BAGUIO:
Baguio Rediscovered
New sensations, flavors, and discoveries await the peripatetic and adventurous in the City of Pines
words by Vic Sevilla
images by Magsy Magbanua
To many who have gone to Baguio City for a successive number of times, this mountain hideaway may already appear to offer meager attractions that could rouse excitement. On our recent trip to Baguio, however, we went to little-explored alleys, far from the city’s usual hangouts, to discover delightful things that give a fresh perspective.
A HOUSE AS A HOME
Those who miss the magic of the Baguio of old can still step back in time by checking in at The Country Place Baguio. Built in 1950 by architect Tomas Arguelles, this vintage house has a quaint charm and tranquility. Perched on top of a slope along Dominican Hill Road, its three serviced residences offer a commanding view of the valley below.
“The Country Place Baguio offers the ideal accommodations for those who want the convenience of a hotel, but the comfort of home,” says Socorro Rojas Baylon, or as she is more popularly referred to, Mrs. B. “Each residence is tastefully furnished and can accommodate 10 persons comfortably.”
Indeed, some of the features in the house belong to a bygone period in history. The fireplace, for instance, is made from the original Baguio stone, which, Mrs. B said is no longer available. One of the kitchens is outfitted by original Möbel House furnishings, at least 20 years old. The floors and walls are all made in the 1950s from Benguet pine, as is the riprap stone work done by the Ifugaos who were masters in stonecutting.
The master’s bedroom is dominated by the king-sized bed and comes with a graceful dressing table and bureau. The spacious bathrooms and toilet are also outfitted with accessories that date back to the 1950s to exude the distinct charm and appeal of the past. Some of the showcase cabinets hold the the collection of matches, wallets and ballpens of the master of the house. In Residence 2, one of the kitchen shelves are lined with pretty pink Depression glasses which the family owned. An ornate pink rotary vintage phone has been turned into a lampshade.
For those who love the outdoors, the garden hosts ornamental blooms that include birds of paradise, baby’s breath, asters, rosal, hibiscus, lilies and dahlia. Mrs. B has also set up a greenhouse where she grows some of the herbs and spices the cook uses. On an outcropping, which she turned into a mini rice terraces (she calls this the “saliwat” lookout, a Hiligaynon term meaning “until next time”), she planted oregano and tarragon which she makes into herbal tea for guests. On some days, there are guests who, after arriving, would holler, “Mrs. B, we’re home!” at the hallway to announce their presence.
FRESH FLAVORS
Our exploration brought us to the doorsteps of Café Adriana by Hill Station, the newest baby of that irrepressible culinary doyen and connoisseur of life’s finer flavors Mitos Benitez Yñiguez. At Café Adriana, located at the ground floor of Outlook Ridge Residences on V. de lose Reyes St., one can take pleasure from a refined cuisine in a warm, easygoing setting.
“The food at Café Adriana brings back the reassuring flavors of home,” said Yñiguez. Because vegetables are plentiful in Baguio, Yñiguez makes sure to incorporate as much greens as she possibly can into the menu. We started with the Classic Caesar Salad drizzled with her own homemade dressing. But what she served as next makes a surprising use for vegetables. The Roasted Veggie Bowl is a salad brimming with oven-roasted eggplants, squash, zucchini and tomatoes tossed with organic arugula, quinoa, and alfalfa sprouts, bathed with orange vinaigrette. The greens provided the refreshing crunch, while the slightly burnt veggies imparted a sweet smoky flavor.
Because the café prides itself in its Spanish offerings — the paella, in particular — we tried the classic Valenciana which is a rich and filling meal in itself. Its vivid flavor comes from the medley of chicken, smoked pork, chorizo and seafood. She then offered us a sampling of the café’s Paella Negra, which is an intense all-seafood version smothered in squid ink. Meanwhile, the Poached Mahi-Mahi provided a delicate note to the already flavorful lunch. For leaves and raw vegetables, she gets organic greens from growers who use compost and carbonized soil. She makes jelly from La Union guavas, and kumquat chutney and marmalade from kumquats grown in Sagada.
“When it is in season, we buy a lot of strawberries in La Trinidad and we bottle as much as a few hundreds to last the whole year,” she added. She also makes vegetarian bagoong from fermented tausi (black beans) sautéed with carrots, onions and garlic. All these she bottles and sells in a small deli inside Café Adriana so that visitors can bring back home the fresh flavors of Baguio that continues to beguile food lovers.
JAPANESE TEMPTATIONS
“Yasuragi” is a Nippon word that means “peace” or “calmness” and that was exactly what we felt when we entered the little hut in Upper Bonifacio St. Coming in from an earnest downpour, Yasuragi Japanese Cuisine offered a warm and cozy shelter. Owned by chef Rolando Guillera and his wife Bona Fe, Yasuragi used to be located in La Trinidad. It has since relocated to a more accessible location to the delight of Japanese food aficionados. Said Chef Rolando, “We transferred here two years ago because most of our customers in La Trinidad were from Baguio anyway. And the space there was also smaller, so our customers requested us to transfer here.”
An experienced chef who worked for an upscale Japanese restaurant in Manila for 10 years, Chef Rolando nevertheless turned to his creativity to introduce innovations that would make Yasuragi a restaurant of note. The chef added, “When I was setting up the menu it was really on a trial-and-error basis. We began with just a few items to find out how the customers would respond. Then little by little, we kept adding more. Of course, we always take quality in consideration — the right ingredients, the proper way of cooking, the correct way of serving.”
“We continue to seek the advice of customers. We want to get their opinion so that we could serve them better,” said Bona Fe who takes care of the accounting and the hiring of the employees. At present, Yasuragi’s menu consists of 40 different kinds of rolls, three types of ramen, salads, chicken, beef and pork dishes, and an assortment of tempura. Said Chef Rolando, “The rice rolls are our specialty. People come here from all over for the rolls. So I continue to create different kinds to give our customers a good variety.”
So while the rain pummeled the roof, we ate five different kinds of rolls which was not a big feat considering they were all scrumptious. But do try the Crunchy Salmon Roll which has both bite and tenderness. The fitness-conscious may gobble up a whole bowl of Seaweed Salad and some Seafood Dumplings without guilt.
A CORNER OF RICH FLAVORS
When it comes to dining out in Baguio, traditionalists would normally look for a place that serves oversized steaks, abundant servings of salad, and a sweet something at the end. All that can be enjoyed in a restaurant that city denizens and visitors have come to love and appreciate: Canto along Kisad Road, a stone’s throw away from Burnham Park. The food exudes the goodness and integrity of home cooking, served without the fancy decorations and tasting of the straightforward flavors of authentic ingredients. At Canto, owners Carlos and Dimps Blanco personally check the food and talk to customers. They made us sit down to a serving of their house specialty: Lomo Ribs, a thickset chunk of pork ribs barbecued to a golden brown until the meat is nearly falling off the bones. This is drenched in the house’s own homemade barbecue sauce (with a sweet-tangy flavor and an aromatic smell), a heap of Cascade Salad, and mashed potatoes.
“The Lomo Ribs was introduced to us by a friend. At first, we only served it every Saturday because it was the only day off of my husband — and he used to do the grilling,” Dimps recalled with a laugh. “But it has evolved through the years. We would do taste tests with family members and close friends and they would make their suggestions.”
The Cascade Salad is in itself a treat. It’s a bed of crunchy lettuce bathed in vinaigrette and topped with fruits (diced strawberries, watermelon, or whatever’s in season), cucumber slices, alfalfa sprouts, and to give it a bit of the character of Baguio, a sprinkling of crushed peanut brittle on top. The Chili Burger, where the plump all-beef patty is smothered in chili con carne and served with crispy shoestring potatoes, is another treat for meat lovers. Carlo added, “Canto serves a traditional American menu, but we source most of the ingredients locally. It is our commitment to help support the farmers, growers and suppliers in Baguio.”
Together with their other partners, Francis Blanco and Vanessa Haya, Canto also regularly collaborates with Filipino indie bands for small gigs at Canto’s other venue, a whole house at the back which sits on an elevation and offers a panoramic.
“We’ve invited bands such as Sinosikat, Ourselves the Elves, Brass Pas PasPasPas, Dong Abay, and Tala from Manila for small concerts in our place upstairs,” Carlo said. And because Baguio is likewise a hub for artists, Canto handpicks the music to be played in the restaurant. On certain nights, the place becomes a venue for kundiman, zarzuela or instrumental music programs. Carlo also said, “We would sell tickets, the proceeds of which will go to the talents. We believe that as entrepreneurs, we have a responsibility to help promote our own — be it in food, or in entertainment.”
NATURAL BEAUTY
Stepping into the showroom of Philippine Treasures is like stepping into a magical universe. On long wooden tables stand rows upon rows of Christmas trees in a gamut of colors, styles and make. Some are fashioned from glittering glass, others from leaves dusted with glitters, and there are those made of shells and twigs. All these dreamy trinkets and objets d’art spring from only one source — the passion of Loly Gomez.
Although she started by creating silver jewelry, this soft-spoken and elegant lady admits that she had no formal training in fine arts or product design. When the price of silver skyrocketed, her family stopped producing jewelry altogether and Loly looked for other avenues which could use her creative energies. That’s when the production of home décor and Christmas ornaments began. She would decorate her home with things she made from whatever she could get her hands on: wood shavings, twigs, dried flowers and leaves, ribbons. Her closest friends and neighbors saw her handiwork and asked her to make some for their own homes. She recalled, “So I started making a business out of it. I trained my workers myself. Up to now, I make the first item of every product that we sell and then teach my workers how to do it.”
Even before the term “upcycling” became part of popular jargon, Loly already gathered twigs and newspapers that were to be thrown away or burned, and turned them into decorative trees and baskets. She uses leaves from acacia, ficus, langka, mango, bauhinia, cacao and anahaw, and make Christmas trees, wreaths, wall décor, or floral arrangements. One day, when her son broke his car’s windshield in an accident, Loly saw that he was going to throw it away. Instead, she had him hand her the shattered glass. She recounted, “I took a glass bowl and started arranging the fragments on it, like a mosaic. And the buyers liked it. From that we eventually made broken glass trees and big jars. Then I experimented on painting the glass, and made a mosaic for glass panels for doors and windows and table tops.”
Today, she supplies Pottery Barn with her mosaic glass panels and bowls. She also gets orders from Neiman Marcus and Pier One, and from private buyers and collectors. Her product line, bearing the Philippine Treasures, Inc. brand, consists of Christmas trees, Christmas décor, custom-made glass panels, floral designs, butterflies, snowflakes, stars, glass trees and bowls, maple leaves, and feather angels. Although she remains holed up in her workshop in Baguio, Loly said, “I don’t like traveling — it’s enough that our products go around the world into the homes of many people. That’s enough satisfaction for me.”
SILVER ATTRACTIONS
More than a century ago, Baguio saw massive development when the Americans started constructing roads to support the mining companies that they set up in Benguet. By the late 1800s to the early 1900s, the opening of the mines started the city’s affair with gold and silver. Today, because of the effects of globalization and the prohibitive cost of silver, the production of silver jewelry has greatly dwindled. Only a few intrepid craftsmen and entrepreneurs have continued operation, among them is Tawid Silver. Owned by Wilhelmina “Baby” Rimando, her husband Reynaldo, and her son Daniel Paul, Tawid Silver continues to survive and still commands both admiration and a respectable price. The reason lies in its uncompromising quality both in design and manufacture. Baby said, “Through my close association with the Department of Trade and Industry, I was able to see the market abroad. They brought me to Thailand where I saw jewelry designs that were modern and out-of-the-ordinary. The Department of Science and Technology, on the other hand, helped us develop the modern machinery and new tools to be used to develop our manufacturing and design process.”
Using 92.5% sterling silver, Tawid Silver creates an astonishing number of designs such as geometric necklaces and earrings, bibs of overlapping discs that look like fish scales, and sleek spherical earrings. Daniel said, “The classic ball stud is one of our bestsellers because it never goes out of style. It’s available in high polished, satin and gold plated varieties. Some people have mistaken it for pearls, in fact, the gold version looks like champagne pearls.”
Baby, who designs the jewelry, says some of the pieces she makes are one-of-a-kind. The leaf pattern, for one, is carved from the shape of a real minute leaf. To Baby, the intricate configuration of a leaf is a reflection of God’s ingenuity as the supreme designer, and that the leaf itself represents life. One time when she was in Europe, she saw a building with a striking façade. She said, “That inspired me and I started work immediately when I got home. That design eventually became a bracelet. You see, I take inspiration from the world around me because beauty is everywhere.” “Tawid” after all is an Ilocano term that means “legacy” or “inheritance.”
A BARBER’S TALE
For too long, barbershops have become the favorite haunts of men. Here, they exchange anecdotes and opinions on just about anything—from politics to business to the last of Pacquiao’s boxing match. The same convivial atmosphere lives on in Kwentong Barbero, a barbershop with branches at SM Baguio City, Abanao Extension and SM Urdaneta in Pangasinan. A far cry from the holes in the walls that dot the city, Kwentong Barbero is a sleek, retro-modern hub of grooming and relaxation.
“We really didn’t look for this business. It came to us,” said Richard Narvaez. “I was having my haircut with my old barber along Session Road when he informed me that the owners were closing shop. It was offered to several people, but as luck would have it, it ended up with us. So with no knowledge about how to run a barber shop, we grabbed the opportunity.”
Richard and his wife, Marissa, immediately got to work. They had the old vintage barber chairs reconditioned. These are chairs from the 1930s and 1940s, which were still in good working condition. Marissa noted, “I don’t think there are too many barbershops anywhere that have more than a dozen working vintage chairs.” Richard added, “These are chairs manufactured by Koken and Theo Koch from Chicago.”
More than a source of livelihood, the couple also sees Kwentong Barbero as a way of providing decent livelihood and ideal working conditions to the barbers they take into employment. Richard explained, “At Kwentong Barbero, we consciously use products from Baguio’s manufacturers. From them, we buy our supply of aftershave cologne, pomade, and beard oil. It’s our small way of giving back to the city that helped nurture our business.”
MORE ABOUT BAGUIO
Along with the surge in tourism, Baguio City is seeing the emergence of restaurants, eateries and cafes offering a gamut of culinary persuasions and mouthwatering delights that are definitely far from the usual.
Words by Vic Sevilla
Images by Emman Peregrin
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