Steffi Eats Around Baguio 2022 Part 3: Foggy Mountain Cookhouse – Elevating Dining to New Heights

The drive up to Foggy Mountain Cookhouse was buwis-buhay to put it simply – Baguio was still being battered by a typhoon which meant that visibility was difficult. Our van was too heavy to drive up the steep driveway to the restaurant so we had to slowly trek up on foot – supporting our senior parents along the way.

However, once you reached the summit – I know I described it as a trek but it wouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes uphill – you’d realize that the effort was worth it. If the weather was better, it would have been glorious to watch the sunset from this viewpoint.

Foggy Mountain Cookhouse requires one to pre-order its mains from its seasonal menu – so our food was quickly served once we were seated. Due to its limited seating capacity, a meal at Foggy Mountain Cookhouse would instantly feel private and exclusive.

FLAT BREAD AND HUMMUS AND MIXED GREEN SALAD

All main dishes come with a serving of your choice of flat bread and hummus or mixed green salad; as we ordered a bunch of main dishes, the restaurant thoughtfully gave us sharing portions of both. The Flat Bread with Hummus was enjoyable – I’m not usually a fan of hummus, but theirs came with a lovely charred taste. On the other hand, the Mixed Green Salad was too healthy for my liking – the freshness of the greens was unquestionable but as it was dressed with a simple vinaigrette – the natural bitterness of the greens was not masked.

CRISPY SQUID FRIES (P650)

We started with the Crispy Squid Fries – which was simply out of this world delicious! I’m still drooling over how perfectly crunchy and delicious each squid fry was. Tender bite-sized Norwegian squid pieces were coated in a beautiful golden-brown batter and were perfectly deep-fried. These were then served with a refreshing dill tartar sauce and herbed fries. The best calamari I’ve ever tried in my life would come a far second next to this masterpiece!

ROASTED ITALIAN HERBED CHICKEN (P1200)

Its main offering was the Roasted Italian Herbed Chicken – which boasted of a juicy butterflied whole chicken generously flavored with fresh Italian herbs and roasted vegetables that wonderfully soak up its tasty juices. To be honest, this was way too large for us to finish that we opted to just bring it home to Manila – and amazingly, it was still juicy even when we reheated it two days after.

USDA RIB EYE (P1250/200 grams)

The USDA Rib Eye was also a delightful addition to our table – served medium and seasoned with herbed salt – it swaps the traditional steak sauce for a delightfully tangy balsamic vinegar reduction. As a non-steak sauce fan, I welcome this change! This was served with delicious smashed potatoes – drizzled with the same balsamic vinegar reduction.

GRILLED BONELESS LAMB LEG (P1050/200 grams)

Unsurprisingly, the Grilled Boneless Lamb Leg was also perfectly-cooked – tender and fragrantly marinated with spices -and topped with fresh mint and yogurt sauce. It’s paired with herbed vegetables and crispy chick peas.

Even though all main dishes were paired with tasty vegetables (you really can taste the difference if the produce used is as fresh as the ones here in Baguio), don’t worry if rice is your preferred side of choice. Foggy Mountain Cookhouse gave us a huge bowl of flavored rice to pair all our meats with.

DARK HOT CHOCOLATE WITH MALLOWS (P150)

It was our last night in Baguio – and I’ve yet to have a cup of Hot Chocolate so despite being so full, I ordered a cup of their Dark Hot Chocolate. I’m not a fan of marshmallows but I needed its sweetness to blend well with the bitter taste of the Hot Chocolate. They do give you a jar of muscovado sugar to adjust the sweetness to taste.

FRESH STRAWBERRY IN BALSAMIC VINEGAR AND MOSCOVADO SUGAR IN VANILLA ICE CREAM (P550)

When in Baguio, you can’t resist having a bite of their fresh strawberries so we opted to share an order of its Fresh Strawberry dessert – it starts with a base of creamy vanilla ice cream topped with fresh strawberries drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sweetened by muscovado sugar. I was absolutely stuffed already at this moment – so all I could do was to get a small slice of strawberry – so I can’t fairly judge how this interesting dessert really tasted.

Foggy Mountain Cookhouse

72 St Joseph Street, San Carlos Heights, Baguio City

Date of Visit: October 31, 2022 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua