"This restaurant highlights the Ilocos heritage and culture in spite of the fact that it's located in Baguio City."

[BAGUIO, BENGUET, PHILIPPINES] ▬ The day was old. Neon lights start to brighten this chilly city in the mountains of Benguet. The rush hour congested the curling roads. The grey tourist van where I boarded brought us to an unfamiliar route in Baguio.

[BAGUIO] ▬ SINANGLAO, A FOOD ILOCANOS CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IS HERE.

▬ Thoughts on Board a Van ▬

BASED ON MY OBSERVATION, THE road is not a major artery. It winded up on a mixed-used hilly terrain dotted with both residential and commercial establishments. The site seemed darker compared with the bright streets of Session and Harrison. But the foregoing won't hinder our way to a restaurant called Kalapaw.

The first time I read the name of this restaurant on the itinerary given us, I knew this has something to do with Ilocano cuisines. I said so because kalapaw is an Ilocano word for hut. The owners of the restaurant, I think, won't take that brand name for nothing, for something unrelated.

The van stopped. On my left is an establishment with well-lighted interior. At my right is a vacant lot—sandwiched by concrete houses—where the tourist vans parked. My fellow bloggers rushed to get out of the van. They've brought out their cameras and that time, I knew that the establishment at my left is the destination. They've taken photos excitedly that the street in front of the restaurant turned crowded.

[BAGUIO] ▬ THE RESTAURANT HAS A LITTLE SIGNBOARD.

At first look, it didn't look like a restaurant—based on my standard of a typical restaurant with glass doors and big and colorful sign boards—but I knew this is already the Kalapaw Restaurant. The sign board was hiding that I didn't notice it immediately.

[BAGUIO] ▬ THE RESTAURANT INTERIOR

▬ The Interior ▬

THE RESTAURANT LOOKS DIFFERENT COMPARED with the other restaurants I've seen. Its name speaks for its design externally and internally.

The walls may have been concreted but you can see that the ceiling is made of light materials like bamboo and nipa leaves to name a few.

Glaring hangers in spherical form added elegance to this kalapaw-looking restaurant. Bamboos are also present. Piles of woven dried nipa leaves serve as ceiling while benches with calesa cartwheels are eye-catchy.

[BAGUIO] ▬ LONG TABLE UNDER A LIGHT-EMITTING SILVER SPHERE

[BAGUIO] ▬ CUSTOMERS WAIT FOR THEIR ORDERS WITH A NIFTY INTERIOR AROUND.

I walked near the buffet table and I noticed these capiz windows reminding me of the numerous ancestral houses in while the cartwheels remind me of the calesas of that are still running the streets for centuries now.

Old photos of Ilocos churches like the are framed and displayed near the buffet table. This restaurant highlights the Ilocos heritage and culture through food and art in spite of the fact that it's located in Baguio City.

[BAGUIO] ▬ ABOUT TWO PINTS OF SINANGLAO SOUP + INNARDS.

▬ The Ilocano Cuisines ▬

THE TABLE FOR BLOGGERS WAS set-up prior. Food too. The long table where our food was served was made of wood. Appetizing cuisines are hunger-stimulating but seeing the Ilocano cuisines I grew up eating made me want to get off my stylish seat and order for additional.

Fellow blogger, Bernie (habagatcentral.com), came to me excitedly telling me that he found out Ilocos empanada here. Bernie, a half Ilonggo, has Ilocano heritage and seemed to love everything under the Ilocos sun.

I looked at the plate he's showing me and I saw an . In Ilocos, orange empanada is a specialty of the . Afterwards, we decided to order sinanglao, the great soup dish of Ilocandia.

[BAGUIO] ▬ ILOCOS EMPANADA (LEFT, BACK); SINANGLAO (FRONT)

One serving of the sinanglao was good for three. It really tasted authentic. Cubes of clotted blood (from pig) were very present too. The soup? Gratifying! I didn't miss Ilocos this time. Ilocos is just around—on the plate.

Come the orange empanada. The price was twice as expensive compared with the empanadas in Vigan's Plaza Burgos food kiosks and of Batac's riverside empanadaan. I tasted it and I found out that it was not an authentic Batac empanada. The orange color might be deceiving but if you're familiar of the different empanada versions, you'll discover that this is more of a fusion of the different versions.

[BAGUIO] ▬ GINULAY NGA PACO (EDIBLE FERN SALAD)

[BAGUIO] ▬ GINULAY NGA UGGOT TI KARABASA WITH KBL. SO ILOCANO!

[BAGUIO] ▬ IT'S OFFICIAL. BAGNET!

I again encountered this edible fern I first tasted in we call as paco or pacpaco growing alongside healthy river ecosystems while the uggot ti karabasa, squash leaves salad, is a mainstay on my plate.

Bagnet? What can I say more? You're not Ilocano if you don't like bagnet. Yes, I stereotype! ▬ to be continued...

INDEX: INSIDE THIS BLOG SERIES

[UP NEXT] ▬ LIFE IN THIS STREET STARTS AT DARK

► BLOG SERIES: AZALEA SUMMER GETAWAY

Up Next: What about the frenzy? What about the fuss? This street becomes alive after sundown. Stories will be published in Part 3.

► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC

[1] This dinner was made possible through Azalea Residences Hotel in Baguio City. I was invited to experience the Azalea hospitality. My big gratitude to Azalea management.

[2] The maps I used below and those appeared on tooltips are the works of Eugene Alvin Villar and Mike Gonzalez published on Wikipedia. Source: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5