WAS back in Baguio, my childhood vacation place, this week – this time to take part in The 10th Annual Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Weekend, as part of the Manila-based judging team invited by Chef Myrna Segismundo for the organizer, the Hotel & Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) headed by Baguio Country Club general manager Anthony de Leon. Now, this is a fun group made up of some of the top expat and local chefs in the country as well as some members of Manila’s food media, and my husband Raff and I are privileged to have been part of it for the fourth time now. When it’s judging time, everyone’s seriously doing their respective jobs, as the competitions take place simultaneously for three days; but when it’s time for fun, everyone does exactly that – have fun – grilling barbecues for dinner, karaoke singing and dancing along to the music; exploring the local restaurants in Baguio for some gastronomic gems…
The main bulk of the group left Manila early morning of Wednesday (September 4, 2013) in vans and, as has become a ‘tradition,’ stopped by the famous dining destination Bale Dutung owned by Chef Claude Tayag and wife Mary Ann for brunch. Claude usually joins the judging team in Baguio, but this year, commitments prevented him from doing so. Even then, he was still ever the gracious host when the group got to his place. He prepared the same brunch menu that the group had been requesting for annually. It includes mainly Kapampangan dishes, such as Dinaing na Hito (sun-dried salted catfish), Pistú (ground meat cooked with diced vegetables and green peas), Pata Mole (pig’s feet in a rich tomato-based stew); a side salad of chopped salted egg, onion and tomatoes; mini Guagua-Style longganisas (which Chef Claude fries to a crisp); Tamales, Tsokolate Eh prepared with a batirol and served with crispy pinipig; mini pandesals; and San Nicolas Cookies. What members of the group likes to do is to make small sandwiches of Crispy Guagua-Style Mini Longganisas and Pistú with the mini pandesals.
This year, he also had Minatamis na Kamote, Tibok-Tibok (Pampanga’s version of Maja Blanca) and Ensaymadas for dessert, as well as a welcome drink of Dalandan juice.
Chef Claude patiently walked the new members of the group through his menu and explained each dish before everyone sat down and enjoyed a really good and satisfying meal.
From Chef Claude’s Bale Dutung, located inside Villa Gloria in Angeles City, Pampanga, the vans continued the journey up to Baguio, passing through the main highways of Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union and finally, up the familiar zigzags of Kennon Road of Benguet that led to Baguio.
It was drizzling when we were negotiating the curves or Kennon Road, but we got to Baguio Country Club at about the same time we did every time we head for the City of Pines for HRAB’s 10th HRT Weekend – about late afternoon, just before the sun set. We all checked in and headed for our rooms for a short rest before dinner and judges’ briefing.
Baguio Country Club serves as the group’s home for the duration of the HRT Weekend and Culinary Competitions annually, and everyone looks forward to it because its rooms, which underwent renovations in recent years, always turn out to be cozy and comfortable. The bed lulls guests to a good night’s sleep, there’s a work space where official work that has to be done even while in Baguio can get done, the flat-screen TV provides entertainment, and the bathroom even comes with luxurious Archive toiletries.
The group ended the first day in Baguio with a judges’ briefing about the competitions that would begin the next day, with HRAB president Anthony de Leon and judging committee head Chef Jean Pierre Migne leading the discussions. Then it was time for dinner, where I had Strawberry Shake with Gambas Ajillo, fresh mushrooms, Devilled Eggs and Bite-Sized Sandwiches.
Tired from the long ride up to Baguio, the group called it a night to condition themselves to a full day of competitions the next day.
– To be continued –
