Rose Bowl Restaurant - Comfort Food in Baguio City

I was supposed to write this last year right after we returned from a trip to Baguio City. Somehow, I never got to finish this article about a sentimental trip to the Summer Capital of the Philippines. Here are a few photos from January 2025. Since it had been years since the last trip to Baguio, we just had to go back to Rose Bowl. My first time to eat there was in 1995, for my first project out of grad school. That was a traffic study for the Bokawkan Flyover.

Fast forward to 2025 and we just wanted to go to familiar places we've gone to before. One of these was Rose Bowl. We were so hungry when we arrived at the restaurant that I was not able to take many photos. But we did have a great lunch there. The food is still good! The staff were also quite familiar as many have been employed there for a long time now. The kitchen and the staff are very efficient and our food was served soon after we ordered.

I have always eaten at Rose Bowl since my first time in Baguio in 1995.

Fish fillet and tofu

Fried rice

Rose Bowl's version of chop suey

The familiar sign along the road

I am already looking forward to the next trip to Baguio. Hopefully, that will happen sooner than later. Will I be going to Rose Bowl again? Likely, if it was a family trip. If I will be traveling there for work, then probably we'll try out other restaurants, too. Baguio, after all, has so much to offer in terms of food.

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The Lion's Head - landmark along Kennon Road

Before I continue writing about the more recent trip to Bicol, I'm sharing these photos of the Lion's Head, which is a landmark for people traveling to or from Baguio via Kennon Road.

We left Baguio for Quezon City just after lunch time after our workshop last December. This photo was taken as we approached the Lion.

The scaffolding means the monument is under some renovation or restoration work.

There were few people as we passed the Lion. It was just after noontime on a weekday so I guess there were not as many people as on weekends, mornings or afternoons.

I noticed people like to dress up in local costumes or garments in many tourist areas these days. You see these in photos of people on travel in Korea, Japan and Thailand. So it's not surprising that people would also dress up here. You can rent the clothes and accessories for picture-taking for a small amount of money. There are several stalls renting out these stuff near the Lion's Head.

More photos of recent travels in the following days!

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Pine trees from Benguet

Our souvenirs from our recent trip to Baguio included a couple of plants, trees to be exact. I was already eyeing the plant shops along Marcos Highway when we came upon a small one by the roadside in Tuba. This wasn't one of those more commercialized shops but rather a house selling some fruits, vegetables and plants. Another vehicle stopped ahead of us but I got to the shop first to inquire about the pine tree saplings on display. The other guy inquired if the trees could grow in Bulacan. The lady selling them replied that they will with proper care. Bulacan, of course, is in Central Luzon and mostly plains, and therefore was of a much lower elevation than Baguio or Tuba where these trees have thrived. I thought if they can grow in Bulacan then they will definitely survive in Antipolo, us residing in the upper part of the city.

And so I ended up getting a couple of pines to take home. Here they are:

The pine tree saplings the morning after we returned from Baguio.

This is before we transferred them to pots. These are not the actual pots as we bought larger ones. We plan to grow them there and perhaps have them as a sort of bonsai at home.

 

We actually have 3 pine trees in pots near our front door. These have not grown taller than our garage ceiling. I assume that keeping them in pots over 10 years have stunted their growth at least in terms of height. We hope to have similar results with the two we got from Benguet.

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Salad suggestions for lettuce and strawberries

We had enough lettuce and strawberries to have them for salads with our lunches and dinners for several days after we returned from Baguio. Here are some of the salads we enjoyed this first week of January.

Coral lettuce and strawberries from La Trinidad, Benguet

Lettuce and strawberries with cantaloupe melon

Lettuce and strawberries with Fuji apples

I usually eat my salads without any dressing but if I did use dressing, I would usually go for balsamic vinaigrette or sesame soy dressing.

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Salad ingredients from La Trinidad, Benguet

We decided to go to the Strawberry Farms in La Trinidad, Benguet. The last time we've been here was in 2017 when our daughter was 3 years old. She didn't have a good memory of that trip and wanted to go to see for herself the farms. She was also eager to get some strawberries and eat strawberry flavored taho there after we related to her that she like strawberry taho when she first tasted this 7 years ago.

The Strawberry Farms are in La Trinidad, which is the capital of Benguet province and just next to Baguio City. The farmers are assisted by Benguet State University, which is just across the national highway from the farms.

Rows of strawberries and lettuce are planted side by side in La Trinidad.

Newly packed strawberries

Farmers packing the strawberries before selling taking them to stores for selling.

Farmer selling lettuce at the farm

Lettuce soon to be harvested

We ended up getting lettuce and strawberries for us and my parents. We requested the farmers to separate the strawberries that we can already enjoy while in Baguio and packs to bring back to Antipolo. I will post about the salads we've been having the past week that were mostly composed of the lettuce and strawberries from our recent trip.

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Closed - Mile High Outlet shops in Baguio

What was the Mile High Outlet shops at Camp John Hay in Baguio City closed. I just found out for myself while taking my morning walk last week. Here are some photos of what was a shopping and dining option in Baguio.

What was once a vibrant commercial area is now like a ghost town.

Mile High used to be lined with shops and restaurants that people go to and out of their way as this is located in Camp John Hay.

The place is practically deserted and cordoned off. The van's driver probably is resting here after a long drive and waiting for his passengers who could be having breakfast somewhere.

Took this photo of one of the horses headed to the horseback riding area beside our hotel

I assume there is another one like this somewhere in the city. Down the road from the place is a techno hub that also has restaurants and shops. It's a newer place with familiar restaurants and shops. Mile High probably was a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.There are many other options so its closure is not a total loss.

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Back in Baguio after 8 years

I'm back in Baguio City after more than 8 years. We vacationed here in June of 2016 when my brother-in-law was visiting with his wife after not being able to come home for many years after he emigrated to Canada. So we took advantage to take a break from work and typical daily routines. This time, I am in Baguio for work again. All of my previous trips here were work trips whether these were for workshops or for projects. My first project after graduation was here for the city's first flyover that eased travel to and from La Trinidad. That's a story for another article that I hope to be able to write in much detail one day.

Here are some nice night shots of the surrounding area from the balcony of our room at the Le Monet Hotel:

We are staying in the Camp John Hay area so the surrounding forest is still preserved.

The photos were taken with the night mode of my iPhone. I thought they were pretty decent shots considering the lack of lighting.

I will share more photos I took around our hotel, which is near The Manor. I already took some walks and got to take photos of the area including The Manor.

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Room service dinner at The Manor

Flashback to last month... On our last night at our hotel, The Manor, the Clairvoyant and I decided to just order in so we can also try room service food at the hotel. We already knew that their food was good from first hand experience as well as from our friends who have stayed and dined there. We were not disappointed with what we had for dinner.

Bolognese on angel hair pasta - this was a bit different from the other Bolognese we've tasted. The meat seems to have been grounded well so it integrated well with the sauce. This was flavorful and the serving was generous enough to share between two people.

Warm breads to go with the pasta - it is always a treat to have freshly baked bread for a meal.

Their version of beef salpicao was on the spicy side. It was a good thing we ordered rice to go with this dish.

Their Belgian chocolate cake - was sinful indeed and was a perfect ending to our in-room dinner.

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Fruits and vegetables shopping in Baguio

A trip to Baguio won't be complete without buying vegetables and fruits there. Baguio's location is very strategic as vegetables and fruits, primarily from the neighboring towns in Benguet Province pass through the city en route to other provinces and Metro Manila. Produce from neighboring provinces in the region (Cordillera Autonomous Region or CAR) and those in Regions 1 (Ilocos) and 2 (Cagayan) also find their way to Baguio where there is demand for them but with much less escalation in prices.

I used to go to the Baguio Public Market to get vegetables and fruits. But the last few trips I found it better not to brave the crowded market and purchase items instead from the roadside shops you will find along Marcos Highway. There are many farms along this major road and many of the shops are owned by farmers selling their own products. You can get veggies and fruits for significantly less than the prices in Metro Manila with less of the hassle when you shop at the market. And you get to buy directly from the farmers (hint: they have smaller shops along the road usually near their homes).

Roadside shops along Marcos Highway have all the vegetables and fruits you'll probably be buying for personal consumption or to give away as pasalubong to family and friends.

The produce at the shops seem to come straight out of the popular folk song "Bahay Kubo."

There are also other items on sale at these shops including the popular brooms. Most of these aren't made in Baguio though the city's name is on the brooms. There are also peanut brittle, strawberry jam, ube jam, chocolate crinkles and other stuff for those who want to do last minute souvenir shopping or perhaps add to the stash they already got earlier just so they're sure they have enough pasalubong.

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First out-of-town project - Baguio Flyover

Here's another throwback article. Baguio City is where I had my first out-of-town project. This was back in 1995 and just after I finished my master's at UP Diliman. The project was Baguio's first flyover or overpass and it was being proposed along Bokawkan Road, which is a busy thoroughfare connecting the city to La Trinidad, the capital town of Benguet province. Our task was to determine the best configuration for the flyover including the required capacity for it and the remain at-grade roads once it was built.

I remember it was very rainy when we were there and our accommodations (which was volunteered by our client - their family's vacation house in the city) turned out to be quite inhospitable. We had to buy blankets and make our own beds as we had practically no budget to stay at a hotel. I recall the house was a bit creepy especially for the last few days I stayed there by myself (my mentor had to go back to Manila) to supervise the traffic surveys at the proposed site of the flyover. That was quite the adventure for me then as I also tried to explore the city on foot. I walked the entire stretch of Session Road when it was still the Session Road (old) people reminisce about. I also walked around neighborhoods in the Gen. Luna area where the house I was staying at was located.

Here are some photos of the flyover now and the area where I supervised traffic surveys together with the bridge engineer who was from Baguio.

The flyover as seen from one of the side streets in the Trancoville district

A closer look at this almost 20-year structure

Traveling along the service road along the flyover and towards the direction of La Trinidad. Shown also in the photo is one of the pedestrian overpasses in the city. I actually like the architecture of these overpasses that seems more apt compared to Metro Manila's steel structures.

I included this photo past the overpass to show how crowded Baguio is already with houses having replaced trees in many mountains and hills. These used to be all green with trees back in the 1990s with only a few shanties that had started to sprout back then.

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Rose Bowl Restaurant, Baguio City

One place I have never failed to go to whenever I was in Baguio is the Rose Bowl restaurant. Specializing in Chinese food, I first dined there during my first trip to the city in 1995. The old Rose Bowl restaurant was near the corner of Magsaysay and Harrison, and just a short walk from Session Road. Now it is along Gen. Luna in what is a larger building and in a less congested part of the city. Here are a few photos from our recent trip to Baguio. I wasn't able to take more photos as we were all hungry and had a late lunch upon arriving in the city after about 5 hours of travel from Quezon City.

Restaurant sign with Chinese translation

I first ate at the restaurant with friends from Baguio. One classmate was with the regional office of NEDA and hosted us for dinner.

The restaurant now has a much more spacious interior and this afforded them some space for receiving customers. This scene greets you when you enter the restaurant.

The dinnerware appears to be the same ones used in the last so many years? If so, then these probably may already be considered as antiques.

Prawns

Chopsuey

Of course, we also had fried rice and most of us ordered juice to go with our food. I look forward to eating at Rose Bowl again. You can't really have everything on their menu so the next time you can try other items with family and/or friends. There is also something about the ambiance and staff of the restaurant that somewhat brings you back in time. Nostalgia seems to be the best word for it and its something that always feels good about eating there.

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Chocolate de Batirol at Camp John Hay

We were talking about where to have breakfast the following morning when we arrived in Baguio. One idea was to buy food, heat it and eat at our hotel suite. The decision where to have breakfast became simple as we saw the Chocolate de Batirol restaurant along the road to The Manor in Camp John Hay.

The place had a makeshift but homey feel about it.

A closer look at the structure shows outdoor tables for those who want to have space to themselves.

There are also chairs and tables inviting people to sit around (tambay).

There are many plants around the garden restaurant.

The view from the cafe to the main entrance and parking for vehicles.

Restaurant interior with locally made tables and chairs adding to the ambiance.

People come here for the native hot chocolate ground using a local implement (batirol).

Our order of Vigan longanisa, eggs and rice with tomatoes on the side.

That's our daughter Ally running towards the cafe. She was quite curious of the place and had some fun picking up rocks and twigs around the cafe grounds.

Chocolate de Batirol is located strategically along the main road in Camp John Hay. There are many people walking or driving around and so they have a steady stream of customers, particularly those wanting to have a cup of hot chocolate to drink and enjoy in Baguio's cool climate. You don't really go there for the food. It is okay but, to be frank, nothing spectacular. But the hot chocolate is really good and worth the visit.

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