Baguio Good Buys

The common pasalubongs from Baguio are the walis tambo (broom), choco flakes (the best of which is the Mikasan brand), ube jam (best brand: Good Shepherd... and do try their other jams), peanut brittle (best brand is also Good Shepherd's), silver jewelries/accessories (Ibay's at Mines View), Ifugao arts and crafts and produce.



To be more specific or a little different though... do consider the following:

TIRA-TIRA
At P10 per pack, you have your sugar needs already covered. Plus, it's a childhood favorite that you don't see a lot of anymore. Buy it from stalls at Mines View Park.




CHOCO DROPS
At P35/ea or 3-for-P100, you get Tollhouse goodness at a fraction of the cost. I'm not sure how similar products sold at supermarkets cost though. I'm also not sure if these are sold at the Baguio market because it is not sold at Mines View. We bought these at the stalls at Strawberry Farm and these are supposedly a product of La Trinidad.



BUTTER OATS
All gobbled up before anybody had the chance to take pictures. Anyway, at P80 per jar, it's a healthier (and cheaper in the long run) giveaway to friends and family. It tastes a lot like lengua de gato, you know, those light and buttery thingies that just melt in your mouth? Too bad we only bought one jar at Mines View. I think it's highly likely they're also sold at the Baguio Market.


CHEAPER PRODUCE BY THE BULK
Buy in groups so you can buy by sacks at the market. Or better yet, head to La Trinidad's Stawberry Farm and Trading Post (around 15 minutes away from Hotel Veniz on a good day). Trading Post is really where Benguet's produce are delivered before these are taken to the Baguio market. Talk about fresh!







But you have to make sure that you buy produce last because they might not keep well, given that Baguio isn't that cold a place anymore and the heat in Manila makes everything wilt in an instant. We made the unfortunate mistake of buying produce a day early and ended with broccoli that was already yellow by the time we got back to Manila.

We were told that you get to pick your own strawberries at Strawberry Farm (sort of like apple-picking in the US). It may have been the practice before or it could be the rains puddling up the strawberry field when we went there but we didn't get to pick our own. We bought them off a stall at the farm so the biggest treat of having gone there actually was trying the strawberry-flavored taho, which you can also sample at Mines View. Oh, and I just drooled at the site of all those nicely-green lettuce there.










FURNITURE
Towns leading to Baguio already sell a lot of wooden furniture, mostly for gardens and yards. They also sell huts and gazebos with all those chopped-trunk tables and chairs where workers make sure to retain as much of the original wood as possible to give the pieces their unique appeal. But if you're looking for real furniture, like dividers and dining tables and wonderfully-carved doors and exquisitely-designed shelves, then it's Marcos Highway for you. All kinds of wooden masterpieces, whether it be mahogany, pine, molave, narra, acacia, and teak outdoor furniture, they have it. These shops also offer the usual Buloys and masks and horses that are all too common in souvenir shops. I couldn't take a picture of any of the shops though because it was raining when we were going down and Marcos Highway is a very tricky road to navigate, given its sharp twists and turns.

Good luck with the Cordillera region's forests though.

BREASTFEEDING COVERS
Or shawls for those who are not lactating. You can find them anywhere and everywhere.