Choco-late de Batirol has been long on my must-try list of places to try when I returned to Baguio. I didn't know what to expect, I just knew I had to try it!
That's Josh's snake from his horse ride. It's not part of the menu, haha.
This is the Cacao fruit. I really don't know what was running through our minds when we impulsively purchased this. It's like, I expected the whole fruit to taste like chocolate or cacao! (Of course it didn't!) They advised on to suck on the seeds. Erm. Honestly it was not good at all. The ladies in the next table were peering at the fruit curiously, so we gave them some. They though we were being generous, but honestly we couldn't eat any more. Hahahaha!
This is the famous chocolate de batirol (hot chocolate) of the place. It was good. However, I was expecting it to taste like Mary Grace's hot chocolate -- thick and goey. It wasn't, it was milky but still chocolatey. It was a good drink for the cool weather of Baguio, but I think I've had a lot of better hot chocolate.
The place also had merienda dishes available. We tried their bibingka and puto bumbong. Both were yummy! They were served warm, they tasted really good with the hot chocolate. I would definitely advise buying both with the hot chocolate.
Couldn't wait! My fork was part of the picture. This was really good.
Martin and Trish trying out the seeds. Erm. Yeah.
After eating here, we decided to go around Camp John Hay and check out the facilities and sights. We haven't been there in a long time, and we've never driven around without a driver. It was a whole new place for us again! First we spent a few minutes playing in the very sad-looking mini golf course. It's really poorly maintained, which is sad and unfortunate, as I spent much of my childhood playing there. The animal statues there were scary-looking! My kids insisted though, so we just watched them go around the course again and again.
After that, we picked some pine cones. The kids loved this!
We checked out the Pet Cemetery (which I don't remember ever seeing up close) and the sights near it. You have to pay entrance for this. From here you can actually see the rappeling activities within Camp John Hay, similar to the one in Tagaytay.
We forced the kids to pose beside this Totem-ish pole. Forgive me, I didn't read any of the descriptions. J and I also walked around with the kids in the "Pet Cemetery." All this time I thought it was a real pet cemetery where loved animals were burried. Instead it was full of graves saying stuff like "Laziness burried here" (okay, not exactly like that, but something similar.)
This was the amphitheater, which was really pretty. The kids ran up and down here while J and I sat down to rest.
There was a historical house there (owned by one of the American Generals, if I'm not mistaken) that showed how their homes looked during the stay of the Americans. It was very well-maintained. I think my kids were bored but I liked seeing the furniture, the wallpaper, etc.
This was the biggest pleasant surprise for me. When we walked back out of the house, there was a very very small gate to our right. I saw this sign - "Our Secret Garden". None of the other tourists seemed to notice it, or were walking in, but I was curious, so I dragged my family into the "forest".
It was beautiful! It was like being in the middle of a real pine forrest, sans fear of snakes. Unfortunately you can see the rappelling people, since it crossed over it. But you can choose to ignore the noise and just enjoy the flowers and the view.
At the end of the steps was a small gazebo that you could rest in. There was a person there just cleaning and sweeping, so it wasn't freaky or anything.
I would definitely go to this place if
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