Thursday, September 22, 2016

First Bite: Cafe by the Ruins

Cafe by the Ruins has been one of the most popular restaurants in Baguio that it became a must-visit place when in the land of ube jams and strawberries. I have tried to visit this place a few times but failed till my most recent trip up North. 

Hello, Cafe by the Ruins!
I have dreamt of dining here for more than a year now. I always drool over its mouthwatering dishes and get mesmerized by the beauty of its interiors I see on Facebook and Instagram. But I was surprised with what I saw when I entered the famous restaurant. 
The place has an ambiance that would make you feel like you’re in the woods dining with pixies and friendly dwarves but with a slight Tim Burton touch. It was poorly lit though and made me a bit paranoid with mosquitoes that I applied insect repellant as soon as we got to our table. We also got a sniff of something not so pleasant during our visit. 
Since we were not that hungry, R and I opted to just order one cup of Rizal’s Tsokolate-e (PHP145) and Chocolate Croissant (PHP100). Service was quick and it was probably because we got there just in time for last call. 
The cup of hot chocolate was quite good as it had a nice and rich chocolate taste to it. It was also thick, perfect for the cool Baguio weather. Unfortunately, it was quite humid that night so I didn’t get to enjoy my cup to the fullest. But I really liked that this cup had a smooth texture unlike the batirol type which was rough. 

The Chocolate Croissant was quite disappointing. The texture was very off as it was not flaky at all. It was just an ordinary buttery bread with chocolate spread, nothing more. R commented that the chocolate spread tasted like Nutella but it tasted a bit more local to me. It tasted more like Goya chocolate spread. And for PHP100, I felt that I was tricked. 
I left the place filled with regret and disappointment. I was hoping to have my tastebuds go wild with its food and my eyes grow big with the restaurant’s interiors. I wanted to give the place a second chance and try the savory dishes but after reading several not so good reviews about it, I think I won’t visit this place again. 
Cafe by the Ruins is located at 25 Shuntug Road, Baguio City, Benguet.

1 comment:

Comments or other recommendations? :)