Cafe by the Ruins

Before Jeff and I went to Baguio, I researched for good restaurants to visit. Yep, not tourist destinations, but places to eat. Hahaha! We arrived in Baguio at around 4AM, settled in at the hotel by 5AM and decided to sleep til around 7AM. When the clock rang, I dragged Jeff out of bed because I was so hungry and we went to Cafe by the Ruins.

The place, according to its website, was once a garden theater which was turned into a home by the first civil governor of Benguet, Phelps Whitmarsh. It was destroyed in World War II. They turned it into a beautiful restaurant which has a lot of plants and local decors.

 

 Photo 1. They serve a special dish everyday.

Photo 2. Chinese bamboos beside our table.

After we were seated, they served us complimentary fruits in sweet syrup.

The coffee that comes with the meal we ordered was served promptly. 

Muscovado sugar was also served along with the coffee.

The place looks good together with the very cool Baguio ambiance. But what's frustrating about the whole dining experience was the service. We had to follow up our order three times in one hour before it got served. Yes, one hour. First, Jeff asked the waiter who took our order. After thirty minutes, I asked a random waiter to follow up our order. And after an hour, I went to their counter to say that we've been waiting for an hour and I can gladly cancel our orders if they can't serve it. The waiter said they're preparing it at the moment. AT THE MOMENT?!? Does that mean they weren't preparing our orders for the past hour? I just let it pass, not make a scene or talk to the manager because it's going to RUIN my entire day. Not a chance. I was dead bored and dead hungry when the food arrived.

I ordered Lon-Si-Log. Longganisa was different from that we know. It's not made of ground pork and put inside the pig's intestines. Instead, it was cut into small, bite size pieces and maybe marinated to taste like longganisa. The meal was also served with fried black rice and fried egg.
Price: Php245.00

It was not surprising that Jeff ordered the Farmer's Morning Feast. His love affair with bacon is strong and when he learned about the home cured, thick bacon strips that the Ruins serves, he never hesitated. In all fairness to the bacon, it really tastes good. But I would not say that this made up for the one hour wait. Haha. The meal comes with fried rice and egg too. You can also opt to change the fried rice into pan de sal. 
Price: Php245.00


Cafe by the Ruins
Chuntug Street
Baguio City
Tel no. (074) 442.4010
http://cafebytheruins.com/