Chocolate de Batirol, Camp John Hay

Before heading to the bus station for our Manila-bound trip, we decided to try the famous Chocolate de Batirol near Baguio Country Club. Contrary to what we all thought, Chocolate de Batirol does not only offer hot chocolate. Aside from its wide variety of chocolate and coffee concoctions, it also offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Since we just had heavy dinner (Bulalo and Liempo at Slaughter House), we obviously did not have ample  tummy space to accommodate even a slice of cake. So we each ordered a cup of their traditional blend of chocolate de batirol.

What makes Chocolate de Batirol special is the way they prepare their hot chocolate concoctions. They use a batirol, a traditional wooden rod which serves as a “mixer”. The rod is placed in between palms and rubbed back and forth. This is to ensure that the desired consistency of the beverage.

The traditional blend of Chocolate de Batirol tastes a lot like tsoknut (a local chocolate with peanuts). It is rich, creamy and nonetheless comforting to the stomach.

For those who want to make Chocolate de Batirol at home, they also sell chocolate paste, almost similar to tablea, only these are not in hard tablet form, and are easier to prepare using the batirol (which is also available instore).

Revisiting Cafe by the Ruins, Baguio City

I once asked my hubby this question: “Which resto in Baguio is your all-time favorite?” Without a doubt he answered, “Cafe.” By that he meant “Cafe by the Ruins”. And I so agree. I have the same answer, too. So each time we go to Baguio, we always pay a “visit” to our favorite resto.

Nothing much has changed since we last visited Cafe by the Ruins except that the construction site beside it has already risen into a new hotel (Eurotel). The tables and the garden are still the same. I just noticed that the antique electric chair was removed from the garden theater.

We ordered our favorite pan de sal with herbed cheese spread. I was actually looking for the whole wheat pan de sal which really goes well with the herbed cheese spread but it was out of stock. The herbed cheese spread is made of ricotta cheese and yogurt blended with butter, garlic, chives and paprika. If only they sell this in a bottle, I will definitely hoard!

Cafe by the Ruins is also famous for its Rizal’s Tsokolate-e, a hero’s cup of hot carabao milk blended with chocolate. If you are a fan of tablea like us, you will love this. They also have a version that’s more diluted for those who doesn’t like bittersweet chocolate, and a version that’s thick and concentrated served in a shot glass.

To jumpstart the day, I ordered a hearty breakfast – Farmer’s Morning Feast. It is a generous serving of home-made bacon, organic brown rice and egg. The bacon is not salty like those you get from the supermarket. The organic brown rice is as soft as white rice, and is actually violet in color, not brown.

We also ordered Fisherman’s Breakfast, a combination of unsalted dried fish, organic brown rice and egg. This comes with their signature Ruins Coffee – a concoction made of cardamom, whipped cream, muscovado sugar and cinnamon powder. Btw, the hot chocolate and coffee comes with a piece of a hard caramel candy that I really love!

And I just read that they also have a Choco Lava Cake. I will definitely try this next time I go to Baguio. Promise.