The Best of Baguio Food with Erwan Heussaff

- In this episode, we're going
to show you some

of our favorite bites in the city,

from a whole pig snout

to blood sausage,
to Bakareta,

the perfect bowl of soup,
and other Igorot dishes.

I just want to smash this.

So tighten your belt buckles
and fasten your seatbelts

as we take a road trip
to Baguio.

But first, let's start
from the beginning.

Baguio's one
of the most famous cities

in the Philippines.

It's dubbed the
"Summer Capital of the Country"

and is a gateway into Benguet
and the Mountain Province.

It is by no means
off the beaten path.

I used to pass
through it mostly

to explore the Cordilleran
mountain range

and the breathtaking beauty
of the area.

But more recently,
I've lingered in the city

and found a side of it
that I never really saw before.

Amongst its fast development,
there's an unmistakable

rhythm here,
one that begs you

to slow down
and pay attention.

Even though it probably
looks very different

than it did 20 years ago,
there's a sense

of nostalgia in the air—

attention that pulls it
between the highly urbanized sensor

that it is and the groundness
of its history.

The food we will eat
and the people

you will meet today are probably
the best representation

of that.

Baguio's a really strange city.

It feels like it almost
shouldn't be where it is.

I mean,
you're in the Central Baguio,

it's really busy.

Lots of traffic nowadays,
lots of restaurants,

kind of feels like a city
that you'd find

anywhere else
in the Philippines.

What makes it really special
is that it's really built

on a mountain.

Once you go a bit further out
from the Baguio City Central,

you find places like this
that are literally built

on a cliff, and more
and more businesses

now are branching out
into these kind

of lesser known areas,
lesser densely populated areas

and you get beautiful views.

And finally, it starts
really feeling

like a special mountain town.

And it does have kind
of like this allure and magic

that is hard to find
anywhere else in the Philippines.

No wonder why so many people
beside it call this place home.

And yeah, it's a strange one.

You'll really want
to climb when you come

to the Philippines.

Okay. I'm getting out
of breath.

No one told me that
this is going to be

these many steps.

Even though it is
a major city in the Philippines,

you have a mix of Igorot
and Ilocano pride

in absolutely everything,

and that's why I feel people
can really feel like themselves,

and express themselves in Baguio.

That's why we have lots of artists,
lots of restaurants,

lots of cooks, really doing
what they feel is right

and kind of like finding
their own voices here

which creates
a really special atmosphere

for creative people.

And athletes.

Good Taste doesn't serve local food
but in a way, it does.

It's a meeting place
of everyone who comes to Baguio

From tourists to locals,
it's a great place

to get a pulse of the area
and eat like

how we Filipinos enjoy to—

with big portions,
budget-friendly meals

that are ready to share.

Locals here call this
the food factory

and I can see why.

It's an absolutely massive restaurant
with long tables,

perfect for families.

And looking at the price
and the size of the meal,

it really is well-priced.

Like, you have
these massive plates

for 250 pesos.

So if you're a lot of people,
it comes down

to a couple of hundred,
even a hundred pesos per person.

So that's why it's always full,
massive queues outside

of just people waiting to be sat.

But even though maybe price
is a huge motivator,

these guys have been
on the scene for about 30 years.

So it's been a long, long time.

They're one of the main reasons
why so much produce

has moved through Baguio.

The owner, I believe,
passed away during COVID,

unfortunately, but he really left
his mark here

with two massive restaurants
that are always busy,

especially at peak times.

And I believe he also has
his own farm or market,

and that's why he kind
of moves a lot

of fresh vegetable items
on the menu.

All of these look
absolutely insane.

These portions are way bigger
than what I expected.

The patatim, just to give you
an example, is 500 pesos.

The buttered chicken—
we got the small—

this is 250 pesos.

That's insane.

I mean, it tastes
like the buttered chicken

that I grew up eating.

Okay. Siomai.

That's good.

And one of the reasons
why this place does really well,

it's open 24 hours.

Lumpia Shanghai.

I mean, it's comforting food, right?

It's what you're used to,
it's what you expect.

For the prices you're paying,
it's delicious, it's fresh,

it's freshly made.

It's quickly served.

There's really no question
why this place

would be an institution.

Chop suey is really good.

Vegetables are still nice
and crunchy.

There's an abundance
of vegetables that's

in the plate which is always
really nice to see.

And then, patatim, let's see
if it's really, really soft.

That's pretty insane.

All that gelatin.

Super fatty, gelatinous,
sweet, salty.

Everything you want it to be.

If you want to experience
Cordilleran cuisine

in an accessible
and well-curated way,

Farmer's Daughter
is a great way to visit.

It's located beside
the famous Tam-awan Village

away from the center
of the city.

The food is straightforward,
authentic, and presented

in a rustic,
yet attractive way.

Get some soup.

This looks really good.

This is like the whole snout.

Got some cartilage
in there.

You got some ears,
you got some fat,

a little bit of everything.

Really deep porky broth,
which is something

you don't often get
and a lot of the times,

it's deep, it's creamy,
it's kind of everything

that you want
a nice broth to be

especially when it's cold.

And that's why
I'm always really excited

to come to places like this
because it's nice

to be able to have
this kind of food

that you would not find
in Metro Manila.

Next, I'm going to move on
to my favorite

Igorot foods,
and that's Pinuneg.

I think blood sausages,
when you think

of your French Boudin,
your British black pudding,

your Korean blood sausage.

You don't really think
about Filipino blood sausages,

but it makes a lot of sense.
Pork, pork blood,

we have things like dinuguan
and everything.

Why not have a sausage
out of it?

And here, it's probably one
of my favorite ones.

The chef owner here
is actually

a very skilled butcher.

And you could tell
of his expertise there.

And it's not like
overwhelmingly bloody

or gamey.

Lots of spices there
so it really balances out

the whole flavor.

This is one of those dishes
I feel like is extremely underrated

in the Philippines.

Still within that meaty vibe.

I know you've probably heard
of Etag.

So it's a preserved
salted meat.

Its counterpart
or its other style of doing it

is Kinuday.

Here you smoke pork.

They also make a version
of chicken and beef, I think,

on their menu.

But traditionally,
I think it's pork.

And yeah, you can taste that.

There's a smoke right outside
actually.

You can taste
that has been seeping

in smoke for a long,
long time. It's really intense.

It really kind of takes
over your whole palette

which is why it's perfect
to order it

with lots of vegetables.

The menu is actually filled
with vegetables.

And I saw the pako salad
and I knew I had to have it.

Pako is probably one
of my favorite Filipino greens.

Very delicately dressed tomatoes.

I think salted egg.
Some cucumbers.

Nice and clean, refreshing.

Really well-balanced.

So good.

Ed's Bakareta is a place
you should stop and have a meal.

Not only does the owner
have an amazing success story—

from being in prison
to becoming a man of God.

We made a full documentary
about him that'll be out soon.

But his food is timeless
and truly Filipino.

The Bakareta is so good.

Like, I love how much pepper
there is in there.

If you're looking for coffee,
you don't really have

to look far.

There's a buzzing coffee scene
in Baguio,

serving up both locally roasted
and imported beans.

If you're up
for a caffeinated crawl,

check out Rebel Bakehouse,
HotCat, Hatch Coffee,

Peakcup, Igorot's Charm,
Leandro's, Kapetira,

Farm to Cup, or Nest Coffee.

- Luisa's Cafe started
around 1957

if I'm not mistaken.

It was started
by my grandfather

and grandmother
who migrated from China.

I would say Luisa's Cafe's
bestseller would be

the noodles
and our siopao.

The noodles as well,
we do it fresh

every single day.

It's a recipe
from my grandfather

way back in China.

- [Erwan] Luisa's is one
of the oldest restaurants

in the city.

It keeps a very simple
and made-fresh Chinese menu.

When the temperature drops,
it's the perfect place

for a copious bowl
of mami noodles.

There's a reason
that this restaurant

is still here.

Often frequented by locals
reminiscing on the old days.

I am so stuffed.

This is kind of like
the perfect either breakfast

or dinner place.

Luisa's is an institution
for all the right reasons.

It might seem strange
to have like this amazing

kind of Fil-Chi food here,
but it makes a lot of sense.

There was once kind
of like a very big thriving

Fil-Chi community.

Some noodles,
pork fats, some chicharons,

some pork, some dumplings.

This looks like
a really beautiful bowl

of food.

I'm just going to sit down
and enjoy this.

Pork stomach. Okay.

Very clean.

And that lining,
gorgeous.

This is legit a really good bowl
of food.

And these noodles
are just so perfectly cooked

and it tastes so good.

I just want to smash this.

One of my favorite bites
of food so far in Baguio.