Session Eating Session: Peak Garden Bistro and Veneer Resto Cafe

A day food questing on Session Road. \m/

Welcome to the Peak!

It starts at brunch.

Peak Garden Bistro

I’ve been seeing Peak Garden a lot with the posts they have on Facebook and it was only sometime last week that I read where exactly on Session they were. (The last time we were at Recess Resto/Cafe, the wall where the staircase continues on to Peak Garden was just in the process of being broken down.)

So we’re finally here. (We had one foiled visit where our dear Thunder eatsploring mobile needed to have chains replaced and it took awhile so we ended up someplace nearer, Anidu that serves Cordilleran fare. But that’s for another feature. *wink wink) And what a pretty bistro, Peak Garden is.

Race did think though that the wall facing the road was too high. I agree. Imagine how nice it would be to see the skyline/Burnham treeline while dining at the Peak for a real feeling of being in a lofty spot but anyway, we wouldn’t really die not seeing the skyline while eating so we keep on stepping … and munching. =b

Baked liempo

First look at the first page of the Peak Garden menu and my better half was already giddy with excitement. We were sort of torn about what to get and the chef came out to help us, saying that their specialties were the baked liempo and the karekare. Say no more, chef. Sold to food questers Race and Xine! *hihi

Ox tail karekare =)

Between Race and I, I enjoy food more when they are flavorful and since the pork dish seemed bland to me (drat, MY taas ng panlasa), I’ll put here Race’s observations of it. He noticed how the liempo maintained its porky goodness. It’s as if you’re eating bacon, he says. As good as these slices were, he left the fat out for our furry lovies since he thought it was too intensely oily to be consumed alone. (I tell you, when I rendered that fat for our furry friends’ ulam on dog food, they loved it. *waggy tails everywhere)

True to form, the garden kare kare only had tender, tender ox tail cuts in it. How nice and very fine dining, the way the veggies (string beans and pechay) were rolled inside a well made egg wrapper. ^^, Now, this one, I could control how tasty I wanted it to be. You bet, we asked for another saucer of alamang to compliment the lightly sweet peanut sauce.

At the end of the meal, we found we still had room for dessert and I was so ecstatic to see they had Eton mess. OMG, you should hear how Nigella talked about this dessert. You’d want one, too. =D This cup might have needed more crushed meringue and more “brazen blush on each pale cheek” of the juicy diced strawberries (and less ice cream/no ice cream but this could be Peak Garden’s rendition) but again, we’ll live.

Eton mess ^^,

Food: 

Service:  … and a half? Not entirely sure because there was only one attendant when we arrived and suddenly the tables started filling up so I could see how much of a challenge it was to keep up with a number of tables all by her lonesome.

Ambiance: 

Price:   I found myself deflating like a balloon when I saw the serving portions were a tad small. When we were told that the viands didn’t come with rice, we honestly thought the size would be good enough as a short order. There goes Mr. Shakespeare again, talking about expectations. =))

Peak Garden Bistro

Session Road [take the staircase going to Recess (where the old Star Cafe used to be) and go up and up and up to the rooftop]

0915 469 8687

facebook.com/erickinthekitchen/

Veneer Resto.Cafe

So dinnertime ticked by.

Initially, I was torn between Veneer or the “new” samgyeopsal place, but when we got to the Korean food joint, we were told that the cook’s shifts end at 5:00 p.m. and then the restaurant switches into a Filipino bar. I guess that decision was made for us. Veneer RestoCafe, (another Sir Dan find), it is. We drove back to the same parking space we got earlier in the day.

View of Sto. Tomas from Baguio Veneer Resto Cafe window

Up Session Road to the light blue colored door between Point and Grill and PhilAm Life building and up the stairs to the restaurant, we got a nice place by the window after the couple sitting there left. =) Good thing too, since it was a bit hot in the resto cafe that evening when we were sitting in the other end of the room by the door.

Crab salad

Feeling famished, I quickly attacked my crab salad which Race marveled and wondered about, about what that spice was that they put into the dressing that made it smell like Worcestershire sauce. *hee The leafy greens, with the strips of crab stick and the dressing was one umami packed mouthful after another.

Race’s costola was then delivered to the table; the ribs seasoned with a dry rub and the familiar scorched sprigs of rosemary (how we normally season our pork chops at home). The taste got even better with a few drops from the lemon wedge provided. Wee! With a simple side salad made out of tomatoes and onions, Race (and veggie lovin’ me) was a happy camper.

Costola pork ribs =D

Before I even finished our salad starter, I got my lasagna. Nomnomnom the uber beefy cheesy sauce. And what do you know, they really rolled the pasta. After tearing the deep fried basil leaves on the pasta into little pieces, I worked my chompers on the Veneer main dish.

Beef rolled lasagna (“,)

The one roll, I ate by unrolling and cutting little squares with my fork. I saw how nicely distributed the flavorful ground bits of meat were in between the layers of the pasta. When the pasta was gone, I armed myself with the bread and wiped every bit of yummy stuff from my plate. En garde!

With brewed coffee coming with one refill at P40, which Race describes as, I quote: “Big cup, full bodied coffee for cheap”, Veneer Cafe makes it into his list of one of the best places to have coffee.

Brewed coffee and one refill … in a new cup \m/

Food: 

Service: 

Ambiance:  … and a half. I can’t put my finger on it but this cafe and restaurant does have an old Baguio feel to it. Might be because the building is old or because of our view from the window, just made me feel nostalgic.

Price: 

Veneer Resto.Cafe

3rd floor Manahan Building (across from the spa)

Session Road (go through the door beside Point and Grill and go up and up and up to the third floor)

0905 893 1767

facebook.com/VeneerBaguio/

View of Sto. Tomas from over the wall at Peak Garden Bistro

X marks Peak Garden Bistro and Veneer Resto Cafe for good food in Baguio. (“,)