Reminiscing Our Eve’s Garden Adventure

The date:  September 29, 2010.  The place:  A deserted winding road.  There  I was, standing in the middle of it, barefoot, sweaty and out of breath.  How did I get here?  What just happened?  Before we get into that, maybe we should go back to a week before.

I was sitting at my computer doing research on my self-bestowed quest.  Out of the many sources that I pulled up, they made mention of a place called Eve’s Garden.  It was a place for healthy foods, 10 varieties of organic lettuce, the article went.  Seconds after, I was texting them.  Everything was set; we were going to have a complete meal, entrée and all, at their establishment.  They asked me what main course we would like to have; the choices were grilled chicken breast, grilled tenderloin, or steamed Norwegian salmon.  We chose the tenderloin and the salmon.

Flowers in the Garden

They then gave me the location of the restaurant.  It was a long text detailing the directions and landmarks to Eve’s Garden from Baguio City Hall.  “Take Naguilian Road, go past St. Vincent Church, past Cooyeesan, past the cemetery, past Jun Labo’s residence, past San Miguel, past St. Joseph Church, past Irisan High School, and past the PNP Station.  When you get to the 10m bridge at the Irisan jeepney turning point, that’s already the Lamtang Junction/old cockfighting arena.  Turn right on Lamtang Road, follow till you get to Eve’s Garden”.  (One of the forums said, it was about 2km.)

View from Lamtang Junction/Irisan. Guard Dogs. More fun in the Philippines! =D (http://www.morefunmaker.com/entry/34462/)

That time, Race didn’t have his motorcycle yet so we had to commute to Eve’s Garden.  We decided to take the Irisan jeep and ride it out to the turning point.  I was thinking maybe we could go out a few hours earlier so we can take a little walk to Eve’s Garden.  Oh my gosh, for this decision, I put, not only one foot in my mouth, but two.  That ‘little’ walk I was expecting took way longer.  (As per the forum discussion, it’s 2km from Lamtang Junction.  Maybe they meant 2km “BY CAR” =b *heeeharhar.)  Eve’s Garden was uphill, so you could say that Race and I had to hike for our lunch.

Surroundings

One curve up the hill and two, my feet were killing me.  I dressed for the occasion and chose a pair of shoes that looked really good but were not necessarily comfortable.  (Admit it ladies, you know you have a pair or five like that too; shoes that are just too pretty to pass up. =D)  Growing up in Baguio, I thought I could hack it walking that distance (which I probably could in the right outfit).  I wasn’t in a gown but it was a challenge nonetheless.  So off the shoes went and I held them in my hand like I was walking on the beach.  With every step, it got hotter and I got sweatier.  Race was trying to egg me on, but I went from fresh and well dressed to red-faced and cranky.

Surroundings

And so we get to the part of the deserted winding road.  Know that in the Philippines, if you ask for directions and someone says it’s just there, it’s nearby (with matching lip pointing, ‘duuuuuuuun’/therrrrrre), that means it’s farther.  Yes, we stopped to ask someone if we were on the right track and he confirmed it.  He said to continue on uphill because it’s just there.  It was actually a distance further but we finally arrived.  Oh, the relief we felt when we got up the hill and saw Eve’s Garden on the curve.  I felt the urge to go down on my knees and kiss the ground.

The promised land, we arrived, finally.

The Eve’s Garden Dining Experience

We stood around for a bit outside (just so I could compose myself =b) and in, we went.  It was just us that day so we had our pick of where to sit and naturally, we went for the table by the window with a view of the trees, the hills and the sky.  The guy who attended to us brought out a pitcher of cool and refreshing water without being asked.  I finished three glasses right there … whereafter, he had my eternal love and devotion =)).  He then served us our freshly squeezed pineapple juice with lemon mint and sage sweetened with Muscovado sugar.  We waited in silence (still catching our breath) for our soup.

Drinks and Dessert

The soup was made with a base of onion and squash with seven herbs.  It was garnished with parmesan cheese, croutons and yogurt.  (That’s how Eve’s Garden described the soup when we were texting about the reservation.)  What a mouthful right?  In a word, it was wonderful.  And here, I thought potato soup was great. =)) *heeee

The Soup and Us

The next course was salad.  When it came out, our long journey was justified in an instant.  It was the prettiest plate of salad I’ve ever seen!  It was towering with lettuce and there were walnuts, cashew nuts, raisins, carrot sticks and turnip sticks on the side.  The sight of greens is always pretty to me (I might have been a cow in another life =b) and what made this more beautiful were the colorful edible flowers placed all over the lettuce.

Aren’t these the prettiest plates of salad you’ve ever seen?

Our attendant told us that the best way to eat the salad was to get some lettuce, fill it with turnips, carrots, raisins and nuts; roll it up, top it with a flower (yes, the flowers are edible) and dip everything into the dressing.  (The dressing was a mix of organic flax oil, sunflower oil and olive oil with seven fresh garden herbs.)  We did that for a great number of times with the quantity of the salad we got.  Every roll, every dip and every bite was lip-smackingly fantastico!

Time for the main course.  The tenderloin was soaked in sake, strawberry wine, honey and herbs.  It was served with organic red rice, corn and turnips.  A juicy and flavorful piece of meat, Race relates and it also had a few of those edible flowers that added a hint of sweetness (and beauty) to the food.

Grilled tenderloin was soaked in sake, strawberry wine, honey and herbs

Mine was the steamed Norwegian salmon with caper dressing.  It was also served with organic red rice, corn and turnips.  It was just the lunch meal for me considering I like salty stuff.  Yes, I’m not a seafood fan but wow, the salmon and the capers were a good mix.  (The flowers!  Must mention the flowers!)  My plate had flowers on it too and I loved every bite of it.

Steamed Norwegian salmon with caper dressing

Just from Eve’s Garden salad, I was already pretty full.  You could imagine how satisfied I was after the main course.  There was dessert with a cup of ginger ginseng with mint tea soon to follow.  Meanwhile, the scene out the window became a whiteout.  The fog had rolled into the hills blotting out all the trees in the distance.  We could only see the closer ones and Eve’s Garden garden below.

At the table with a (foggy) view.

Back to the table, the dessert was very simple and small (which was okay because I already had my fill – dinner was officially off).  It was homemade as Eve’s Garden said it would be and it looked like a butterscotch bar.

Homemade dessert with a cup of ginger ginseng with mint tea.

Having finished off every crumb of the homemade dessert, we were ready to go.  Again, the walk and the price for the meal (P650 per person for a full course meal in 2010) was all worth it.

Let’s see the salad again!

My online sources did say it was going to be an adventure to find Eve’s Garden and that’s exactly what Race and I got – a great and memorable adventure.  Going back to town (to civilization), Maam Eve’s husband, Mr. Bond (cue 007 theme!) gave us a lift.  One of the things we talked about en route about was the beginnings of Eve’s.  The fresh, healthy veggies and the organic food were to keep his heart condition at bay.  So there you have it, good and healthy quality food from Eve’s Garden.

Playing with my food/eating my flowers. STILL flushed. (“,)

Race, Beth, Karla, and my other foodie loved ones, the blue moon had risen long ago.  Don’t you think it’s time we went back to Eve’s Garden? (in a vehicle, ANY vehicle *harharhar)

X marks Eve’s Garden for good (and healthy) Baguio foods.  This is one of the experiences you cannot miss out on when you’re in the city.  Make your lunch reservation today.

Food: 

Service:  &  (for the attendant who gave me water when I needed it most. =D)

Ambiance: 

Price: 

***Read ‘Return to Eve’s Garden’, click here.

Eve’s Garden

132 Lamtang Road

La Trinidad, Benguet

0917 506 6264