Look No Further than Backyard Baguio

Blog anniv celebration with the Baguio food questers ‘core group’!  Yey! (“,)

We were torn between food tripping at Everything Nice CJH Technohub (a name we know well, in their newest branch so we can relive how the binge began) and checking off an entirely new (reinvented) Baguio restaurant, Backyard Baguio.  It was a tough decision with the day being rain free and all, but we decided we were curious enough to see how the old Brod Pitt has changed.

Flowers in the Backyard …

Still serving the best of Philippine cuisine (and a few scrumptious selections originating from other places), P3 was relieved to see that Brod Pitt as the Backyard has become a more family friendly dining place.  (Considering the hour we got there, we were thinking the place was going to be packed with drinkers, though that could still be the scenario on a weekend. *hihi)  The outside is the perfect spot for smokers, but in or out, pretty nice digs that encourages its patrons to hang out.

The soft opening menu *click photo for a larger view
UPDATE 01/06/2014: New Backyard menu

Notice the simple menu printed on three pieces of bond paper on a clipboard.  This got me thinking that additions and changes can easily be made to the offering at this resto.  (They’ve also got some homemade jams like strawberry banana, calamansi brandy – I know right?, mango guyabano; sausages, salad dressings and other munchies for sale near the entrance.) So far, I was liking the new design with everything in the establishment.  I could see myself coming back just to chill and if there are changes in the menu then, you can be sure, I’ll give you a heads up about it, my foodie friends.

Iced tea frappe in mason jar. Uber cool.

Karla going with the trend of having a bit of the sniffles, got herself a cup of hot tea.  You know what that looks like, nothing special, so I didn’t take a photo of it anymore. *hee  The cold version of the beverage, iced tea frappe, on the other hand amused me.  In an antique-collectible-looking mason jar, our attendant gave each one a good shake before putting it on the table.  My first sip of the tea was great, it’s one of the more delicious teas I’ve had. With the barrage of scrumptious eats that we had after that, however, the flavor suddenly died down. (But it did make us thirsty again – you know those kinds of drinks, that Beth and I had to get glasses of water at the end of the meal.)

Japanese watercress salad *crunchylicious

Everything chewable that we ordered came out from the kitchen one after the other.  Oh my, did our table get crowded! =b

First up, the salad.  Like an interesting twist to kani, I got the distinct flavor of sesame in the dressing.  Leaving some out to give the other dishes a taste (everything was on the table now), the dressing took on the greenish tinge of the watercress … crunchy and cooling, that’s something Beth, Karla and I would surely come back for.

Sizzling tahong (“,)

This plate wasn’t sizzling when it got to us. It was okay though because the cheese baked with the mussels was still soft and creamy.  I’m not a seafood monger as you all know but I liked this.  I scooped out the tiny morsels and laid them on my plate of rice. Appetizer, you say?  It worked well as a viand, too. =D

Kalabasa’t longganisa soup. Innnteresting.

There’s more appetizer to go around in this party. This time it’s rich squash soup with a dollop of ground longganisa. Savory, this little bowl was with the comforting sweetness of the pureed squash and the salty greasy bits of longganisa.

Eatsplore Baguio ‘core group’ chillin’ and binging in the Backyard =))

With the serving dishes of starters cleared away,  we focused our attention on our main courses.

Classic callos =D

The callos came in somewhat a small bowl but everyone got a few spoons of it on their rice.  The sauce was a tad runny but it was good enough.  Yum, garbazo; yum, slices of chorizo; yum, jelly like pieces of meat.  (I didn’t notice any tripe/tuwalya in the mix, must’ve been cooked unrecognizable. =) )

Tuyo-nesca *nomnomnom

The pasta waited till we ate every grain of rice off our plates. I believe angel hair is my favorite kind of pasta now. It’s so delicately pretty. ^^, It also allowed for getting the saltilicious flavors of the capers and the dried fish, and the sour juiciness of the tomatoes in the sauce in every mouthful.

Banana fritters

Beth is an apple pie lover. Sadly, that other dessert wasn’t avaialble in our P3 reunion of a celebration so we went with the dainty turon. It was truly turon tasting with less of the sticky sugary glaze.

Parting shot by Race. \m/

So ends the blog anniversary celebration with my foodie posse, Beth and Karla.

When Race came to pick me up, he didn’t eat yet so we all got a look and a whiff of the Backyard’s binagoongan pork belly.  It smelled so good, Beth and Karla wanted so much to stay. *giggles I got a taste. =)) Race said, he now has a replacement for his Sinamak fave, the binagoongang ribs. (We miss you, Sinamak.)

Binagoongang pork belly ^^,

As Race and I were walking out of the yard, I noticed a ‘saying’ posted in the dining area, “Where the food is great and the company even better.”  It got me thinking about the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy who said: “… if I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard …”

Around Backyard Baguio … note the framed quote on one of the posts in the dining area.

For good food you can enjoy with great company, look no further than Backyard Baguio. (In other words, X marks Backyard Baguio for good food in Baguio.)  

Food:  for the binagoongan and the sizzling tahong which I thoroughly enjoyed and  for everything else.

Service: 

Ambiance: 

Price: 

Backyard Baguio in the Brod Pitt days =)

Backyard Baguio

92 Upper General Luna Road

Baguio City, Philippines

619 1895

facebook.com/BackyardBaguio