Your Guide To Baguio’s Ketchup Food Community
Way before food parks started flooding in Manila, the Baguio food park game was already on point. In 2012, Ketchup Food Community opened conveniently right in front of Wright Park. Since then, it has become a must-visit to anyone coming to Baguio.
On our recent Baguio City trip, we made sure to put the food community on our agenda. To say the least, it didn’t disappoint. It even exceeded expectations.
The thing about Ketchup Food Community, as with most food parks, is it can be quite overwhelming. To make deciding easier for you, here is a must-try list so you won’t have to miss the best items Ketchup Food Community has to offer!
About Ketchup Food Community
There are five restaurants in Ketchup Food Community. Happy Tummy specializes in Thai food. Rancho Norte features Filipino comfort and exotic food. Green Pepper has a menu of western gourmet food like pasta and sandwiches and some Filipino fare. Rumah Sate offers Indonesian-Malaysian delicacies. Finally, there’s Canto, a steakhouse famous for their Lomo Ribs.
Each restaurant has their own dining spaces. But true to the sense of community, this food park allows cross-ordering from different restaurants under a single receipt!
Happy Tummy
This restaurant seems to transport you all the way to Thailand with their plates full of colorful and delicious and colorful Thai food. Have their Tom Yam Gung (PHP 150), a sour soup with a kick of spicy heat which warms you comfortably in the cold of Baguio.
Don’t overlook their Crispy Tilapia (PHP 150 for small; PHP 250 for large). It’s probably one of the best fried tilapias you will ever try. Drizzled with sweet sauce, this tilapia is perfect with a warm bed of rice.
Rancho Norte
This restaurant serves the perfect taste of home with a slight difference. On the menu are Tapa Meals (PHP 128). Deviating from the usual tapa we see, the meats Rancho Norte serves are quite exotic. They serve tapang kabayo (horse), tapang usa (deer), and tapang baboy ramo (wild pig). Disregarding the fact that these meats are rather unusual, they are tender and of great quality.
Baguio is known for their fresh vegetables and the bagnet in the area is quite good as well. Rancho Norte’s Pakbet with Bagnet Meal (PHP 148) is a perfect marriage of the two. This veggie-pork meal gives you a glimpse of a true Baguio food experience.
READ: Here’s The Best Way To Spend This Weekend In Baguio City
Green Pepper
If you want gourmet, this is where you go. You can never go wrong with a fresh plate of vegetables, so their Chef’s Salad of the Day is definitely a must-try, especially with a restaurant that specializes in gourmet-prepared veggies.
Kiniling (PHP 350) is a soup dish that is well-known in the Cordillera region. The pork used is wood-smoked before being served with the most flavorful tamarind soup. It’s something new to try while you’re at Ketchup Food Community.
Rumah Sate
It’s quite difficult to find an Indo-Malay restaurant in the Philippines that actually hits the flavor right on the spot. But Rumah Sate does it. There is nothing like a mix of curry and spices to warm yourself up in Baguio. Their take on Laksa (PHP 195) is so delicious, the soup tastes like an explosion in your mouth.
If you’re in a fairly big group, the Meat Group Sate (PHP 999) is perfect for you. This greatly samples their well-seasoned, incredibly tasty sates (or satay) which are to die for.
Canto
There is always a queue right outside Canto, and with good reason. Their Lomo Ribs (PHP 199 for half slab; PHP 375 for whole slab) is the star of the show. The meat falls gently off the bones. The pork can be quite likened to the meat of lechon. It may just be our taste buds but try it out and tell us if you think so too!
Nothing seems to be ordinary in this place that even their dessert is extra-extraordinary. Try their Dessert Nachos (PHP 160) which is ice cream scoops topped with fruits, syrups, peanut brittle, and whipped cream, all served on a bed of cinnamon-dusted nachos.
Ketchup Food Community serves food that is nothing short of wonderful! We were incredibly happy to have found ourselves here twice during a single visit. Keep this place on your next trip to Baguio City, and let us know which dishes you loved best!
