Out Of The House

Baguio Birthday Weekend: Lunch at Cafe by the Ruins

March 2, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

Welcome to Baguio! We finally arrived after six hours on the road.

The drive up Kennon Road left us all hungry so we decided to grab lunch before checking in at our hotel. Straight to Cafe by the Ruins we went, much to the delight of Mr C. He and I have fond memories of this place from many years ago. Back in 2005, we discovered that I was pregnant on the morning of a work trip to Baguio. Cafe by the Ruins was our last stop on that trip, and we knew we had to face reality once we got back to Manila.

Fast forward a few years, and there we were again, waiting to be seated with the little boy who traveled with us by tummy all those years ago. The lunch crowd was starting to pour in and there were about five groups in line before us. At that moment, I was extremely thankful that my son can sit quietly with a book or magazine, and that I bought him the new K-Zone before we left Manila.

Reminds me of myself at that age with my Sweet Valley Kids books!

Visit Isdaan in Tarlac en route to Baguio. Read about our visit to their Laguna branch.

I decided to look around a bit while waiting instead of taking the seat that was offered to me. After all, we’d already been sitting for several hours in the car. I honestly don’t remember what the place looked like when I last visited. In my mind though, things look pretty much the same.

Panagbenga2013-17 — View from the parking lot

Panagbenga2013-13 — Jam and other stuff for sale

At the waiting area, there's a wall with posters and announcements about activities around Baguio — At the waiting area, there’s a wall with posters and announcements about activities around Baguio

One of my fave restaurants north of Metro Manila is Xtremely Xpresso!

I came back and the boys were still reading

We were finally seated after about fifteen minutes at a table on the second floor. I liked it up there because it was bright without being too bright (I have glare issues), and not as busy as the downstairs area. The only thing I didn’t like was that the floor shook whenever someone walked by. I’m not used to being on shaky second floors, and the movement made me a bit dizzy.

Panagbenga2013-23 — The upstairs dining area

Panagbenga2013-24 — Al fresco dining, view from the top

Panagbenga2013-22 — Indoor dining, view from the top

I’m so happy that my favorite thing to eat at Cafe by the Ruins is a fish dish, perfect for my no-walking-meat-for-lent-mode. I ordered Ole Nick’s Open Face Tuna Sandwich, while the boys split an order of Bagnet with Sinigang Soup. I got worried that we might have a hard time with the kid when I realized that they serve red mountain rice and not white rice. Thankfully, he liked the red rice and he finished his entire plate. This is great because I love red rice, and I think it would be nice if we switched to mountain rice or brown rice once we move into our own place. Wishful thinking, planning, hoping and dreaming. 🙂

Ole Nick's Open Face Tuna (Php 190.00) — Ole Nick’s Open Face Tuna (Php 190.00)

If you can afford to waste a little time on the road, visit C’ Italian Dining in Pampanga.

The little boy's very own plate of red mountain rice. (Php 25.00) — The little boy’s very own plate of red mountain rice. (Php 25.00)

Sinigang Soup Sour vegetable soup. Comes with the Baguio Bagnet meal. — Sinigang Soup
Sour vegetable soup. Comes with the Baguio Bagnet meal.

Baguio Bagnet (Php 300.00) Crispy friend pork belly served with bagoong (shrimp paste) and tomato relish. — Baguio Bagnet (Php 300.00)
Crispy friend pork belly served with bagoong (shrimp paste) and tomato relish.

+Points
+ Great ambiance!
+ Attentive servers. It was easy getting their attention even from the 2nd floor.
+ Big servings
+ Food is great, as always!
+ Lots of parking available

-Points
– There’s was a bit of a wait for a table, but it’s probably only because we were there during a really busy season.

Cafe by the Ruins will always be one of my faves in Baguio. We don’t get to go here every time we make a trip up north, but I’m really glad we got to visit this time. I’m also super happy that my little boy loved their food. I’m definitely including this place as on our “must-visit list” for our next Baguio vacation.

Cafe by the Ruins
23 Chuntug Street,
Baguio City, Philippines
(+6374) 442 4010
cafebytheruins@gmail.com
Mon – Sun: 7:00 am – 9:00 pm

This is the second post in my Baguio Birthday Weekend Series. Please also check out my other Baguio Birthday Weekend Posts:
* The Long and Winding Road to Three Days of Family Fun

PS Check out these great blog posts about Cafe by the Ruins on Our Awesome Planet and Go! Jackie Go.

Baguio Birthday Weekend: The Long and Winding Road to Three Days of Family Fun

March 1, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 3 Comments

My birthday weekend was spent in Baguio with my boys. The trip couldn’t have been scheduled at a better time – February 25 was declared a special holiday for schools so the kiddo had no class, plus it was the weekend of the Panagbenga parades. Panagbenga is Baguio City’s annual Flower Festival. I had been to Panagbenga once before, about 8 years ago, for work. This trip was our first long road trip involving just the three of us, and we were all really excited.

First photo of the trip. Oops, the little boy can't be seen! — First photo of the trip. Oops, the little boy can’t be seen!

The flash was so bright! Lol. Off we go!

We left a little before sunrise on a Saturday. I knew that there was a parade scheduled early in Baguio that day, and that the Hot Air Balloon Festival was happening in Clark. I had a feeling that we’d hit heavy traffic if we left too early. I may have been right, since our drive was steady and traffic-free.

Roadtrip Retrospective: Laguna-bound!
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Togetherness at Laiya Coco Grove

February 10, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 3 Comments

It’s been pretty quiet on the blog so far this month. That’s because I’ve been quite busy. Aside from the blessing of new clients and new projects I’ve also been spending a lot of time with family. My cousin and her husband and kids came home from the US for a few weeks, and all of us cousins have been getting together for fun Togetherness Sessions.

Last weekend was the big outing for the year, a trip to Laiya Coco Grove. Usually my cousins and their families go to Boracay over the holidays and we get left behind because of work or school and prior commitments. This year, since a lot of us are working, and since the trip got moved to January instead of the Christmas season, we opted for just an overnight beach getaway that didn’t involve flying.

After weeks of planning, we ended up at Laiya Coco Grove simply because the tree houses looked so cute on the website. Mr C and I went there about 8 years ago, and I remember the place being nice and quiet and quaint. You can tell from our old photos that the trip happened before we became parents, at a time when I actually had some sort of waistline. LOL.

Read about our first ever trip to Laiya Coco Grove

We drove to Batangas bright and early on a Saturday morning and arrived at the resort before noon. Our rooms were available early, which was great. We all got to settle down and freshen up before lunch. Mr C, the little boy and I shared a tree house with my mom, my sister and her boyfriend. I noticed as we walked from the reception area to our tree house that there were a lot of ongoing renovations in the resort.

The Tree House That Laiya Coco Grove Built

January 24, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

My second beach trip for the year is coming up in a week and a half, and I’m really excited. Our first was last January, right at the start of the year. We visited my dad’s Fishville in Cavite. Two weekends from now, I’ll be off to Laiya with my cousins, our moms and our families and significant others. It’s one of the trips I included in my list of places I’m excited to visit this year. My family spent a few days in Laiya for Chinese New Year last year (that’s a blog post I still have not got around to writing), and I’m excited to be back there this year with an even bigger group. We’re only staying for one night though, but that’s okay. It’s definitely going to be fun, and a welcome break from life.

I think this year we’re staying at Laiya Coco Grove, in a tree house along the beach. I’ve been there once before, in 2005 if I remember correctly. I’m looking forward to going back there to see how the resort has improved over the years. Their website definitely looks more put together than before, and I was told that there’s a pool now. Back then, only half of the place was operational. What I do remember is that they had really good food. Hope it’s still that way.

I actually unearthed some old photos from that ’05 Coco Grove trip when I cleared out my Multiply account late last year, and I thought it might be fun to post them here. And then I’ll share new vacation photos when we get back, along with more info about the place. So without further ado, I present to you ancient vacation photos from several years and many pounds ago. Haha!

This was our first time to go out of town together sans family members. — This was our first time to go out of town together.

How’s that for Throwback Thursday? Isn’t the place cute? What are your vacation plans for 2013? Have you gone anywhere since the year began? I’d love to hear from you!

Much love and happiness,

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Roadtrip: To Fishville We Go!

January 19, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 7 Comments

When you say “beach house”, the first thing that comes to my mind is a nice villa overlooking the ocean. Kind of like the Boracay resort we stayed in during our trip last year, but not exactly, since it’s a beach house and not a hotel.

You see, we now have a beach house, but trust me when I tell you that it’s not your typical beach house. It isn’t on your typical beach either. My dad lovingly calls it Fishville, and it stands in the middle of a fishing village in Maragondon, Cavite called Patungan. Patungan is a fishing Community in Barangay Sta. Mercedes at the farthest point of Maragondon, Cavite. The name Maragondon was derived from Tagalog word madagundong or maugong, meaning much sound.You can learn more about the place by liking its Facebook page, which my dad setup and manages.

Our first family trip for 2013 was a quick day visit to Patungan, which is my dad’s new playground. This was my first ever visit to the place. Mr C and I were the last of the family members to experience Fishville. Even little boy T was able to go there twice before with my parents. Because I’m so smart, I forgot to take a photo of the house from the outside. This is the best I can do to show you the exterior – a photo from my dad’s Facebook page. This is the portion of the house facing the ocean. That’s my mom and me cooking inihaw na liempo (grilled pork) for lunch. I am standing next to the rear entrance of the house.

Inside the bamboo fence is our beachfront dining area. — The space inside the bamboo fence is our beachfront dining area complete with bamboo tables.

5 Places I’m Excited To Visit This Year

January 17, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

Wouldn’t you love to go on vacation at least once a month? I know I would. I think if I had unlimited resources I would plan a getaway for our little family once every two weeks. Of course, I have to be realistic and practical. But that doesn’t mean that I should stop dreaming.

I’m the type of person who dreams about travelling almost every day. I love making plans to go out of town, explore a new place and visit old favorites. Or, our schedules are tight, a quick staycation is more than enough to satisfy my urge to go out there and get away for a while. Of course, I like to do these things with Tristan and Mr C. Ever since they came into my life, travelling alone has become lonely and quite boring.

We have quite a few vacations planned for this year, all of them within the Philippines. I’ve actually already booked a few trips in advance just to make sure that they push through, and of course because it’s cheaper to book early. Here are the five trips we’ve planned for the year that I am most excited about. [Read more…] about 5 Places I’m Excited To Visit This Year