One of the early food spots to be ticked off on my vacation list is Cafe by the Ruins, my absolutely favourite place for its rustic atmosphere and good food. There have been some changes to the place since we last visited, but the service, the food, and the "quiet solitude" amidst the busy City Hall traffic is as we remembered it.
What we were saddened though is the absence of the "bahay kubo" located at the corner of the dining area where bamboo dominates the floor and walls and a thatched roof completes the cozy place. I love staying there with family and friends as I leisurely sip my salabat (ginger tea). That area's gone, replaced by a small fishpond. :-(
The wall panel is also new, with various paintings and framed photographs on display (and for sale too).
We arrived at mid-morning and so we had the place to ourselves for a bit. After some time, the lunch crowd arrived. Still not too noisy. I think it does not get noisy here at all, owing to the open spaces.
This area leads to the open air dining section.
I loooove their champorado. And so does Jo-Lo! They serve this with tuyo (salted dried fish) flakes, but this time around they served it with a side plate of daing (also a form of salted dried fish; you can see a portion at the left side of the photo).
And there's bagnet (deep fried pork) served with mountain rice. Yum! We also ordered sinigang but I forgot to take a photo...
Refreshing tea, with honey and lemon. They don't make pots like these anymore....
This is the pond that replaced our cozy area. Not the best pond aesthetically, to be honest, I wish they do something else with this corner...
Pond aside, we enjoyed our visit and we look forward to more pleasant stays in the future.
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