Why Baguio is the ideal place for bonding, reminiscing and eating

I was having lunch with cousins last month when we started talking about our plans for the Holy Week. Coincidentally, none of us had anything planned yet and so Dondi Baltazar invited me and my kids to spend the long weekend at his house in the City of Pines together with his mom, Tita Tessie (my late dad’s sister), and his sisters Risa Baltazar Nepomuceno and Yappi Baltazar.

My son Paolo went up to Baguio earlier with Dondi and his son Mateo on Monday, April 14, while my daughter Gabbie and I followed on Wednesday right after my live show on NET25.

Though we were expecting horrendous traffic that day, the trip to Baguio was a breeze, with hardly any traffic along NLEX, SCTEX and TPLEX. We arrived in Baguio City before 3 p.m. and headed straight to Dondi’s house. The weather was nice and cool, hovering around 28 degrees Celsius, way cooler than the 40-plus degrees here in Metro Manila.

Aside from the cool weather, what I was truly looking forward to was lots of bonding time with my cousins and Tita Tessie, the only surviving child among the seven children of my lolo Gabriel and lola Angeles Daza.

Growing up, we lived in the self-christened Daza “compound,” which was comprised of four houses adjacent to each other in Quezon City. Because the Baltazars lived right next door to our family, it was no surprise that we were especially close to them, with Tita Tessie becoming like a second mom to me.

I am in awe at how she raised six strong-willed children. She was a full-time mom until she decided to pursue a career when her kids were all grown up. At one point, she was a commissioner of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission from 2001 to 2010 during the term of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. She was the one who taught me to cook simple dishes, wrap books and gifts, and even make ribbons. And one of the most valuable lessons she taught me was how to make “tawad”! I remember accompanying her to Divisoria occasionally to buy school supplies and gifts and it was from her that I learned the art of bargaining.

Second cousins Mateo and Paolo enjoying their Korean BBQ dinner.

To this day, I always make “tawad” whether here or abroad and my children would inevitably feel a mixture of embarrassment and pride whenever I got the price I bargained for.

In those good old days, we, cousins, were each other’s playmates, making it doubly fun. Summers were always a riot, and involved climbing trees, swimming and habulan, or playing patintero, taguan (hide and seek), card games like pekwa, old maid or blackjack and board games like Monopoly, Game of the Generals and Cluedo. It was fun and noisy, with occasional shouting, fighting and squabbling. And though there would be occasional tampuhan, all would be forgiven and we’d be happily playing together again in a day or two.

Back then, one of the highlights of the summer vacation was the promise of a trip to Baguio. In those days, Tito Balty — the late husband of Tita Tessie — was a PCI Bank executive and one of the company’s perks was the use of the PCI Bank staff house. I was regularly invited to join their family and was always eager to tag along.

Now 87 years old, Tita Tessie is a treasure trove of stories. She is still sharp, has a good sense of humor (a Daza trait) and an unbelievable memory! Through the years, Tita Tessie has given me so much advice, with no judgement and words of encouragement.

During our three days in Baguio, I cherished the moments spent listening to her stories about family and the valuable lessons she’s learned throughout life, and she was equally attentive to our own stories about the crazy things we did when we were young-er.

During one of our conversations, Tita Tessie became nostalgic as she remembered going up to Baguio in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and how Kennon Road was then lined with pine trees that you could smell instantly. She asked me if I could forward a letter to Mayor Benjie Magalong to take on the task of planting pine trees along Kennon Road once again.

Second cousins Gabbie Planas and Martha Baltazar Aviles enjoying their sumptuous lunch at Lemon and Olives.

Our kwentuhan was made even memorable because of the good food. On our first evening, Gabbie requested dinner at Baguio Country Club’s Hamada, her beloved Japanese restaurant, and Tito Dondi readily agreed.

Following our early meal, we returned home for a quick shower since Yappi booked us for a massage at Nuat Thai. It was a perfect way to unwind after our four-hour drive, and I drifted off to sleep almost as soon as I got back.

A certified foodie, Yappi also had a list of must-try restaurants she wanted to visit while we were in Baguio. Because I had a craving for pancakes the next morning, she recommended we try Xtremely Xpresso. Their light and fluffy choco-banana pancakes, paired with a hot café Americano and egg omelet, made for a perfect start to my Thursday morning. Since it was Holy Week, we didn’t want to go far from the house for meals.

Luckily, there were many new restaurants that opened along Outlook Drive, which was only five minutes away from Dondi’s house. We savored the pizzas, pastas and truffle fries at Amare La Cucina. Valencia’s offered a delightful array of Filipino, Spanish and Italian cuisine; their garlic-rich bangus ala pobre, ginisang munggo with sotanghon, and flavorful chop suey were oh-so-delicious. Another notable find was the newly-opened El Union, whose original branch is in La Union. Gabbie was so excited when she stumbled upon El Union after having lunch at Lemon & Olives. According to her, they serve the best Iced Chai Latte and cheese sandwiches. Risa and I got this combo while Yappi tried their arroz caldo, which she said had the consistency of a risotto and was also incredibly delicious.

Thank you for always being the ideal haven for bonding, reminiscing and eating, Baguio! See you again real soon.