Baguio 2022: Lola Ima x Farmer’s Daughter x Le Chef

LOLA IMA

For my dad’s 60th birthday celebration, my siblings and I treated him and the whole family to a Baguio trip. En route to Baguio, we stopped over Petron Lakeshore to have some breakfast in Lola Ima.

In the midst of fast food joints and coffee shop chains, Lola Ima sets itself apart by offering classic Filipino fare - its all-day breakfast binalot options are perfect for brunch.

TOCINONG BABOY (P95)

I opted for the Tocinong Baboy – as we were in Pampanga after all; and it delivered on taste. Unfortunately, our waitress served our binalot wraps upside-down – which explains the messy unwrapping – but despite that, you can’t contest the value for money as it came with a good serving of rice, salted egg, grilled eggplant and grilled tomatoes. I paired it with a cup of Brewed Coffee (P60). Imagine, my whole breakfast was equivalent to just a grande-sized Starbucks cup!

PORK SISIG (P140)

We couldn’t resist ordering a Pork Sisig as we heard its sizzles from the other tables – and it was glorious! Sisig for breakfast? Yes, please! Nothing beats a piping hot dish to kick-start your day!

Date of Visit: October 30, 2022

Lola Ima

Petron Lakeshore, NLEX, Pampanga

FARMER'S DAUGHTER

Our first official meal in Baguio was in the famous Farmer’s Daughter – which offers Cordillera food. This famous restaurant drew in hordes of hungry diners despite the rainy weather that even when it was quite late already (around 1PM), our queue number was still in the 20s.

SMOKED LONGANISA (P180)

Despite the crazy crowd, Farmer’s Daughter helps make its service more efficient by already handing out menus to diners near the front of the queue so that orders are placed prior to people being seated. Admittedly, I have zero background on Cordillerean cuisine so we did tend to stick to things that sounded familiar such as the Smoked Longanisa. An order comes with five juicy and hefty links which were absolutely divine – fresh from the grill – and boasted of a wonderful smoky and semi-sweet and spiced garlicky flavor that’s amazing with rice.

SENDAD JEN BAHA (P180)

We also had enjoyed the Sendad Jen Baha or boiled beef ribs with vegetables – which resembled an incredibly flavorful bulalo. It was so good drowning your rice in this stew and was so comforting to have in the rainy cold weather.

DINAKDAKAN (P180)

One thing that I really didn’t enjoy was the Dinakdakan – probably because I had very different expectations of it. I’ve fallen in love with the Dinakdakan of PorkMaru Crispy Pata – so I was expecting that Farmer’s Daughter’s would boast of the same crispy sisig-esque dish drizzled with sweet mayonnaise and red onions. However, the version of the restaurant was far from crispy – which meant that the chopped pork ear, tongue, and snout came in their chewy glory. As a bonus, this dish came dressed with pig’s brain. One scoop of this dish was as far as I can go!

KINDOT JEN BABOY (P180)

Fortunately, the Kindot Jen Baboy or their grilled pork provided something more familiar to our palettes as it resembles our traditional grilled liempo. The pork wasn’t as tender as I’d like it to be, but it boasts of a beautiful charred smoky flavor that I simply could not get enough of.

It’s a bit hard to avoid eating rice in the restaurant as most of their dishes simply are a match made in heaven with this Filipino staple. It’s insane as well that each dish comes with a price tag of less than P200; yet comes in a serving size that's good enough for sharing!

Farmer’s Daughter proves that it’s not all hype as it delivers really delicious and affordable food fare.

Farmer’s Daughter

Tam-awan, Longlong Road, Baguio City

Date of Visit: October 30, 2022 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua

LE CHEF

Christmas decors were in full swing when we made a visit to Le Chef last October 2022. It was a long weekend so the buffet restaurant was extremely packed!

We were seated outdoors – which would have been typically pleasant on most days; but quite inconvenient given the strong winds due to the typhoon battering Baguio during our visit. Fortunately, the tent was thick and strong enough to keep us dry throughout the dinner service.

A seat at their dinner buffet service comes at an extremely reasonable price of P1650/pax. For their cold food selection, the salmon sashimi was incredibly fresh that I helped myself to multiple servings of it. Various sushi rolls and salads are also available for your choosing. Spinach Potato Soup and Sinigang Salmon Belly are welcome soup options; unfortunately, they do turn cold within minutes of returning to your seats!

For its Carving selection, one is treated to tender slices of Roasted Angus Beef Striploin; unfortunately, the Baked Lamb Leg was on the tough side. Crispy roasted Pork Belly also wound its way to the station. Its pasta station offers Alfredo, Bolognese and Arabiatta as its sauce options; while its grilled selection boasts of stuffed squid, Spanish mackerel and Salmon nuggets.

Standouts for its hot dishes would be the Sauteed Shrimp ala Pobre, and Wagyu Beef Shortplate; while my favorite dessert would be its unique banana foster station.

Le Chef

The Manor at Camp John Hay

Date of Visit: October 30, 2022 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua