Cozy and Warm At Choco-Late Batirol on a Rainy Thursday

*All photos by Stanley S. Ong
After lunch at Eve's we were worried that the yayas and Mang Jun were still hungry, given the "light lunch" they had. Cin and I also wanted to try the hot chocolate at Camp John Hay, so we dropped by for some hot choco and snacks for yayas and Mang Jun.






Choco-Late de Batirol was originally located at Scout Hill inside Camp John Hay in Baguio. However, they were temporarily moved to Igorot Garden. We entered Camp John Hay through the entrance near Baguio Country Club.
After checking out their menu, Cin and I initially thought of having their Baguio Blend. Turns out that this was not made of fresh strawberry but just strawberry syrup. Eventually, all of us decided to get the traditional blend at 70p each. The chocolate came fragrant and steaming. It was not too sweet (i'm not a sweet tooth) and very creamy. More importantly, it seems that peanut butter was added to it - yum! I love hot chocolate - especially the ones made from cocoa tablets -- and I love peanut butter. This cup was a perfect combination of my 2 favorite treats. I downed my cup quickly, forgetting that I had ordered some turon to go with it. The turon was also good - crunchy and not soggy.
We also ordered 2 pancit palaboks for the yayas and arroz caldo for Mang Jun. Bong got hungry and also ordered another arroz caldo.I didn't get to try the palabok but Cin had a bite and said it was delicious! Palabok and arroz caldo were at 95p each while the turon was 20p each.
Aside from the restaurant, they were also selling other food stuffs, including some dried fish shaped like a fan. Merienda prices were reasonable and I think we enjoyed this merienda a lot better than our Eve's lunch.

Choco-Late Batirol
Scout Hill, Camp John HayBaguio
Phone Number: (63 916) 741-4740, (63 74) 446-7006
Currently located in the Igorot Garden

Healthy Lunch at Eve's Garden

*All photos by Stanley S. Ong

I stumbled upon Eve's Garden while googling for a new restaurant to try in Baguio. Stan and I loved our Sonya's B&B experience and thought that Eve's Garden would be something like Sonya's Secret Garden. To eat at Eve's Garden, reservations must be made by texting +639209476264 or +639175066264. They are also open only for lunch (11:30 am to 2:20 pm). Like Sonya's, Eve's has a set menu and gives you 3 choices for your main course - beef, chicken and fish. However, they had run out of beef for Holy Thursday so our choices were just chicken or fish.

From Baguio City, Eve's is about 20-30 minutes by car through Naguilian Road. Eve's is already in La Trinidad. The restaurant was small, serving only a maximum of 20 people. Aside from the restaurant, there is also a lettuce farm, where they grow about 12 varieties of lettuce and an edible flower (nasturtiums).

The meal started with a refreshing drink that was really cold, fruity and not too sweet. The drink was made of freshly squeezed pineapple with lemon mint and sage, sweetened with Muscovado sugar.

Aside from the fruity drink, there was also some sweet strawberry wine, which costs an extra 300p for a small bottle. Although the drink was good, unlike Sonya's dalandan juice, Eve's was not refillable. You needed to pay extra to have your glass refilled.

Next up was some soup - made with a base of onions and squash with seven herbs garnished with parmesan cheese, croutons and yogurt. Creamy and savory -- no complaints here.

Eve's salad came next - salad platter made of 10-12 lettuce varieties, served with carrots, turnips, walnuts, raisins and a caesar-type dressing made from organic flax oil, olive oil and sunflower oil, prepared with seven fresh garden herbs.
This was the highlight of the meal. The lettuce were crisp and fresh. My mom was amazed and said that the lettuce were very beautiful - she could not see any brown spots or marks on them. The dressing was also delicious. Tangy, creamy - it went well with the salad. We all enjoyed eating the edible flowers and were told that these flowers were part of the watercress family. However - one low point was when Stan asked for some extra walnuts and got an unsure stare from the waiter/gardener. He said he had to ask permission from the kitchen. Happily, permission was granted and Stan got his extra walnuts. However, it seems that once they served the plate, no seconds were allowed. Drink refills had to be paid for and when we had our salads wrapped, they would only pack the dressing which was served. No extra dressing could be given anymore. :(

Main course was a choice of grilled chicken breast with pesto fettucini served with 2 pieces of whole wheat buttered fingers OR Steamed Norwegian Salmon with caper dressing with organic rice, corn and turnips.

I had the chicken, some parts of which were dry. And the main courses were tiny!! Running joke during the meal was that they filled you up with the salad so you won't notice how small the main course was. The pasta that came with my chicken was about 2-3 spoonfuls. My brother-in-law commented that he finished his salmon in 3 bites! The pesto pasta was nothing special. I wasn't able to try the red rice although Stan wasn't impressed. All of us were not satisfied with the main course. We couldn't help but compare it with Sonya's Her main courses were 2 types of pasta plus salmon belly. But the pasta sauces were delicious and plentiful - same with the salmon belly.

To cap the meal, we had a choice of coffee or ginger ginseng with mint tea and a homemade dessert. The "homemade dessert" turned out to be an oatmeal raisin bar. My brother was not happy - I think he assumed he would be served crepes or something similar. The oatmeal bar was pretty good - gooey, chewy and tasty. Then again, I love oatmeal raisin bars! The tea was quite sweet but the coffee was good.

The price? 650p per head. I had also requested for yayas and driver's meal. They served the salad, a sandwich, juice, coffee and dessert at 275pesos!!! I asked my yaya what the sandwich was and she said it might be tuna. It was just 2 pieces of wheat bread and some spread. Definitely not worth 275p.

The verdict?? Even though we liked the soup and salad, we were very disappointed that Eve's Garden was very stringent and refused to give seconds. The main course was not enough to fill you up. We couldn't help but compare this restaurant with Sonya's Garden. Similar to Sonya's, Eve's Garden had a set menu, focusing on the salad. The salad dressings in both restaurants were unique and delicious but in Eve's, they will just give you a cupful of dressing to go with your salad, while at Sonya's a bottle of salad dressing is placed on your table.

Meals at Eve's and Sonya's each cost 650p. However, Sonya's gives you more value for your money. Both restaurants espouse the concept of healthy eating and are premised on the slow food movement.

Eve's Garden is set in La Trinidad, with a wonderful view of the mountains. But apart from a porch/balcony with a view, there is not much to do except take quick photos. Eve's staff told us that we could check out the lettuce garden but the steps going down were steep and there was no pathway towards the lettuce fields. Also, we didn't get to meet Eve but just her daughter. When I asked her daughter if soup and sandwiches were the only meals available to driver/yayas, she told me that was what her mom texted her. Maybe if I texted her earlier, a better meal could be prepared - but I still think that they should not charge 275p for yaya/driver meals.

If you are in Baguio and would like to eat in a private secluded place, with a great mountain view (like Baguio 10 years ago), then check out Eve's Garden. But make sure you feed your driver/yayas first before you go. Our family finds that this restaurant is a novelty that we are willing to try once. But until they improve their food servings, we won't go back and will just opt to visit Sonya's instead.

Contact Eve's Garden at +639209476264 or +639175066264
Directions from Baguio City Hall: Go down naguilian road, pass by St. Vincent Church, Cooyesan Hotel/Plaza, Cemetery, Nagoya Inn, San Miguel Depot, St. Joseph Church, Irisan High School, PNP Station. 500M down is a 10M bridge. Then turn right at the junction. Pass Lamtang Cockpit, Lamtang Elementary School, 2 KM up with parking space and sign "Eve's Garden." (right beside PCM). MAP

City Baby

During the last weekend of February, Stan, Naima and I went on a mini vaca-y to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. We left Manila at around 10am and made it to Tagaytay just in time for lunch. Lunch was at Buon Giorno at the Cliffhouse. We had initially wanted to try Cafe Verbena but there was a private function. Stan loved the mushroom/chicken risotto! After a yummy lunch, we were back on the road to head towards Buck Estate.

We booked at Sonya's Bed and Breakfast. The place was full. When we arrived, there were several events at their various pavilions. Luckily, the B&B was at the far end of the property, separated by a wooden gate. We were assigned to Rosemary room, which had 1 queen bed and a day bed. Naima eagerly explored the room and started rolling all over the bed! The room was lovely - Filipiniana designs with a lot of knick knacks (which we put away from Naima's reach) and quaint details. The curtains were made of sheer fabric, weighed down by shells (the kind used for sungka) -- little did we know that it would result in some sleeping issues.

We spent the afternoon exploring and of course, capturing various Naima moments :) Dinner was at the B&B's dining room, with Sonya's salad-bread-pasta set menu. We didn't have any yaya so Stan and I took turns eating and feeding Naima. One of Sonya's staff generously offered to take care of Naima for a bit so we could eat. Being the socialite that she is, Naima immediately said bye-bye and went off to do more exploring on her own.
Bedtime came and after getting ready, all three of us went to bed ready to cuddle and turn in. There was no aircon but the room was cool thanks to the light night breeze. The sound of the tinkling shells and crickets were slowly lulling Stan and me to sleep. And where was Naima during all of these?! In between us, playing with Stan's cellphone and refusing to sleep!! City baby that she is, she was used to the buzz of the aircon! Every tinkle, hoot and cricket sound made her search around the room, looking for the source of the sound. She repeatedly also asked Stan to read her Dr. Seuss' Alphabet Book over and over and over (i think about 20 times). She wasn't scared.. she just wasn't used to all the country noises. She finally fell asleep at 10pm with Stan and I joining her shortly after. AND she was up at 630 in the morning - with the sound of the crowing roosters waking her! So instead of a leisurely 9am scheduled breakfast, we were ready and at the breakfast table a little after 8.
Breakfast was a heavy one with salted fried rice, mushroom and cheese omelette, chicken pork adobo, fried bangus, fruits hot chocolate, coffee and this yummy mango tomato salsa. Naima had her own meal of mangoes, melons and potato wedges with herbs which was especially cooked for her. Despite my city baby's restlessness, we enjoyed Sonya's B&B and would definitely go back again.. but probably with earplugs for Naima :D

Sonya's Bed & Breakfast
Barangay Buck Estate, Alfonso, Cavite, Philippines
(near the vicinity of Tagaytay City, Philippines)
For reservations: call or text +63-9175329097 or +63-9175335140

*all photos by Stanley Ong