When in Baguio, eat local: Breakfast at Cafe by the Ruins

Cafe by the Ruins gave me one of the best breakfast experiences I've had, right up there with El Nido's Pukka Bar and Cafe in terms of memorable coffee and omelettes. This easy-to-find eclectic restaurant right in the heart of the town has an interesting menu with unique twists to otherwise standard dishes.

Even though it's right smack in the middle of the town proper on Chuntug Street right off Session Road, once you step inside it's an entirely different world. The place is artfully decorated in wood and teak furniture with art pieces and paintings scattered all over. It feels like you're dining in a secluded garden when inside. My only beef with the location is that there's a huge Eurotel right behind the restaurant which pretty much ruins any facade photos.

Although a tad expensive (meals range from P180-350 and above), every bite is worth the price. The real winner for me was the strong Benguet coffee that came with a meringue-like sugar candy. I like my coffee strong and with a distinct flavor. The only downside to drinking coffee in perpetually freezing Baguio is that if you don't drink it right away, you'll end up with lukewarm coffee in a matter of minutes.

I also went gaga over my Tortilla de Patatas (P180) omelette which was sheer genius. Who would have thought to fill an omelette with crispy fried potato strips? It was perfectly done and served with a freshly baked bun. I barely managed to finish my order due to the huge serving. Definitely a great way to start your day! I can't wait to try the cheese omelette next time I find myself here--I'm already dreaming of carabao and Parmesan cheese!

Mitch, on the other hand, was still thinking of the longganisa I ordered the night before at Everything Nice. She ordered the Filipino Lon-si-log (P245) which, compared to my order at Everything Nice, had a generous amount of longganisang hubad cut up into cubes. She gave me a couple of pieces and I had to concede that it was a waaaay better version of the Baguio longganisa.

Dana ordered the Fisherman's Breakfast (P245) which came with a huge piece of daing na dalag, with sinangag and ensalada. I'm not that fond of dalag and would prefer bangus when it comes to daing.

All breakfast sets come with coffee or tea. I especially liked their shot glasses where they put the cream or honey for both.

Next time, I'm itching to order other items on the menu for brekky. I can't wait to try their champorado with dilis, ensaymada de los ilustrados with hot chocolate, and bibingcakes! Perfect place for an authentic Baguio breakfast experience!

Cafe by the Ruins
23 Chuntug Street, Baguio
(+074) 442 4010

Staring at the seashell waiting for it to embrace me

I almost forgot how tiring Friday night classes can get; and today was a particularly stressful one, work-wise. So here I am, de-stressing myself with happy thoughts of Boracay and to finally finish sharing our trip's highlights.

You know, thoughts of coffee, omelets, and calamansi muffins for breakfast.

Calming memories of getting a massage on the roof deck with an awesome view of the beach.

Happy thoughts of lemon cheesecakes and mango madness at Lemon iCafe with my favorite boys. Or getting to walk around in nothing but a bikini and no one gives a shiz.

 wearing Topshop bikini

Sigh. Why can't I just live near the sea, wear Topshop bikinis, and live la bohème life?

From morning to sunset to sunrise!

Hola, lovers! I'm blogging about isla boheme again (yes, what's new). Well, I don't really care. And so, when we arrived at Station 1, I didn't even have the patience to wait for our check-in time at the hotel. While the boys were drinking late-morning beers at the patio, I rented a paddle board and proceeded to the water like a little kid drawn to a toy store. Or whenever I see Zara.

Soon enough, we all took turns at the paddle-board and paddled our way to giggles and laughing fits. The wiping out was part of the whole package. Jake was a particularly funny sight to watch, always the clumsy boy.

After a bit of siesta, the beer-chugging resumed. Waiting-for-the-sunset happy hour at Sur!

And we discovered Smoke by accident while looking around for places to eat at D' Mall while waiting for Epic's party. El cheapo award-winning food plus no-frills dining!

Come to think of it, it was probably a mistake to stuff ourselves during dinner. Jake, Mike, and I walked all the way back to Station 1 to rest for a while 'cause it was taking forever for the party to start. We all fell asleep and next thing I know it's 6am and we missed the whole thing. At least Jake had some pinacoladas with the rest of the guys before conking out. 

No regrets, though, I was alive and kicking at sunrise the next morning and had a quiet beach all to myself. I like Boracay best when it's peaceful like this.

Also saw Biz and Berch returning from Epic and we all had brekky at Jonah's while the others were still sleeping! Nothing beats early morning mango banana shakes!

I never saw Friday the golden retriever again since we last saw her in 2010. This little chihuahua was such a cutie patootie, though! She was hanging outside Jonah's and kept running along the beach. Such a fickle little thing.

Too early for a maaah-ssage :(

But had a crowd-less beach for jump shots :-)

 wearing Forever 21 sheer aztec print top, Topshop daisy dukes, Rayban wayfarers

And guess what! We discovered our hotel's amazing roof deck! Just look at that breath-taking view! There's also a massage area where you can lie down and gaze at the beach. In fact, our place deserves its own write-up. Blue Lily was perfectly situated on Station 1 right by the grotto, so we were steps away from Jonah's, the happy hour party places at White House and Sur, and a couple of minutes walk away from Station 2. I can't even count the number of beers the boys had at the patio. 

We all loved that patio.

Daydreaming of pancakes and bacons

Because I only had a Milo for brekky this morning, I shall satisfy myself by browsing this 50 of the World's Best Breakfasts site Jake sent last week. I'm currently trying to fool myself that staring at these English and American breakfast spreads will satisfy my hunger minus the calories.

I feel a whole lot better now.

When in Boracay, Eat Local: Brekky at Real Coffee and Tea Café

Jake and I decided (well, I decided mostly) to become foodies and try new places for this Boracay trip. When in Boracay, eat local--that's what they always say so we made an effort to eat at restaurants and spots you'll only find on the island. No to Yellow Cab, Starbucks, Shakey's, save for Andok's when we were craving barbecued chicken and sinigang. 

I'm attempting to write food reviews now--yes I'm pretentious, so I'm starting with our breakfast experience at the famous Real Coffee and Tea Café. I've been eyeing this last year but we opted for other local spots, and I had to deal with a very cranky sleepyhead (ehem, Jake).

But anyway, Real Coffee is a couple of steps away from our place so it was very convenient to just grab our things and head out for brekky. It's located in a small alley, within sight of the beach, and there are kitschy signs all over the bahay-kubo place advertising their menu and mostly inspirational quotes. I especially loved the quote on on the counter where we sat.

 

Being a bookworm, I was also dying to check out the books covering their wall under the second-floor ladder. The place is so homey, they even had labeled personal mugs for their usual customers by the counter. Just above us, there were pictures of celebrities who regularly patronize the place.

 

I was feeling like a hypebeast that morning so I ordered their specialty--calamansi muffin and Real Coffee. Jake also got a muffin for himself but was already itching to eat elsewhere for his tapsilog craving. They bake the muffins right in front of you, I even got a huge kick out of seeing the girl chop walnuts and mash bananas for banana muffins while we were eating, so you know you're eating freshly baked goodies.

I took one bite of my muffin and immediately gave myself a mental slap on the head for forgetting how much I hated citrus-y pastries. I can't stand eating lemon squares and it was only when Jake kept saying, "tastes like Becky's Kitchen lemon squares" that I regretted my order. Jake, on the other hand, loooooves lemon squares and key lime pies so I gave him half of my muffin. I spent the remainder of our breakfast date pining for a banana muffin but I was saving my appetite for breakfast number two at Red Coconut. The muffin was good, though, if you like lemon-y treats. It's slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and was still hot and had that freshly-baked taste going on.

Their signature coffee, Real Coffee, was strong and flavorful. I especially liked the little milk shot glass that came with it. However, being an avid coffee drinker, I couldn't help but wish it tasted stronger and,  I dunno, more home-made like. It tasted like your average brewed coffee and for all the hype, I was a bit disappointed. Or maybe I was expecting too much. It is, after all, just brewed coffee with a shot of espresso.

Despite my wrong muffin choice, I would still eat brekky there. The place is the perfect breakfast date spot if you want a homey, breakfast by the beach ambiance. It's rustic, kitschy, and feels exactly like a quaint little island establishment.You wouldn't find this in Manila, for sure. Maybe next time I'll order a banana muffin and ask them to add a shot of espresso or syrup to my brewed coffee, then I'll get an omelette for the Jakester to go with his calamansi muffin. Perfect.

I am so hungry I just want to

I wonder what my mom made for breakfast?

Mmm, I smell adobo for lunch.

*Photo cred: OldNewAgain