Stellar Indian/Pakistani Dishes at Chef Restaurant
The Himalayan restaurant that closed that I told you about in a menus post lives on in the form of Chef Restaurant, a small but cute restaurant featuring genuine “5 STAR FOOD AT NO STAR PRICE” \m/ (And boy, are we ecstatic because for a chilly day like this, there’s nothing like spiced dishes to warm any rumbly tummy … apart from soupy stuff of the ramen/noodle variety.) (Typhoon Karen is out. Fingers crossed the typhoon following at its heels is going to go north while it’s still in the water. #PAGASAstalker)
We were surprised to see that the old resto there was gone since we really had a ball with their Arabian, Greco, and Himalayan dishes. Of note, were the herb-y juicy chicken malai boti and the garbanzo masala. The others were lightly flavored then since they tweaked the recipe to fit Filipino taste buds, not knowing that Race, Ela and I are always game for an authentic experience. =b
X+1 and Ela came, saw, got conquered by this restaurant *hihi In the collage: Samosas, chola massalah, another masala like dish I don’t remember the name of, chicken malai boti, Greek yogurt with all the possible toppings, and a glass of lassi.
Snackage … or main
Hearing there’s Halal Indian/Pakistani dishes somewhere (not only that, but also authentic, high quality cuisines including Mediterranean, Pakistani, Indian, Arabic, Persian and some of the world’s most popular international delicacies that are sure to whet the appetite of food lovers) one cannot help but think of their version of the doner kebab, the shawarma. Chef Restaurant would surely be remiss if they didn’t have this on their menu. As a snack bridging the gap between lunch and dinner or as a fulfilling meal in itself, I felt the pita wrap needed a bit more veggies strips but it already was pretty good considering, for P75, it’s mega stuffed. Also, it comes with one of the most perfect mixes of garlic sauce I’ve come upon. (The lemon flavors were still strong in there. Well, it’s me you’re talking to … and about here. Miss vinegar drinker so. =D)
Shawarma pita wrap
Salads
It follows that with this vinegar drinking and sour sauce lovin’ character of mine, I always am thrilled to see Mediterranean salads. Aloo channa chat is something I’ve adored since tasting it at Kebab Konner. (I heard Chef is sort of related to the Session Road Indian restaurant. Yeh!). While I thought it needed a couple more dashes of salt, I won’t die without. (What we took home then, I sprinkled some and it became flawless. Frowny face when I ate the last spoonful. =( )
Aloo chana chaat and salad sherazi (“,)
With a more lemony tang to it, salad sherazi was another salad I enjoyed at Chef. =) Lots of cucumber bits tossed in with ensalada ingredients and bits of parsley, this reminded me a bit of Ms. C‘s cucumber kimchi where she just adds cucumber cubes, vinegar and fish sauce to kimchi she purchased. This one doesn’t have as much of a kick, but I’m all for it.
Chapati \m/
Bread that you can wrap stuff in … or dip
Lighter and somehow tastier than regular pita, I think I’d be inclined to go for chapati when I’m at an Indian/Pakistani resto from now on. All the while, tearing bits of this and biting into some pieces without the dip, I was thinking of how the bread in regular bread and bread in raisin bread differed. I prefer the latter because it’s lighter, tastier, and juicier. This had no raisins in it, mind you (no chapati would), but it really was sweeter and juicier to me. ^^,
At the new and improved dining area of Chef’s Restaurant
Starter Dip
There’s a handful of choices for dips at this Halal food joint. We went for the mutabal, a dip I’ve never heard of before. It tasted like babaganoush, what with it being made of grilled and mashed eggplant but a bit more on the sour side. I guess that’s the yogurt. Race liked it for its smokiness and my, did that smoky flavor come through in this mush.
Mutabal – grilled eggplant with tahini sauce, yogurt, garlic, olive oil, and herbs
Beverages
Chai: If you’ve ever put milk in your hot tea like you would creamer in coffee, (I do that a lot but I heard it’s an acquired taste for some), this is just how this Indian drink tasted. It had a hint of ginger in there, too, like it was given a touch of salabat powder.
Chai: Indian spiced milk tea, and a glass of yogurt strawberry shake =)
As for my strawberry yogurt shake, the strawberry sweetness cut through the sourness of yogurt drink that I was tempted to continuously sip on my straw until every drop of it was gone. *sip ahh (There’s still lassi on the Chef menu as well. And I still have to acquire the taste for that. *snickers)
The menu. Three cheers for having almost the same menu from the Himalayan joint! Chicken malai boti, hello, hello!
Viands
Great with plain basmati rice with its beautiful long grains, we picked out mutton curry (a globally famous creation) on our first Chef Restaurant visit and then vegetable masala on the next. When asked for the level of spiciness with the curry, we went for ‘mild’ and it was wonderful. We skipped a beat and wondered why it didn’t look curry in color but that question was soon forgotten as soon as we got a bite of the tender tasty protein and once we savored the sauce topped on our rice. Y-U-M! Another dish, I could live with, just having the sauce.
Basmati rice to be eaten with uber savory viands: Mutton curry and vege massalah =D
As for the veggie masala, that was packed with vegetables – cubes and cubes of potato, cauliflower, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, etc. and not that saucy. One tough dish for me as we went along with late lunch because the spices were intense. I got such an ass kicking with this ulam, I had enough of the authenticity of experience and got the half of it packed to go. #livetofightanotherday I think I’ll stick to the chola masala/garbanzo massalah, that’s got my favorite legume and has a ton of sauce I could distribute equally in my rice to lessen the heat. *heehaha
Gulab jamun – dense milky ball soaked in warm spiced syrup *nomnomnom
Dessert
First time at this eatery, I sort of went into a frenzy ordering this and that since Chef’s line up of food is easier on the pocket. The only available dessert then was the gulab jamun (The only one with a description so still major curious to try the other sweet treats). What a fun dessert to eat! Race and I halved the bread ball (that looked like a wet chico/kiwi) which reminded me a lot of kopi roti in its consistency. All the air pockets in it seemed to have filled up with the spiced syrup. (“,) The warm sauce tasted like salabat again and was really delectable.
Chicken biryani … a plate for dine in and an order for to go. *hee Such long grains, it looks like pancit at quick glance.
Biryani – another globally famous dish
Second visit, I zoned in on biryani (and the vege massalah. Must be why I ended up fanning my mouth since both were flavor packed dishes). Ahh, how I love fried rice (doubles up as entree) and this really takes the cake. With a generous helping of chicken pieces and all the herbs and spices, I could eat this all day, too. In fact, I tried. I had this plate for late lunch and we got two orders more to go for dinner … err, early dinner … as soon as we got home, I had my spoon ready. =)) And that garlic sauce was a life saver. It cooled my mouth for sure with the lemon juice still alive in every precious drop. I also used it as a dip for the take out chapati … since they forgot to put the half of what was left of our veg masala in the take out bag. Oh, well, caramel.
Chicken biryani plate ^^,
X marks Chef Indian/Pakistani Restaurant for good food in Baguio. “Five star menu”, I’ll drink to that!
Food: 
Service: 
Ambiance:
Price: 
“At Chef, they are so confident of the quality and taste of their offering that they promise a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE, if you are not satisfied with your order.” I’m quoting their resto description there.
Chef Restaurant
#3 Guevarra Street Street, Rimando Road
Aurora Hill
Baguio City, Philippines
0928 689 8650 / 0927 986 7938
facebook.com/Chef-Restaurant-143418699454303/?fref=ts
(See location on Google Maps: 7-Eleven Rimando Road to Chef Restaurant
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/7-Eleven,+Topaz+Bldg.,+Brgy.+Alfonso,+27+Rimando+Rd,+Baguio,+2600,+Philippines/Alexandria+-+Arabian,+Greco+%26+Himalayan+Cuisine,+Guevarra+Street,+Baguio,+Philippines/@16.4224947,120.5992746,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x3391a3e374385559:0xe49717a13c68e76d!2m2!1d120.5999279!2d16.4216218!1m5!1m1!1s0x3391a3e21ec2f6a7:0xc0aaf366165a1329!2m2!1d120.6030064!2d16.4231243 )
***Thank you so much, Ms. Tina of Kharis Bakeshop and Cafe for telling me about Chef Restaurant!
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X Marks the Spot for Good Baguio Foods 
First to comment??? Naramdaman ko na magpopost ka ngayon kaya nagantay ako. hahaha Loves ko din ang biryani!! Makapunta nga dyan sa Chef Restaurant for spicy Indian food pag hindi na maulan bukas.
YES! First to comment crown back on Mario’s head. \m/ Whoa, you’ve got a strong intuition. I hope you didn’t have to stay up too late waiting for the post.
I really love Chef Resto’s biryani. Looks like it’s just going to be cloudy today. (Fingers crossed, the rains give us a breather.) I hope you have as much fun as we did dining at this Indian/Pakistani eatery! (“,)
Reyna uli ng first comment! hahahaha
Di kami natuloy pumunta sa Chef. Kalowka yung weather. Uulan, aaraw.
*hihi
No worries not getting to Chef’s today. Was just there and they were waiting for deliveries of ingredients so we had to play the what’s available today game. =b I did get my biryani though so I’m good.
The weather was kind of wonky today … it’s even hot. Still hoping Typhoon Lawin doesn’t come in, maybe just stays in the water?
Stay safe, warm, and dry! Enjoy Chef Mediterranean Restaurant whenever it is you get to cross it off your list, Mario! (“,)
Yes!!!! Another Indian restaurant in Baguio and so many kinds of massalah. Thank you, Find Good Baguio Foods for finding and featuring new restaurants like Chef Indian Restaurant.
Hello there, Tess! I know right. Chicken, beef, lamb, even fish and prawn masala.
A pleasure to be showing nice eatsplorers like you that there are lots of places to eat at in Baguio City food trip city! Thanks for visiting the blog! Enjoy Chef Restaurant! (“,)
Ate X hi. we went here to Chef Restaurant when we saw your post about biryani but many dishes were not available. Its okay. The dishes we ordered was very good naman.
Hello! My foodie lovies and I went back to Chef Mediterranean resto as soon as I got that post on biryani up on the Find Good Baguio Foods FB page too. Yes, some of the stuff we ordered weren’t available also. Must be a stock delivery issue since it was just after Typhoon Karen that we went.
I’m happy to hear you liked the dishes that you tried so far. Time to return to Chef’s to get what they didn’t have on that visit? We’ve been told they’re still tweaking the menu so methinks lots more will be added for our eatsploring fun. (*nomnom papadum!)
Thanks for visiting the Find Good Baguio Foods! Happy Baguio food quest! (“,)
OMG Xine, Chef food is so addicting! Lucky they have affordable prices. We can go back everyday 🙂
*heehaha You’re the fifth person who’s told me that. You are not alone in the addiction to Chef Restaurant and their scrumptious Indian/Pakistani/Arabian/Mediterranean food.
Even I can’t help but go back and go back. Right now, I’m still thinking of their coriander sauce/green chutney. Might be I have to order a liter of it … If i down the sauce in one go, I wonder, will I be “cured” from the obsession on Chef Resto food? =b
And yes, good thing their prices are not outrageous. Our money goes a long way.
Happy Baguio food trails! Thank you so much for the support! (“,)