Walking on the Gustatory Memory Lane at Ebai’s Cafe and Pastry

As a kid, one of the meals that was regularly served in our home for lunch/dinner (most of the time it was lunch AND dinner =b) was dinengdeng, pinakbet and viands that had something to do with bagoong.  Since these dishes were chock-full of veggies, I didn’t really like them then.  Eew, saluyot! (I suppose I went through that normal phase of childhood where vegetables were the enemy at meal time.  I always felt like I could eat hotdogs, chicken, spaghetti, chocolates, ice cream and cake every meal of every day of my life. That’s six meals covered … and repeat. *snicker snicker)

There really wasn’t any choice when the mealtime bell rang and the plate laid out in front of me had a mountainous pile of rice and viand.  As a coping mechanism, my brother and I would ‘play’ with our food imagining it to be other things just so we could finish it. (No one leaves the table without a clean plate in our house. That’s a strict rule.  Just ask my brother who sat there … sleepily… for hours until he finished. Before he knew it, it’s dinner time! Say it like Yzma from Emperor’s New Groove =D)

The kids who didn’t like their veggies. =))

Who would have known dinengdeng would be one of my cravings as an adult.  (Actually, it’s more the rabong/bamboo shoots that I wanted … and the patani/lima beans.  I especially liked it when there were half moon shapes of those, the rabong and the beans, on my plate.)  Off with an online search I went for restaurants offering dinengdeng and one of the search results lead to Ebai’s Cafe and Pastry.

Reminiscing the first Ebai’s visit.  Ahey, dinengdeng, I missed you! =)) The Ebai’s scene.

Although Ebai’s had been in business for a number of years, I never really tried eating there until 2010.  (You know,  I stuck to where I was comfortable before I met Beth and Karla. Big hugs, P3, my sisters from different mothers (“,))  I was so glad to have a bowl of dinengdeng with lots and lots of rabong in it while Race enjoyed his barbecue order.  (They have other selections of Filipino dishes too, as you’ll see in the menu below.)  I also had an interesting drink then (the name of which escapes me now. *hee)

Apple walnut cake (I could eat the whole thing … that goes for the small sized one and the biggest one *nomnomnom and it’s all because it’s got real apple chunks and lots of walnuts in it.) and chocolate cake (which is also gooey tasty)

As a cafe and pastry place, one of the most popular items that Ebai’s has on their menu is the apple walnut cake.  No question about it, we had to have a slice of that and their chocolate-y dessert.

Flash forward to the not so distant present (March 2013), I wanted dinengdeng again … or maybe just one of those viands that my grandma usually had prepared for us. I was back with P3+1 brother… a brother who will eat anything and can now clean his plate lightning fast =)).

The menu =)

It’s a wonderful thing getting fresh fruit juices or shakes in the summer. There’s so much to choose from.  As usual, my brother went for the mango shake.  Beth and I went for the guyabano/soursop one.  Karla got a glass of iced lemon grass tea.  Definitely, a good choice for Beth and me to get the guyabano. How thick it was!  It was just what a guyabano shake should be, none of that thin watery stuff in packs pretending to be guyabano. (Cue songs for recollection as I remember how we fired up the blender for this particular fruit when I was younger. (“,))

Our breakfast drinks – thick and  dare I say it? Yes, runny nose mucus like consistency guyabano =b.  Iced lemon grass and ripe mango shake.

One of the day’s specials was misua patola.  (I was torn! ^^,)  Karla got the T-bone steak sizzling meal, Beth got the seafood in special sauce and my brother got angel’s hair in olives capers.

Misua patola (my breakfast soup for that day. Dinengdeng, I’ll see you next time.) and T-bone steak sizzling meal.

Sizzling meals come with soup, buttered veggies and rice.  For Beth and Karla’s order this day, their soup didn’t come. It was quite all right since I had a huge bowl of soup.  There was enough to go around and still keep me satiated for the whole morning. \m/

A winner of a dish: Seafood in special sauce. Careful, it’s pretty spicy. ^^,

Angel’s hair in olives and (mini) capers was also fabulous (although a strange pick for my brother =D).  I could see myself coming back for this.  Oh you delicate strands of pasta with rich tomatoe-y sauce. Ahh capers, ahh olives. A plate of heaven for sure!

Angel’s hair in olives capers. We want more! We want more! (“,)

Thank you so much Ebai’s for the selection of food you offer your customers. I know where to go when I’m feeling reminiscent and I want to walk down the gustatory lane of dishes “from” childhood.

P3+1 at Ebais Cafe and Pastry.  The kids … all growed up and loving their vegetables. (“,)

X marks Ebai’s Cafe and Pastry for good food (not only pastry but Filipino dishes) in Baguio.

Food:  for everything I/we’ve tried so far. for the dinengdeng (just like what my grandma had prepared for us but this one has more rabong), the seafood in special sauce.

 for the angel’s hair in olives capers  (I wanted to steal my brother’s plate then *hihi) and the apple walnut cake.

Service: 

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WHERE TO EAT IN BAGUIO CITY

Ebai’s Cafe and Pastry

151 Upper Session Road, Engineer’s Hill

Baguio City, Philippines

442 2992

***This is where Narda’s is located. Handwoven arts and crafts, anyone? (“,)