Skip, hop, roll on the ground and smell the almost minty pine trees around you. That's probably one thing you can do when in Baguio City. Though you might enjoy yourself, there will be a huge debate when you get back to Manila if you don't taste the cuisine that Baguio has to offer. There are a lot of restaurants in the city but you might find gems along the way. That's exactly how we felt when we got to KETCHUP Food Community right in front of Baguio's own Wright Park (Romulo Drive, Barangay Lualhati, 2600 Baguio City).
The Ketchup Food Community started 2 years ago. The place used to be a literal dump of vehicles and stuff but the owners thought about turning this piece of land right in front of Wright Park into something great. It consists of 5 restaurants. You can choose to sit anywhere and order in the others I was informed. The owner also did something unusual as he only wanted start ups for restaurants that will occupy this place. They have no same menu. They also kept the rents small so they can concentrate on the food. The construction and interiors also were quite eclectic. They followed the theme of the names of their restaurants. Rumah Sate is more into indo-asian. Canto makes superb steaks. Yummy Tummy does Thai Food. Rancho Norte serves pinoy all day breakfast that includes tapang usa (Deer Jerky) and kabayo (Horse Meat). Green Pepper makes use of the ingredient on its name and spices up dishes, roasted ones, even desserts - all delectable. We went ahead and ordered their best sellers!
We sat down on Rumah Sate's portion of the estate. It spurred Asian all over. Really good interiors and apt for outdoor dining. I would love to see this place in the evening. A couple of light fixtures would probably look good in this place.
This is Fresh Spring Roll made by Rumah Sate. They did the right thickness on the wrap plus a great job on the julienne cut vegetables. Dip this in vinegar and oh I don't wanna swear in my blog LOL!
This is Rumah Sate's Laksa. Spicy broth, shrimp, seafood pieces, noodles and LOVE. It's my favorite spicy Singaporean dish made in the districts of Baguio. It's good and comforting, you can probably have this shared. I took out the flat leaf parsley though because of preference. Loved it though!
This is Tamarind Pork by Green Pepper. This is Baguio's own meat delicacy. It is usually smoked on top of cooking areas automatically preserving it like smoked ham. It did definitely taste different and you can taste the smokiness on the broth. It's their own version of Sinigang and treated Baguio style. Pretty nice dish.
This lovely Moist Chocolate Cake ala mode was done by Green Pepper. Cake was nice, who doesn't love cake? :D
This one is Thai Fried Rice by Happy Tummy. They also sent a huge Fried Tilapia but it didn't reach my lens because people ate it already LOL. It wasn't photo worthy anymore because they were so fast haha. The fried rice was nice and got paired with the next one quite beautifully.
See what I mean by perfect pairing? This is a Group Sate by Rumah Sate. It's not just chicken skewers dipped in peanut sauce like in Malaysia. This version has almost all meat variants available in the Philippines roasted to perfection. For groups that want to have a ton of everything for beers or just rice, you should order this and save quite a lot than ordering them ala carte.
Sweet and tangy, this Tamarind Juice from Rumah Sati just hits the spot. Whatever oily things you had for lunch, this just cuts it. It's a really good thing to pair with dishes from the other restaurants too. Try a glass if you haven't had one yet, it's a good one.
This one's a Cheeseburger from Canto. Their western flair really showed on what they served. Thick and juicy grilled beef patty served with a side of fries, how can you go hungry after this right? It's best eaten while hot and please don't hold back on Tabasco Sauce if you fancy something spicy.
Cheesy as can be, this is Nachos from Canto too. I love it when you see how a restaurant serves something that people want, isn't the serving huge? Plus I heard it's quite cheap so it's perfect for those budget travelers who want to have a good time in Baguio's after hours.
Rancho Norte impresses us with this Filipino favorite of Pork Sisig. It's not just pig snout, ears and cheeks but a whole lot of Chicharon like bits that made it extra yummy, sinful and VERY crunchy! It's the best one on my plate imho. Don't go out of that place without putting this on hot rice omg!
If you LOVE meat, take a look at this whole slab of Baby Back Ribs from Canto. They do have it falling off the bone. They also have salad on the side to give you the impression that its healthy.. hahaha it is sinful! No matter how you tell yourself this is protein.... this is so good!
To cap off the trip, we got this awesome serving of Ice Kacang from Rumah Sati. It's like a lighter version of halohalo. Still comparably good in my dictionary. Great for sharing too because the serving is huge. We did finish this hook, line and sinker.
For what it's worth, if you are up with adventure and great food in Baguio City... Ketchup Food Community would be the perfect launch point if you want to find good food of 5 restaurants in one place. You don't even have to transfer tables if you want to order elsewhere. Would I recommend it? Of course! It's even better than some of the restaurants in Manila plus you can hitch a horse ride just outside the place because it's right beside Wright Park. Should you want to visit, please check out the details below and you won't regret it! Trust me, I've been there! :)
For more information about their stores:
Ketchup The Food Community
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