On the way up to Baguio City, and looking for somewhere to have brunch (breakfast and lunch) we chanced upon this exquisitely beautiful place in Tarlac. If you are in the area, do visit this "kainan". It serves yummy authentic Filipino dishes, provides great filipiniana entertainment, and a breathtakingly beautiful setting ( floating kubo over fish ponds teeming with fish, sculptures of animals etc, Zen-type landscaping, punong saging etc). We liked it so much we stopped there again on the way back. A plate of tuyo, sinangag, corned beef, mangga/saging, fried egg and a bottle of Sars costs less than the cheapest (USA or Aussie) McDonalds meal but there are plenty of mouth-watering choices. It is sooo relaxing there. If the beautiful setting and the "murang" cost of food are not enough to calm your nerves, you are allowed release/relief by way of breaking plates Greek style. For more photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jriorionbatch1963/
10 comments:
Wow, thanks for sharing this piece. I'm ready to go back and visit that place. For now, more about your trip, please. Don't forget the visual aids,too.
Glad you're back and as always, it's nice to hear from you. More, more, and more articles!!!
Ms. orionjri,
Welcome back to the blogsite! Yes,That is really a nice place,I have been there,located along the highway before the town proper of Gerona,Tarlac.
There is also one nice place to dine when on way to Baguio,somewhere in Pangasinan,it is Matutina Restaurant which serves yummy filipino dishes.
Ops! bigla akong nagutom. How I wish I can visit that kainan. I really miss those kind of foods. How about scheduling our batch to go to that place in 2010? More news and pictures about your travel, please, pleease, pleeeeease.
Thanks Cora for sharing the info! Last time I went up to Baguio was Feb 2005, and I didn't know of this place. I often trek up to Baguio for our yearly PMA Alumni Homecoming when we were still staying in Manila, and usually stopped over at Luisita or Urdaneta for a good meal midway. I didn't know of this interesting place till now. I sure will see that the next time I go up to Baguio. I invite you batchmates to also see the PMA on a Saturday am parade of the cadets. I'm sure you will be fascinated and entertained.
Ernie, Isdaan looks like a new venue. There is still a lot of construction work going on there and the facilities are fairly new.
In Baguio City, on the old Camp John Hay's grounds, they have erected a building they call The Manor. It provides what could be equal to 5-star accommodation and fine dining. The overall ambience is something we can be proud of. It would be nice if this can be replicated in the rest of the country. Pipe dream, it may be but we live in hope.
Cora, did you stay with your family at The Manor in Camp John Hay? That area used to be a military Officers Clubhouse where we relished the best steak in the country at that time when the American servicemen occupied the camp. Now they built a 5-star hotel where I last stayed during my last trip to Baguio in Feb 2005. They usually have a barbecue during the night al fresco, while guests watch a local cultural presentation. That's quite entertaining! The camp's golf course and the one nearby at the Baguio Country Club are courses for the likes of the two P's. They would no doubt love to swing their clubs there, while the ladies do their downtown shopping "ukay-ukay".
Oh, I miss those days!
If anyone wants to go Baguio, I volunteer to be the tourist guide. Bayaran lang pamasahe ko. he..he..he..
Ernie, Can we go to Baguio on our next reunion?I haven't been there since the 1970's and I'm sure there's a lot of changes now.I'm willing to pay for your fare.Tapos yung sinasabing kainan ni Miss Orion JRI parang ang ganda-ganda.Of course we have to plan for that.
Oh, Nelia, I didn't expect such speedy response.. wow!!!
Sure, I would love you and our batchmates to experience Baguio, its cool air, the fresh smell of pine (kung hindi pa polluted), the best sweet ube and jams of Good Shepherd, ukay-ukay, the popular cinnamon roll of Baguio Country Club, and syempre the PMA grounds and the immaculate cadets in their uniforms!
Of course, we can pass by Isdaan along the way and get to taste the food as described by Cora.
Let's keep that in mind when we plan our next reunion!
Ernie, we did not stay at the Manor. My niece, Charina, was able to get a CEO friend's holiday home available to my large family for the duration of our stay. However, we were able to have lunch there and then we invited some overseas visitors and other guests to dine there one evening. They were all impressed. The Manor Restaurant located on the ground floor of the Manor is really nice. The Australian folks have recommended the place to others.
Baguio has undergone massive changes since the 80's when we visited before the last time. The climate is still the same but the traffic is now reminiscent of Manila's, the ukay-ukays do proliferate there, the vegetables sold at the sidewalk are almost jumping with freshness, the wood carvings and souvenir shops still abound etc but the suburb has crawled out so much and sadly there are now some ghetto-like places. The halaya made by the good nuns is still mouth-wateringly fresh (put on 2 kilos from all the jars of halaya I ate, but could not care less). Best of all they have the SM mall there now. And the number of people in SM at any time it is open is absolutely mindboggling. The many varieties of cakes, bread and biscuits (cookies)and fruit available are irresistable, so ladies, beware.Do not take a lot of clothes if ever you go there. Buy as you require. The old clothes may not fit after a day or so (talking from experience.
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