FIRST TIMES AND CAFE BY THE RUINS DUA

I first set foot in Baguio when I was seven and I was told scared by older cousins that I'd have to kiss the 40-foot lion along Kennon Road, waiting for first-timers who want enter the city. Those who do not kiss the beast shall be eaten alive. This, naturally, in my fairy-tale addled mind, left me terribly troubled during the whole trip. It did not help that I was being teased tortured by my cousins  for six hours.  It was such a big relief to find out that the lion was made of stone and that I would live beyond my meager seven years on earth.

Often, first timers are told the same 'tradition' which I think started even way before the actual landmark was sculpted by Reynaldo Lopez Nanyac between 1968-1972. Where the tourist attraction now lies was a limestone rock naturally shaped like a male lion's head, a remnant of the 1905 American government road project led by Maj. Lyman W. Kennon. Its looming presence, like a guardian of the mountain city, probably started all that "kiss-or-be-eaten" tradition.

Image courtesy of Baguio City Host Lions Club

Earlier this year in my recent trip to the 'City of Pines', I had another first time.  Whenever I'm in Baguio, I make a trip to "Cafe By The Ruins" along Shuntug street. However,  it was the week before the  Panagbenga flower festival and the restaurant could not accommodate our party of four. We were directed to its new branch, "Cafe By The Ruins Dua" along Upper Session Road (right beside another Baguio old timer, Mario's).

The facade was less artsy than the original, and the interiors more utilitarian and urban.

But it did have signature touches like wooden bul-ul sculptures and the bamboo and paper lamps.

There are two floors for dining, with the first floor partially occupied by the kitchen and the bakery. I understand, the big kitchen here now serves as the commissary for their baked goodies which are displayed on a station and can be had for take-away.

For starters, we had, the classic kamote  (sweet potato) bread and liver pate platter. The bread has a natural sweetness which goes well with the slightly bitter and buttery taste of the chicken liver pate, flavored with rosemary, thyme, sage and laurel.

We also had two kinds of salad: the Kesong Puti Salad  (fresh greens topped with fried carabao cheese) and the Chicharon Salad.

Kesong Puti Salad

Chicharon Salad

We also shared the traditional Pinipikan, which is described in the menu as "Cordillera ritual chicken soup with etag (salted pork) and ginger." This simple looking soup is controversial as it involves lightly beating a chicken to let the blood permeate the flesh so that when it is cut open, no blood will spill.  Before you start barfing and call this dish barbaric, remember that it is steeped in the indigenous belief of fate given by gods or spirits that inhabit living things.  

 

Since I am not familiar with the cooking process, I watched some videos on YouTube and read some blogs. I found an account by one Nico Cawed in GoBaguio.com  where he describes the ritual:

"Remove the chicken head and set aside for cooking. Slice the skin to dislocate the thighs, then slice under the neck to remove the innards (stomach, intestines and gizzard). Guide the knife to slice under the shoulder blade to separate the rib cage from the chest. Remove the chest, leaving the rib cage intact with the internal organs (heart, liver, lungs). 

The tribal priest is then called to read the bile and liver. Calub is when the liver is covering the bile, and Cherwey is when the bile is completely visible, which is a sign of good luck. This then determines the tribe's course of action (i.e. hunting, planting, etc.). If the prognosis is Calub, the whole process is repeated, and other chickens cooked this way, until Cherwey is achieved."  

When described by someone who is intimate with the ritual, the whole process sounds spiritual.

Everything is used, even the singed feathers are used to give the soup a smoked flavor.  The beating process is called "pikpik," thus the name of the dish.

You will find the meat a bit dark and gamey as native chicken is used and the blood has been integrated into the flesh. With etag as its other flavoring, it  tastes like a saltier version of tinola.

Another highlight of the dinner was the Bagnet, served with bagoong isda (fermented fish), tomato  salad and red mountain rice. On its own, the deep fried pork is not salted, which is why you have to take a slice of the bagnet  (meat + fatty bits + crispy skin)  and a sliver of the fermented fish for saltiness and some tomatoes for the acidity. The starchiness of the rice neutralizes the salt and fat. You'll lick the plate clean with this one.

Address: Upper Session Road, Baguio City
Telephone: (074) 442 4010

TASTED: SALAD WITH CHICHARON at CAFE BY THE RUINS DUA

Now that's a salad!

Had this at Cafe by the Ruins Dua in Baguio- lettuce, watercress, green mango slivers, tomatoes and onions topped with chicharon (dried and fried salted pork rind) with Upland Dressing. Serving can be shared by 2 to 4 persons.

It might look confusing but the ingredients of the salad work well together. The  sourness of the green mango slivers and the vinegar-based dressing ties everything in.  I never thought I'd say this but I find there's too much chicharon, it's almost like ulam (viand).

Address: Upper Session Road, Baguio City (near Mario's)

Telephone: (074) 442 4010

UPWARD MOBILITY AND ANGELO'S VERSION OF THE UPLAND DRESSING

I was once told that, "It's just a job."

I heard this line after one TV show I was writing for had stopped airing. I am a newbie at TV writing and I left my corporate life so I could write...

...about food like  kalabaw lugaw (porridge with water buffalo meat) sold  from the lowly karinderia (street food stall) and the expensive Wagyu Beef cooked on volcanic rocks served in upscale restaurants.

I just want to write.

About kids with learning disabilities and how the world treats them like they will never be able to contribute to society.

I just want to write. 

About all the crazy shit stuck inside my head, from the crazy tikbalang afraid to make friends to the two menopausing women conversing about abortion on their way to Quiapo to the sub-atomic sized letters that make up a world brought alive by the continued narrative told by these letters when they are linked. 

I really, really just want to write.

My days of upward mobility are gone. Job titles don't appeal to me anymore. Doing a good job and contentment in what I do are what's important to me now. This is something I tried to share with my younger brother, Angelo, when we were discussing his career path in the culinary and hospitality industries. He couldn't quite picture what I meant when I said job titles shouldn't matter. But I guess that's him being a product of the era of labels, the time of technology.

Good thing that he has his own passions. Cooking being one of them, I tried to explain my new work philosophy to him using the cooking analogy.

One of the lowest positions in the modern kitchen is that of the garde manger or pantry chef who is in charge of the cold foods including the pates, cold appetizers and salads. But when a meal starts with the salad, it becomes the garde manger's job to make sure that the meal becomes a success right from the start. A badly dressed salad can make a meal the epic fail that you don't want it to be.  

Whatever your station is in life or the kitchen line, it's always important to do the best work, one that you can be proud of.

So after sharing that analogy, we went on to make a dressing based on Cafe by the Ruins' upland dressing. My brother made some adjustments to suit his taste. So, here it is.

UPLAND DRESSING
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons patis (fish sauce)
2 tbsp honey (or brown sugar)
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tsps finely pressed garlic (or finely minced garlic)
1/2 cup corn oil (the aroma of any other kind of oil does not go well with this patis flavored dressing)

 Toast the sesame seeds. Mix in the lemon juice, patis, honey and garlic. Incorporate corn oil by pouring it as you whisk the liquid briskly. (If you want to do it faster, pour all the liquids in an airtight bottle, and shake vigorously). Add the sesame seeds just before serving.

 Serve with lettuce, arugula, halved seedless grapes, tomatoes and cucumber. I find that this goes well with salads that don't have any meat in it.