MXT Tea House, Baguio

When the weather is cold , everyone likes to sip a hot soup, right? We actually love shabu-shabu (hot pot) and for the second time_ our first lunch in Baguio upon arriving to this chilly city was at MXT Tea House at SM. That would be before checking -in a hotel. I would have had refused the idea of taking lunch there if it wasn't for our cousins from Davao who wanted to try a shabu-shabu for the first time. My issue is that dining at MXT, Baguio is not at all elevated-ly different from eating at MXT, Ongpin (China town,Manila). The issue of hygiene remains. Utensils at their cheapest forms.



We went for all -meat. The other choices were_ seafood and all-vegies.

Since, cuzin Che and I frequent some shabu-shabu houses in Manila, we felt we were  experts ( really ???) to teach our older relatives from Davao the basics of shabu-shabu.

I only ate a bowl of hot shabu-shabu soup, thinking that the boiling soup would surely kill any living bacteria, in case it's confirmed.

fried chicken, covered with kropek?



pancit canton, very tempting

No doubt that MXT dishes are all delicious. But the issue of hygiene kept me away from enjoying the chinese dishes.



As if I was calling for it, after this last photo, we saw a cockroach crawling from a plastic tiny bowl in our table !!! Immediately, I called the attention of the food server. He said nothing. As if it's a normal-daily occurrence, he just took out the said bowl. Nada!

That was it!!! I totally lost my appetite and ran out of the table.

Tam-Awan Village Cafe

Tam-awan Village Cafe is located at the heart of this garden in the sky in Baguio City.

Every corner of the cafe' is loaded with mind boggling art works.

We didn't have time to feast on its interesting menu, but we made sure we tried the cafe's must try.

The Tam-awan salad. See here.

The famous Benguet coffee.

Cuzin' found her new fave drink here_ lemon hot tea. She was having a sore throat that day and she swore the hot lemon tea soothed her pain. She let me had a taste of it and agreed it was mixed perfectly.



We sure had eye feast on the art works but time bounded visit limited our food tripping. We'll definitely be back here to satisfy our gustation.

B-fast at Zenz

Although our complimentary breakfast at Mines View Park Hotel was not buffet, we all enjoyed our plates. It was good to be served with a slice of papaya each  first before main dishes were served. Papaya is actually recommended eaten when stomach is totally empty in the morning. Fibers are wisely digest that way. Breakfast was served at Zenz.

We all ordered for Filipino plate, those come with garlic rice,egg and which you need vinegar and catchup as dipping side mates.

crispy bangus

bacon



bacon again

tocino



ham

The meal was simple but we were all satisfied and ready to start the day right.

Cafe Alamid/Philippine Civet Coffee

Our country's pride Cafe Alamid is fetching up to $1k++ per kilo outside our country. So last weekend in Baguio's public market, while we were buying Benguet coffee to take home, I saw tin cans of the most coveted coffee all over the world and asked the merchant how much.For this smallest can of 25 grams, it's P1,200 ($25+), a kilo would be around $500+. Not bad, afterall, it's found, picked, roasted in our own country, so we deserve to get it cheaper than those foreign coffee connoisseurs.

Did I buy it? No. But cuzin from Davao did. First of all, I'm not a coffee drinker. I only buy coffee for my father. Second of all, my gosh!, it's still P1,200 for what a small tin can of coffee. Might as well, bring the whole family to Starbucks and buy each a tall glass of fraps for that amount. hahaha! You know I'm too cheap to afford that. I bought Benguet coffee for P80 only.



So anyway, upon endorsing it to rich cuzin, she didn't think twice and purchased the trial size can for P1,200. Anyway, she could definitely afford it and she's a 100% coffee addict! why not! So it came with a certificate of authenticity and a pin.

Yes, a pin to puncture pinhole on center bottom of the can so it would release pressure to make it easier to open. She noticed the pin late, she had already opened the can before she  read the certificate and saw the pin.

When it was opened (back to the hotel), we were all pleasantly surprised by the deliciously sinful aroma of coffee. The beans were also larger and more distinct compared to the other coffee beans I've seen my father had brewed.

For those who don't know yet ( have you not watched a delayed telecast/replays of Oprah's mentioning this type of coffee? which I guess what made this coffee so popularly expensive all over the world, thank you Oprah!) Cafe Alamid beans are poop of Philippine civet, locally known as alamid which I think is from the cat family. The process starts with the gift of smell of this animal which able to pick the ripest and finest berries. The alamid would stuff itself with these special find berries and excrete them the following morning. In Indonesia, this coffee is called Kopi Luwak and it's being produced by Indonesian civet.



So there we were, coffee drinker or not. Everyone was enticed by the alluring smell of Cafe Alamid. We were ready to taste it! But wait. . family how could we? The beans were not grind! We were at the hotel on our last hour before we checked-out, and neither there was a coffee maker in the room.
By now Sylv is back in Davao and might be_ had already tasted it herself. Now, I have to buy myself an expensive cup of this precious coffee in a coffee shop.. .or shall I wait for your kindness to treat me a cup of this? That would be better;)

Tam-Awan Salad

Tam-Awan Salad. Had tried this mound of mixed vegies in honey mustard and herb dressing. The dressing was too much for me and cuzin' Che. I thought, it didn't blend well with apple and bell pepper slices. It was served pre-mixed. No personal preference adjustment was given. Which I thought a salad should be_personal. It's a norm in most restos to serve a minimum of three dressing choices. Or atleast, the dressing should be served separately and not yet mixed. The dressing made the salad too sour for my taste and seemed to overpower the rest of the salad . Might be better as a side salad of a grilled or fried dish. On the contrary, hubby liked it. He loves sour foods. He finished the plate for us.

Tried it at Tam-Awan Village Cafe in Baguio City. I enjoyed the artsy structure of the cafe' more than the salad.


Come back later for the arts, coffee and hot lemonade and more of this beautiful coffee shop.