EAT IN ASIA / Destinations / Philippines
A culinary visit to Europe on the Christmas market in Baguio
Are you spending your Christmas time in Asia, and you would like to feel this unique and magical atmosphere there too? No worries, while visiting the Philippines, you will definitively have multiple possibilities of experiencing it! Remember that the Philippines are on third position on the list of largest Roman-Catholic nations! And that religious spirit is visible almost everywhere. It can be felt wherever you go. No matter whether you are in a small village, in a big town or in the capital, in Manila, the Philippines.
Beautiful decoration, a lot of evening events, carols, special preparations, outdoor concerts, cultural initiatives and many more. This Christmas atmosphere is everywhere! And that is also a very good time to visit the Philippines. Even though you might not be very religious, and this time might not have for you any spiritual significance, it would be an unforgettable experience.
Of course, every city has its own events’ schedule and different decorations, but everywhere you will be able to see at least a small element reminding you that it is Christmas time.
Baguio, Benguet, the Philippines
We visited many places during these days in the Philippines, but the one that did impress us the most was the time spent in Baguio.
Baguio is a located on the Luzon Island of the Philippines. To be more precise, in the Benguet province. It is called the City of Pines and the Summer Capital of the Philippines. The second name is the result, of its cooler climate that is the consequence of the mountainous location of Baguio.
Christmas Market in Baguio, Benguet, the Philippines
It was a magical time! This wonderful atmosphere was felt everywhere on the main square. A beautiful music, colorful stalls, delicious food, and so nice light decorations!
Finally, there was a great opportunity of trying some European food, local products, organic wines, coffees, and traditional dishes from the Philippines.
All that was accompanied by a concert given by professional musicians and a choir.
This Christmas market was full of European decorations and imitations of famous buildings like Moulin Rouge or Eiffel Tower from from Paris, France. Apart from that, different stalls specialized themselves in other menu and serving options.
Dominated ice creams, coffees, burgers, hot-dogs, soups and rice and chicken dishes. Of course, the whole culinary event was not limited only to European snacks and meals. Here, you could try traditional dishes from the Philippines, Vietnamese Pho soups and Japanese onigiri.
We enjoyed so much strolling in the park, observing people and tasting different snacks and drinks. A cup of an organic coffee was all the time with us. Finally, we decided to have a small shot of a delicious local wine that, of course, was organic too. And while strolling and testing staples and delicacies we chatted with local people and were trying to feel, remember and enjoy the atmosphere as much as we could. We were trying to catch every single moment and remember it for always.
We also had some stalls to which we were returning multiple times. Actually, there was a couple of them that impressed us the most – Moulin Rouge, Bro’s, Ritz Café and Rapha’s Corner.
Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge from Paris, France had a beautiful decoration imitating the original building. Of course, here French croissants were obligatory. Apart from that, some creamy salads, hot-dogs and tortillas. However, not only these European dishes were offered. In Moulin Rouge you could try traditional Japanese onigiri and, very popular in the Philippines, rice and chicken bowls.
Bro’s
Bro’s stall specialized itself in meat and other European dishes. That is here where British fish and chips were served and where you could try an Italian bruschetta and where you could get some steaks or schnitzels. Finally, you could buy some more unusually sounding dishes like bocadillo de cerdo that is, generally speaking, a crispy pan with pork meat and some garnishes. Another interesting menu item might be French croque monsieur that is a hot sandwich with ham, cheese and originally with a bechamel sauce.
Ritz Café
Another stall that we enjoyed a lot was Ritz Café. Although the name suggested it would serve only coffees and sweets, Ritz Café had in its menu hot-dogs, rice bowls and traditional menudo from the Philippines. You can have menudo, sometimes called ginagmay, in many other places but still, this stew was a nice break between all sweets and desserts that we had already grabbed. Apart from that, it is really worth trying it in different locations. The recipe is always slightly different and, in consequence, the final taste is also different. So, what is menudo? Menudo is a stew with pork meat and vegetables like carrots and potatoes. It is served in a tomato sauce and with sliced liver.
Rapha’s Corner
Rapha’s Corner was selling mainly candies, sweets and colorful cotton candies in cups. Apart from that, this stall was extremely popular among children as it was offering some toys too. So it is not surprising!
Apart from these listed above, there were stalls with delicious products form the Philippines and many little shops with ice creams.
Some of stalls offered delicious and beautiful fried, meat and vegetable skewers. Apart from that, fresh juices and coffee were in many places.
Baguio Christmas Market organic wines from the Philippines
Finally, there was an option of tasting local organic wine! Rina-Celo local brand offered local bugnay wine and this traditional rice wine. Finally, there was a wide selection of fruit wines like these from strawberries, mulberries or from honey melon. Of course, a coffee wine was a must too. Although all these wines were either sweet or semi-sweet, they were worth trying and even buying.
This evening event was a great experience! Just like a travel in time and space. It was also a culinary trip to many countries in the same place. And all that was accompanied by Christmas songs and beautiful illuminations.
Apart from that, the possibility of observing the preparation of the meal was so nice. All was served fresh and with passion. You could see in faces of these people that they enjoyed their work a lot. They had a lot of fun in what they were doing.
And that was also visible in served dishes. All of them were prepared with passion and in the way the cook felt would be the best. Although, slightly in a hurry, each meal was cooked in a proper way and garnished as it should be.
Finally, we loved observing making fried ice creams! That was always something fascinating for me! Frozen and fried. Two contradictory things in the same place!
