Ketchup Food Community: Where to eat in Baguio City, Philippines
Update: Ketchup Food neighborhood has permanently closed.
My bowl was brimming with hot tom kha gai however the brewing envy inside me bubbled over with my eyes as I threw wanting looks at the other bowls as well as plates on our table. We were a huge group, celebrating the recent success of the 2nd Baguio blog Conference, where I provided a short talk. The organizers treated the speakers to dinner at Ketchup Food Community, a foodie’s haven that I had not tried before.
A fairly new dining destination, Ketchup Food neighborhood was established in March 2012. It is really a cluster of five little restaurants, each offering a different cuisine, perfect for those who want to try a plateful of whatever in one seating.
Canto is a steakhouse famous for its lomo ribs;
Happy stomach serves Thai favorites;
Rumah Sate boasts an Indonesian-Malaysian menu;
Green Pepper offers Western sandwiches as well as pastas;
Rancho Norte completes the listing with their Filipino dishes.
The finest part, you can order from any type of (or all) of them even without altering tables.
Happy Tummy
Green Pepper
Rumah Sate
In our case, we settled down at Canto. While most of us ordered a half slab of their famous lomo ribs, Mica (Senyorita), Nikka as well as Owen (Two to Travel) as well as I opted with having a range as well as had our waitress make a quick run to the other restaurants by ordering something more Asian. Nikka as well as Owen fancied a bowl of laksa from Rumah Sate. Mica as well as I went Thai as well as had pad thai as well as tom kha gai. (Hey, rhyming!) The whole idea of order changing was refreshing particularly upon discovering that all dishes would appear on just one bill.
The laksa was very first to be served as well as my eyes instantly turned eco-friendly with envy. I am not a laksa type of guy (as I have told a number of times in my Malaysia posts) however that soup looked rich as well as tasty. The head of the shrimps peeked above the surface, as if taunting me however I was as well timid to ask Owen as well as Nikka for a spoonful. They looked extremely satisfied, though. Owen as well as Nikka, not the shrimps.
When the ribs complied with right after, Mica as well as I looked at each other in an instant. Those were big slabs! The plates traveled across the table as well as in front of me as well as I wished to grab one as well as just beg whoever ordered it to switch it with my life as well as pride.
Canto’s Lomo Ribs (P190)
Laksa as well as Tom Kha gai
It took 15 more minutes before our Thai delights lastly made an appearance at our table. even before I had a taste of my tom kha gai, I understood I made a fantastic option as soon as I touched the warm bowl. It had been raining the entire day as well as in the chilly Baguio atmosphere, I requirement some warming up, which the soup effectively delivered. The soup was rich as well as milky (coconut milk?), packed with a blend of herbs as well as mushrooms. Its aroma enabled a sampling of exactly how far in the gastronomic scale it would reach.
I dipped a spoon as well as lastly had a taste, washing away all my infidelities — my longing for the other dishes. The sour broth that drowned the soft poultry bits tickled the palate. My only complaint was that it was not pungent (hot/spicy) enough, which I had come to expect in all tom yums as well as tom kha gais in the world. Still, in the Philippines, it was one of the very best Thai soups that graced my tastebuds.
But the picture of the ribs floating just inches from my deal with made a deep mark on my extremely malleable memory. The next day, Mica as well as I decided to go back to Ketchup for lunch. This time, I went for those lomo ribs!
Like the night before, the serving was humongous, particularly thinking about the cost (P190). four ribs marinated as well as grilled to perfection, as well as scribbled with a zigzag of wonderful (barbeque?) sauce sat quite on my plate next to a scoop of mashed potato as well as a lot of salad. The ribs were meaty as well as so tender, the flesh quickly let go of the bones with a gentle fork poking. The sweetness of the sauce mixed well with the smoky taste of the meat — immaculate!
Canto’s lomo ribs half slab with mashed potato as well as salad (P190)
The mashed potato was nothing remarkable however the salad was something else. topped with bits of watermelons, it has a sugary rough taste as well as structure that pushed this side meal to the dessert border. The lettuce looked bright as well as had that crisp that screamed freshness. I just desire the serving of both the carbs as well as the vegetables were larger, though.
The service was a bit sluggish on both occasions, however that may be since the location was packed. The servers were polite however they failed to remember that I ordered a glass of almond-lychee gulaman. Still, the food made up for whatever glitches in the service I encountered.
Ketchup is an al fresco dining destination. The garden setting reinforces the natural as well as breezy environment that many prominent restaurants in Baguio fosters. Out of the five restaurants, I only tried two — happy stomach as well as Canto — leaving something for the next visit. Now, if only I had stayed a bit longer in Baguio.
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