BALAY Beanery

I was lucky enough to be here during their soft opening. Balay Beanery is located along the highway but it has this really comfortable and relaxed ambiance.

If you're traveling the Agoo route, make sure to drop by. It's just across the Sto. Tomas town hall.

They serve really affordable and delicious meals -- budget meal, all-day breakfast, pasta, sandwiches, and desserts among others.

Their menu, I believe, already updated from the time of my visit.

The Food

I'm only featuring their vegetarian-friendly food but they have lots of home-cooked style viands to choose from, varying everyday (aside from the main stay on their menu). I'll be back for their halo-halo and other nonmeat dishes.

Pesto Spaghetti (Php 70)

I like how the basil and garlic taste just right (topped with parmesan), perfect with the panini!

Grilled Cheese Panini (Php 25)

I can eat this all day and sit there staring at the mountain across the road.

The Menu

This is from my visit roughly a month ago during the soft opening so possibly they have something new.

The Place

I was here mid afternoon until night time. Looks like a resort but it's just beside a field. Cool breeze!

Off the menu treats

Store Info

Location

Barangay Patac, Sto. Tomas, La Union, Philippines (along McArthur Highway)

Store Hours

Monday to Saturday: 7:00 am to 8:00 pm

Contact Number

09985744094

Greens Vegetarian Restaurant and Cafe

Whenever I think of veggie barbecue, Greens is what comes to my mind. I hope that they open a branch here in Baguio!

The taste of the food and the restaurant's homely ambiance makes the dining experience perfect, not to mention the affordable prices on their menu! Serving is for one hungry person but possible for sharing if you get two or more main dish. Vegan options are also available by the way.

I dined here twice (coz it's roughly 6 hours away from home) so I only tried a few of their dishes. I always try to drop by whenever I'm in the area, and I make sure to order the barbecue and something new. I loooove their barbecue!!! (yeah I said it for the nth time)

I wasn't able to take pictures when I first went here for lunch because I was too hungry, then I was too full to move around after. I didn't include pictures of the menu coz it was really blurry (maybe out of hunger lol) Will be updating the pictures hopefully soon :)

The Food

Greens Vegetarian Barbecue (Php 100)

The meal comes with two sticks of savory barbecue with atchara on the side, and a cup of rice: plain, java, or brown. Even meat eaters will surely like its smokey flavor and the meaty texture. I love this and I usually crave for it!

Dinner visit, too hungry to adjust phone cam settings :p

with java rice

Lunch visit, too hungry to take a picture first before digging in :p

with brown rice (which I think is really red)

Sisig (Php 155) 

I'm not a big fan of sisig even when I was still a meat eater. I taste it just for the heck of it. But vegetarian versions, I really love.

Their sisig reminds me of those that I tasted in Pampanga, where this dish originated from. There's a kick of sourness and some crunch. They use mashed tofu and gluten but it still looks like the meat version. Yummy!

"Fish" Relleno (Php 155) 

I admire how this resembles the actual fish Relleno. This is made, however, with ground gluten, minced carrots, green peas, and raisins wrapped with seaweed, bread crumbs, and bean curd skin. 

The Place

Here's a glimpse of the place. I will definitely be back here for sunlit shots and more of their food!

Store Info

Location

92 Sct. Castor Street, Quezon City Philippines.

Store Hours

Mondays to Saturdays  11:00am - 10:00pm

Sundays 12:00pm - 9:00pm.

My Satisfaction Level

Palate Happiness: 5/5
Tummy Loader: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Budget: Php 100 and up per person

Pizza by Hygge Cafe

Pizza by Hygge Cafe has such a homely ambiance, you won't feel that you're along the busy bus terminal. Very well ventilated and lighted, the smell of cheese cooking all over the place, just heavenly!

I and my son found our new favorite pizza! Their concept is create-your-own-pizza which is a big advantage for me coz I prefer it to be just olives and cheese, which is not usually available on the menu unless paying for extra toppings.


The dough, base sauce, and cheeses are so good, which mainly are the essential factors for making a great pizza. I can go on and on about how heavenly it is. You also get to choose the herbs.

I believe how good it will taste is dependent on your mix and match. I highly recommend you to try their menu (aside from the pizza).

I usually ask the staff what are the hours that the place is jam packed (coz this will be when I won't drop by) , so during our visits we got the place to ourselves, These were two consecutive days coz I really can't get over of my taste buds going crazy!!!

The Food

Pizza (Php 250)

12" thin crust dough and a choice of your toppings. Good for 2-3 persons.

Don't underestimate the thin crust, it's filling! Lucky us since they just opened, they're having a promo --- only Php 200 til the end of the month! Here are the ingredients available, in case you wanna plan ahead of what to top your pizza:

red sauce, white sauce, mozzarella cheese, also available: cheddar cheese

pepperoni, ham, hungarian sausage, frankfurt sausage 

onions, jalapeno, capers, bellpepper

*I must've missed the pineapples, olives, arugula

Choices of herbs: basil, dried rosemary, thyme, oregano

Pizza Monsters Released!

Here's our creation. In roughly 15 minutes, pizza's served.

Note: They don't accept 2-faced pizzas anymore.

I always like it with thyme and oregano!

Pizza 1

Olives, mushrooms, mozzarella, cheddar, goat's cheese, and arugula. 

Pizza 2

Mushrooms, mozzarella, cheddar, and goat's cheese. Half has ham coz my kiddo likes it.

Pizza 3

Olives, mozzarella, cheddar, goat's cheese, half has ham and pepperoni. I had some jalapeno on the side for a kick. 

Pizza 4

Here's my mom's and sister's creation. Half: Olives, bell pepper, anchovies, chicken, cheddar, mozzarella, goat's cheese. Other half: olives, pepperoni, ham, mozzarella, cheddar, goat's cheese.

 

Carbonara (Php 130)

Surprisingly, you won't have that "suya" coz of the creaminess of usual carbonaras. Good job on this!

Tuna Pasta (Php 130)

Tuna, tomatoes, and basil. I had an initial thought that "I know how it tastes like" but I was wrong. Yummy!!!

Cucumber Mint Cooler (Php 100 for a liter)

REFRESHING! The only word that describes it.

The Place

Kuya, their chef:

The Menu

And something to have the kids stay put.

Store Info

Location

26 Baden Powell Compound Gov. Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines

Store Hours

Monday to Sunday 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM

Contact Number

0929 332 7288

My Satisfaction Level 

Palate Happiness: 5/5
Tummy Loader: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Budget: Php 250 up

Solomon's Paradise/ Solomon Beach Resort @ Patar, Bolinao, Pangasinan

Patar, Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines is becoming popular because of its beauty. It is roughly 6 hours drive from Baguio City but the time and effort are all worth it. There are a lot of locally developed resorts along Patar and I observed that the shoreline of every area varies.

Luckily my travel buddies did their research pretty well so we ended up staying in a really good spot in Solomon's Paradise.

We went there on a Wednesday and we had the beach all to ourselves! Definitely an experience that I'll never forget.

The resort's beachfront has rock formations that would give you a great view from the top. The beach is mostly covered with rocks carpeted with seaweeds, it's not slippery nor rough don't worry.

When you reach the resort, the smell of seaweeds cover the air and it's personally a great feeling.  It was a gloomy day when I took pictures so unfortunately I missed the blue sky that was suppose to blend perfectly with the breath taking view. Here's a glimpse of the paradise.

rough road leading to the resort

seaweeds envelope the air

low tide

Sunset

View from the top of the rock formation

The Cottage 

Rates during this time was Php 2000 for the fan room that can accommodate up to four people. Don't expect much on the facilities but it's really breezy. 

Once their house that is now functioning as the aircon rooms, shower rooms, and main office. 

Note that this is a different spot, called G Resort. Seems that the cottages are still being built but there were signages that led us here. Nice shoreline but the broken shells hurt the feet.  

Highly recommended especially to those who just wants to chill and get out of their busy routine for  awhile.