road, it is the best place you can book if youâ€™re searching for some peace and quiet.

The front desk welcomes you as you enter the main door into the hotel lobby. Behind it are their incredibly friendly staff who would be more than happy to assist you with your inquiries and requests.

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Marios Sunday Lunch Buffet

A few months ago, we went up to Baguio with a couple of fellow foodie friends and bloggers to celebrate Mario’s Restaurant‘s 40th year. Throughout our 2-day, 2-night stay, we enjoyed meals in their restaurant in Upper Session Road (watch out for part 2 of our feature). The whole Baguio trip concluded with a sumptuous meal at Mario’s Sunday Lunch Buffet.

Since this was an eat-all-you-can buffet, I initially thought that the dishes they’re going to serve won’t be the same as the ones on their regular menu. Most of the buffets we know only serve mediocre food compared to the items on their ala carte menu, but I was pleasantly surprised to know that Mario’s Sunday Lunch Buffet spread will give you a chance to enjoy their delicious regular menu dishes eat-all-you-can style.

Since I usually take a round of photos first before I eat, I initially planned on going to each buffet table armed with my camera. But, when I passed by the meat table, I couldn’t help, but pause my photo-taking. 😀

I went straight to get a serving of the Cochinillo, a suckling pig roasted to perfection! They serve this with lechon sauce, but the crispy, thick skin and the meat of the pig are flavorful enough on their own. I had to control myself and not get another serving of this. However, I couldn’t resist to take some from Ken’s plate when he went back for seconds. 😀

They also have a big slab ofÂ Roast Sirloin of Beef, sliced as you order and then served with Brandied Peppercorn sauce.

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Vegetarian Delights at Bliss Cafe in Baguio

I cannot imagine myself ever becoming a vegetarian. I love meat. Just the sight of a thick, succulent slab of beef roasting on the grill makes me salivate like a rabid dog. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean vegetarian dishes have no place in our table. In fact, they are very welcome, especially when they’re as delicious and flavourful as the ones we had at Bliss Cafe located in Hotel Elizabeth, Baguio City.

Bliss Cafe, the brainchild of Jim Ward and his wife Chef Shanti, has finally found its third and, hopefully, permanent home in Hotel Elizabeth.

In a corner of the hotel’s main lobby stands a door that opens to a small restaurant. Design pieces from various countries and cultures are perfectly placed into a controlled chaos, giving an atmosphere of being laid-back, peaceful, and eccentrically artistic. Jim informed us that the design of the restaurant changes every six weeks to provide different designers and artists a venue to feature their works. That’s pretty cool in our book. 🙂

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Why You Should Stay at Hotel Elizabeth Baguio

In the first week of March, we were invited to go to Baguio by Mario’s restaurant in celebration of their 40th year. We were quite excited about it because it was the best way to escape the early summer heat here in Manila, especially after we found out that we were staying for 2 nights at the very luxurious Hotel Elizabeth.

Hotel Elizabeth Baguio, awarded as Baguio’s Hotel of the Year for 3 years, is managed by Fersal Hotel Group, the umbrella company that established Fersal Hotels here in Manila. Just by these facts alone, you’d expect a very memorable stay at the hotel. And that’s exactly what we got.

We arrived just in time for dinner at Hotel Elizabeth on a Friday night, March 9th. This was the day that they were also celebrating their 7th year as one of the top hotels in Baguio. We joined in the celebration and it was a truly fun night.

By the way, as soon as we made it to the hotel, we were all in awe at how beautiful it was. I had to take a photo of the hotel at night and just scroll down for the photo I took in the morning.

I absolutely adore these gazebos (photo was taken on the 5th floor). And the breeze wasn’t just cool, but it smelled of pine trees. Ahhhhh…. Baguio! How I love thee… let me count the ways! 😉

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McDonald’s Eat All You Can Promo is TRUE!

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you check the date on the coupon below and when this post was published, you’ll see this is from 2012, not 2014. Thanks.

Earlier today, I saw someone tweeting about McDonald’s eat-all-you-can promo. My first thought was, “Are they crazy?!”. We’re also fans of McDonald’s and so just the thought of an unlimited offering of items on their menu drove me wild. Is it true?

Brian (The Philippines and Beyond), the guy who tweeted about it, shared with me the above photo that’s been spreading like wildfire. Upon further research, I learned it was posted on 9gag. Knowing the site, you’d think twice about believing anything posted there.

So, I posted the photo on our Facebook page and on my wall. I got a ton of responses (’cause I said walang KJ 😀 ) when I asked what item off McDo’s menu they’d want to get unlimited of, and we thought it was all a gag.

The sign clearly shows it’s McDonald’s branch in Baguio, along Session Road. Fortunately, someone from Baguio (shoutout to Clar!) replied to the thread saying it’s true, that she even has tickets to the buffet / eat-all-you-can happening on March 26, 2012. I requested for a photo and here it is:

Credits to Baguio Food Adventures – Thank you Clar! 🙂

Not sure if they’re still selling tickets or they’re sold out. If you have any idea, let me know so we can update this.

Update:Â From Marianne Cristine: Not all the items on their menu are part of the promo.Â Since they’re only selling limited tickets, I think this is okay. If you’ll be there, we’d appreciate it if you’d share photos so we can post it here, with credits to you, of course. 🙂

Let’s set aside the health concerns and what-nots for now. No mentioning of having to request for a free quote for health reasons. Basta! ALL FOR FUN. I know a lot of you who aren’t from Baguio are also jealous that they have this promo there.

So, again, let me ask you a question: Which item off McDonald’s menu would you eat if you happen to get your hands on one of the eat-all-you-can buffet tickets?

I know Ken and I will have the same answers: fries and caramel sundae! 😀

Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad, Benguet near Baguio

Though we’ve been to Baguio a lot of times in the past, we never got to see Strawberry Farm for some reason. So, when were in Baguio last December, it was really part of our itinerary. We headed up there as early as 8am since we were going back to Manila in the afternoon.

We hired a taxi for the day and he was pretty familiar with the places in Baguio. He’s actually from La Trinidad, Benguet so getting there was a breeze.

As soon as I saw the strawberry farm itself, I got all excited. I love strawberries! No, I don’t like the powdered or artificial strawberry flavors. I want the actual fruit.

Outside the strawberry farm, there are a lot of people selling a lot of goodies. There are also pre-packed strawberries being sold there and you can choose to buy them instead of having to pick your own strawberries at the farm. But, I mean, c’mon. You’re already there so why not do it yourself, right? 😀

Before we get to the Strawberry farm, we had to try the Strawberry Taho in Baguio. It was sweet and I love that they put actual strawberries in the taho. Yum! 🙂

We also tried the Strawberry dirty ice cream being sold there. I forgot the price, but I think we paid Php 15 for this cone of ice cream. It’s a little bland for me compared to the ones you can buy at the grocery. But, yeah, duh, right? Of course, it’s being sold at a cheaper price so it was okay. There were bits of strawberries, and the flavor was just okay.

Anyway, when we asked how much it is if we pick our own strawberries, they said it’ll cost Php 300 per kilo. Way expensive, right?! They explained that it covers those strawberries we’ll smash, plants we’ll damage, and those we’re going to eat while we were there. They have a point ’cause I saw a lot of other pickers actually doing all of the above. 😀

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Strawberry Pork Sinigang Recipe

Ever since I wrote about Strawberry Sinigang after hearing about it from fellow bloggers, I’ve wanted to try it myself. So, it was actually part of our itinerary when we went on vacation to 5 destinations, including Baguio, last December. However, due to our very “tight” schedule, we scrapped visiting the restaurant that serves it. Thus, my mother swore to try to make her own version of it at home.

Before I go ahead with the Strawberry Pork Sinigang recipe, let me share with you how active my mother has been lately with this blog. Ever since the last quarter of 2010, my mother has been fully supportive of our food blog. In fact, she’s been really eager to share her recipes and have tried making her own homemade versions of dishes we tried from our trip and dining out. She now prefers to eat at a new restaurant when we go out. Also, she’s into designing or setting up the plates of food she prepares so they’ll look good on a photo. She would even make sure I get photos of food we order before eating. She’s now more patient. Amazing, huh? A stage mom, eh? 😀

So, it’s just fitting that I include her in the official contributors of this food blog. She’s got a ton of recipes to share. She’s an AWESOME cook. And I’m not saying that ’cause she’s my mother, but because she really is. That’s why it’s really hard to lose weight over here. My friends and everyone who have tried her dishes would agree with me 1,000%!

Okay, enough intro. When we went to the Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad, Baguio, we decided to pick strawberries ’cause my mother was determined to cook Strawberry Sinigang at home. So, most of the strawberries she picked were a li’l green.

Now, on to the recipe.

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Good Shepherd Pasalubong Items from Baguio

I’ve mentioned that we went on a 5-day vacation last December and one of our destinations was Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines. I love Baguio, not only because of the climate, but because of all the pasalubong shopping I can do for us and my friends back home.

Before our lunch at Oh My Gulay Artist Cafe along Session Road, we went to Good Shepherd in Baguio to buy some pasalubong items that were requested by friends, particularly my blogger friend Eihdra. 😀

The Good Shepherd Convent is located along Gibraltar Road, near Mines View Park in Baguio. The Good Shepherd nuns make and sell different kinds of pasalubong items which are very popular among tourists / visitors in Baguio.

I super love this particular sign at their garden, right when you enter their premises.

Take nothing but photos. Leave nothing but goodness. Keep nothing but memoriesâ€¦

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Oh My Gulay Artist Cafe in Baguio City : A Vegetarian Experience

Ever since a friend of mine mentioned Oh My Gulay Artist Cafe in Baguio, I’ve been dying to try their food. Why? No, it’s not because it’s a vegetarian restaurant. But, since Baguio is known as a popular source of fresh vegetables like broccoli and lettuce, and other crops like strawberries, oranges (from Sagada), etc., I know I can only expect the freshest ingredients on anything on their menu. Something I wouldn’t pass up! 🙂

So, during our 5-day vacation last month, Oh My Gulay (O.M.G.) was definitely on our itinerary. We slightly had a hard time finding it ’cause when I did my research, someone said it’s located in “Green Azotea” building. 😀 We hired a taxi for the whole day (we went to Good Shepherd and Strawberry farm, which we’ll post about next!) and the driver didn’t know any building with that name. Turns out, it’s at the La Azotea building and the color of the whole structure is, well, green. 😀

It’s along Session Road so it’s pretty easy to find. It’s right in front of Metrobank. Oh My Gulay is on the 5th floor and there are no elevators. So, you’d have to climb up all the way to their floor. There’s a bookstore, aÂ gym and other food stalls that might entertain you while you take a break from climbing up those stairs. 😀

Now, before I go on about Oh My Gulay’s food, let me just share with you some of the photos we took of their restaurant. The whole eclectic design drew my attention.

Even my bro Ken was fascinated by the intricate structure and decorations, both on the first floor and second floor. He took most of the photos of the restaurant and even went upstairs.

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Pasalubong Ideas from Baguio – The Good, The Bad

First of all, I hope you all had a MERRY CHRISTMAS! Have a Blessed New Year everyone! 🙂

If you’ve been following my other blogs, especially my personal blog Just Another Pixel, you’d know that I just got home from a 5-day Luzon vacation. We’ve dined and bought a lot of goodies or pasalubong from our 4 destinations (yes, 4 destinations in 5 days! :D) and I’ll be writing about them in the coming days so make sure you keep posted for that.

To start, let me show you some of the goodies we brought home with us from Baguio. Some were really good and worth giving away; the rest, ugh. Read on for my Baguio pasalubong recommendations.

The Bad 🙁

Lina’s Chewy Milky Balls are too milky for me in a not so good way. The texture is also weird that I didn’t even finish one piece. Ken also didn’t like it at all. It tasted more of coconut (unpleasantly), even the texture or the chewiness.

Lina’s Chewy Choco Balls may look yummy in that photo, but they weren’t good at all. Well, at least for me. Again, just like the milky balls, the texture is way too weird and I barely tasted any chocolate. I think itâ€™s just food coloring. 😐

I actually bought 2 variants of Jamber’s Lengua de Gato – chocolate and strawberry-flavored. I had high hopes that they’ll be good, but they were a big disappointment. First, they weren’t even crunchy. They were too soft and chewy. I want my lengua de gato a li’l crunchy, just like the ones from Pines Maid.

(The Good after the jump!)

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