julswhocooks

Anthony Bourdain, a well-known chef and critic, said such comments. You follow you everywhere you go. And occasionally, you become hungry. Traveling can be a great chance to try new things and push your boundaries. Treat your stomach like an amusement park and eat whatever they are serving you.

When visiting a new location, cuisine is frequently the first step toward complete cultural immersion. Join me as I explore underrated restaurants across baguio that the locals and students would go to. Have a slice of the unknown.

Ali House of Shawarma

Are you tired of the boring old Shawarma Rice that you always see near street vendors? Well folks let me introduce to you Ali House of Shawarma. This restaurant is located at upper bonifacio near SLU main that serves up classic middle eastern dishes that will make your taste buds tingling with excitement. You are wondering “Ohh it’s just another Shawarma place julien, it’s nothing new” well my friend this place hits different.

Their Shawarma is unlike any other shawarma that you ever tasted, it is packed with delicious marinade and too many spices that I can count all in one dish. They also serve a very unique looking rice that is covered with carrots, whole spices, and more. And their sauces, OMG It was so good that my plate was literally swimming in their sauces. It was creamy yet satisfying. They have two types of sauces which are the white sauce and the spicy one. And if you aren’t craving for some shawarma they also serve different foods like  varieties of biryani like chicken,beef, and goat which I never tried but did try their beef and chicken biryani which was so delicious but the beef was my favourite. I never tried a Somoza before so when I saw my opportunity to buy one I did and lets just say that I didn’t regret it one bit. The somoza was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, it was packed with potatoes, greens, and of course the spices.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to eat inside because it was so crowded with students so I decided to order it take out and just ate at home. Overall the restaurant is popular for students and locals, but not with tourists and if you are in town I would highly recommend this place.

Batolonyo Food House

This Calenderia is the best “No its the best in baguio Hands down” . Located in A.3 Bonifacio St. In Baguio near the gates of SLU this beloved Calenderia is adored by students. I remembered when my brother introduced me to this restaurant, I was surprised it wasn’t your typical Calenderia. Yes, they serve traditional calenderia dishes like kaldereta, tinola, and pork adobo, but they also serve fusions of cuisines like meatballs, hainanesse chicken and rice, and my most favourite dish of all, chapsuy.

Out of all the dishes that they serve, I was curious to taste their version of hainanesse chicken and rice and of course lets not forget about the chapsuy. When I tasted their chicken it almost tasted like tinola but better, the chicken was so tender it literally fell apart and melted in your mouth completely. I tried the chicken with some chili oil and it raised the flavours even higher. The chapsuy was crunchy and creamy with a little bit of chicken innards in there just the way I like it. I also tried their soup, it goes well with the chicken and the rice. I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t have their tasty sinanglaw but I still enjoyed their food nonetheless and I can’t wait to go back there again.

Angel’s Tapa rice supremacy

Angel’s TAPA is probably one of the most famous vendors towards students. This store literally created SLU moto “The line of the north” where a LOT of students literally line up just to buy their Tapa rice. Located in Bonifacio right besides Saint Louis University Main campus and Jollibee this humble food stall has been catering to students with their famous Tapa rice.

I would get why students love to buy here, because their tapa rice is probably one of the best tapa rice I ever had, the meat was juicy and soft, the hotdog topping was also good, and the sauce and chili oil paste was amazing with a little bit a kick, and of course you can’t have a meal without rice. This is a perfect budget meal for every student out here and I have to say it’s better than siomai and rice.

Jaypz Food corner

As someone who studies at Bakakeng this restaurant is good. Located in Bakakeng Phase 1 Jaypz is a famous restaurant amongst us students and boarders for their super affordable meals and delicious food. At first you might be hesitant because of the small place but as I explore restaurants here in Baguio I learned that size doesn’t matter.

They have a wide range of food that you can have and if you’re feeling cheap their budget meals will surely help you out. With only 60 pesos you can already have 2 meals and 1 rice, now that’s a steal. But for me I think Jaypz most iconic and most delicious dish has to be there sisig. I can even say that their sisig is superior to other sisig I have tried here in Baguio. Their sisig is crunchy, creamy from the mayo, spicy, sweet and sour. And I would highly recommend that you try their sisig.