At Home in Forest House

I’m tearing my hair out just thinking about it!

I cannot believe how long I went without eating at Forest House!

It’s understandable I guess because circumstances in those years didn’t allow it.  One, I was too young and eating out wasn’t my thing then.  Two, it didn’t occur to me to explore what was in my city.  Three, I didn’t have anyone to go with (real foodie adventurers who wanted to try new things and experience what the city/the world has to offer them – no matter what the cost =b) – all those reasons.

I wish you…

Come to think of it, it might also be a natural Baguio trait of staying in one’s comfort zone (I mean comfort in the familiar =D) because now I know of a number of people who’ve lived here all their lives who never saw the Forest House interior.  (Or maybe life was just too busy to go all the way to Loakan Road to eat?)  Anyway, that momentary (can you still refer to years as momentary? *heeee) lapse of judgment was easily rectified.  When P3 and I gave Forest House a try, it was written on our list of favorite restaurants with indelible ink.

P3 in Forest House

If we wanted to go fancy, Forest House was the most likely place be.  (Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to dress up to the nines to eat in this establishment.  In your casual getup with friends or in your fanciest threads for a business meeting or a date, you’re sure to feel right at home in Forest House Bistro and Cafe.)

Forest House – the surefire way to impress international friends. Shout out to Paul! =D

Sisters in Forest House

It’s easy to fall in love with Forest House.  Walking through their doors, you’ll note the stained glass windows on the side of the entrance.  It’s like the green and orange hues reflected by the light are hypnotizing you to let all your cares go.  The couches and the fireplace in the seating area by the door urge you to take a seat and get comfy.  The beams of varnished lumber going crisscross above you give the place a rustic and homey ambiance.  Before you know it, you’re thinking to yourself, ‘I want to live here; I want this to be MY home’.

P3 +1 in Forest House

Don’t you just love soup in a bun? \m/

Our first visit to Forest House was in 2008.  Back then, they only had a few pages of dishes on their menu.  All neatly categorized into salad, pork, beef, lamb, seafood, vegetables, pasta, desserts, and drinks; you cannot help but order from each category.  There’s something from every section of the food pyramid in Forest House.  You can pick your favorites or the dishes whose names strike your fancy (that’s the way I pick my food *heeharhar =b) but one thing you shouldn’t forget to try is the dessert.  Four years ago, they just served it on a plate without any decoration or edible art whatsoever but it didn’t matter.  The best part of the meal, I always thought, was the dessert.  Agree? (“,)

Checklist for Desserts (“,)

Talking about the service, the Forest House staff is very meticulous.  They move like clockwork too, ready to seat you in a nice spot in the restaurant and take your order, ready to top your recently emptied glass off with water, and ready to clear out plates of finished meals, etc.  It’s hard not to mention Angela while we’re on the topic of the Forest House service.  We had a lot going on at our table in our second visit, with P3 and two other close foodie friends.  She wasn’t only helpful but also very entertaining telling us about the various dishes that we ordered.  When we finished our meal (with plates of cherry and peach cheesecake), she was glad to take our pictures (emphasis on the S *hihi) in various picture-worthy sections of the establishment.  I live for photos and that just made my Forest House visit even more memorable.  I don’t have to imagine Forest House as my home now because I have the pictures to prove how at home we felt there.

Xine’s Group taking over the house. (“,) Shout out to Leby and Mai!

with Angela, our favorite (“,)

For the great time I had with my friends, I also brought my family there for some bonding time over good food.  Needless to say, it was another success.  (I’m not just talking about the angel hair pasta that tasted divine or the various slices of cake we passed around the table so everyone would get a sample of everything.)  Everything was perfect!  It’s like a fairy tale about a foodie adventure come to life.  When the setting is Forest House, it always ends with ‘…and they lived happily ever after’.

Family Bonding in Forest House

Last year, I brought an old friend (who lived in Baguio for years) to Forest House.  (She’s never eaten at this restaurant before.)  She just had her birthday and when the attendant came out with her birthday cake, it had a pretty flower drawn on the plate in chocolate.  We had a fun time scraping away at the edible art (not after taking lots and lots of photos of it.)  And so, I have initiated someone to the Forest House dining experience.  (*smiling ear to ear)

Forest House Initiation. =) Shout out to Anne!

Edible art

To celebrate Karla’s birthday this year, Race and I chose Forest House.  I’ve been seeing more photos of Forest House cakes and the pretty plate art and I wanted to scrub away at that chocolate again.  (I read somewhere that birthdays are nature’s way of telling us to have more cake, so that’s just what we did – even without the birthday celebrator.  =D)  Our attendant for the day said that the slice of cake was free for the birthday celebrator but I informed him that it was neither Race nor me and that we would pay for our cakes.  *hihi. (I didn’t see Angela in that visit, I wonder if she still works there?)

Birthday Celebration in Forest House

More edible art

I reveled at the new dishes they had on their menu.  We were originally there for cake but we just had to try some of their new offerings.  We got crispy dinuguan and I had to have my pasta so we ordered lamb linguine, too.  Extraordinary, that pasta!  The dinuguan was crispy and savory but needed more blood sauce =b  (*cough cough.  It’s a bit dry, water refill please.  Right on cue, my water glass was filled.)  For dessert, we had black and white torte cake and tiramisu (and blueberry cheesecake to go for Beth \m/).  Another great experience and another happy ending at Forest House, my dining home.

X marks Forest House Bistro and Cafe for good food in Baguio.

Food: 

Service:  and  for Angela.

Ambiance: 

Price:   The food’s a bit pricey so be sure you have enough in your wallet for all that delicious food. =D

Forest House Bed and Breakfast

More than a bistro and café, you can now make Forest House your actual home away from home!  Book your stay at the Forest House Bed and Breakfast.

Forest House Bistro and Cafe

16 Loakan Road

Baguio City, Philippines

074 304 4553

Location of Forest House, click to enlarge photo (I used the Baguio Map Caltex gives out at their gas stations. I think it’s a very nice depiction of the City of Pines and most of what it’s got to offer. Thanks, Caltex. *hihi)