Garahe Restaurant/Cafe: Foodie Weekend Hangout

We came for the laksa.

We left … having tried almost everything, full and satisfied *contented sighs, vowing to do this all over again come another weekend.

Parking our butts in Garaje =))

Garahe has been on our radar for a month now ever since it publicized its Facebook page. With Jo and other friends talking, it’s hard not to get in on the latest Baguio restaurant news. With a target opening date listed there, we counted the days in anticipation of getting our chompers around that beautiful bowl in one of their posts.

Givin’ the good doge some love. =D

When opening day finally came, Race and I rode out, skipping breakfast in an effort to save precious tummy real estate, to Garahe, without knowing exactly where in Lower Scout Barrio. *hee Good thing, the house’s canine tenant was hanging out by the gate and with me having my invisible deerstalker hat a la Sherlock on (detective mode is a must when we’re riding out to some new food establishment; why we rarely get lost *proud grins), I deduced this was the right place, recalling photos on the page (looks like I stalked and internalized those much, huh? =b) with a black cocker spaniel in some of them.

Pot of tea and a glass of lemon cucumber

Returning from our excursion to Palaganas Bakery for a little bite to get us through the morning (we did start our day at 4:00 to walk our furry companions), we came upon Jo and Fem (a pleasure to meet you, IHGian, fellow foodie) in the garage eatery. While waiting for our meals, we passed the time chatting over strawberry tea.

Garahe menu

Aya followed a short while after as we sat down to some sort of boodle fight with our two kinds of burgers, two varieties of chicken wings, and lemon cucumber refreshments.

Korean burgers and spicy Korean wings ^^,

What sauces the Korean-inspired dishes had! With an enticing orange hue, they did provide a burst of flavor to every bit of the samgyeopsal inspired pork burger and the chicken. That taste explosion then ended with a little kick. (“,) To mix things up a little, the spicy Korean wings comes with a blue cheese-like dip. I think I only used that once because the wings were delish on its own.

Buffalo wings and Garahe chicken burger =)

In contrast, the Garahe chicken burger had a milder taste to it. Still a delicious sauce but coming after the more tasty ones, some of its flavor was lost to me. This is where the blue cheese dip from the spicy chix comes in. (Diskarte lang yan. *hihi) As for the buffalo wings, these had an altogether different tang: sweet as well as salty, that Race even attempted to scrape off all the sauce that caramelized onto the plate. =))

Matchamisu =D

For  our lunch meal ender, it was the matchamisu that called to us. It’s a light and fluffy  cake with the green tea flavor perfectly blended in and when some of that matcha powder on top touches your tongue, you can’t help but go whoa for the jolt of bitterness … a good bitterness. ^^, Fem also got a slice of the tiramisu too, of which, we got a coffeelicious– hint-of-rum forkful.

Aha, I got you! *hihi

(lak·sa /ˈläksə/ noun 1. a Malaysian dish of Chinese origin, consisting of rice noodles served in a curry sauce or hot soup … first definition on Google with search terms, “what is laksa”. On Wiki: “… is a popular spicy noodle soup in the Peranakan cuisine, which is a combination of Chinese and Malay cuisine”.)

The laksa came later in the afternoon. While Fem and Jo stayed the whole duration, Race and I went out to run some errands. We returned just in time with the most awaited dish being served. =)

Laksa, rapsa (“,)

Oh, the creamy goodness of the broth, the succulent shrimps, the boiled egg. The al dente quality of the noodles, it didn’t suck up all the liquid in the bowl and become soggy so we took our precious time savoring every strand. =D The fresh mongo sprouts spread on the side (and coriander topping) left a cooling effect in my mouth once I bit into it. A pleasant surprise to bite into these, for sure, since they looked just like the noodles swimming in the soup. All of a sudden, there’s a burst of freshness in our gobs.

Old friends and new friends hanging out at Garahe weekend resto (Thanks for letting me use your groufie shot, Jo!)

No doubt, the four of us and more new friends (such a pleasure to meet you all), Ate Yza, Carla, and Sir Mike, loved every spoonful. Hear all the neighborhood noise in the background as we fell silent concentrating on our bowls.

X … and foodie friends, new and old … mark Garahe weekend resto for good food in Baguio. Come on over to the garage one of these weekends. Relax, unwind, hang out and have a great meal. 

Food: 

Service: 

Ambiance:  Very nice setup for a garage food joint.

Price: 

Garahe Restaurant and Cafe

Lower Scout Barrio (black gate across from Pablo Store)

Baguio City, Philippines

0915 946 5046

facebook.com/Garahebaguio/?fref=ts

***NOTE: Garahe is open only on Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. For April 9, 2016, today, they’ll open at 2:00 p.m. (they’re letting yesterday’s opening sink in, me thinks). (We’ve got our fingers crossed, they’ll add more days as they get the hang of things. *giggles)

(See Garahe location on Google Maps: Victory Liner Upper Session to Garahe Lower Scout Barrio

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Victory+Liner+Bus+Terminal,+Utility+Road,+Baguio,+Cordillera+Administrative+Region,+Philippines/16.395952,120.6068275/@16.4014417,120.6001667,16z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x3391a14151f903cb:0xb05b77abe92324ea!2m2!1d120.6026397!2d16.4059007!1m0!3e0

***Emerald of Cakes and Pastries by Emerald is the woman behind Garahe. Some of her dessert creations are available at cafes like Coffee Bar CdA2 at St. Patrick Village and Travel Sips Coffee Shop. We’re so glad they decided to open their garage to us so we could try more of their food stylings. Thank you so much and more power, Ems, Ethan and family!