Ze first week of August izz coming to an end, which means it’s time to share some memorable foodventures I’ve had for ze month of July. So here goes, guyzzz~
50’s Diner, Porta Vaga
Normally I wouldn’t have made any mention of 50’s Diner, which is probably now an “institution” of sorts when it comes to food places in Baguio. But I just thought the presentation of this fruit dish is so adorable, so I just had to add it in.
By the way, for those who don’t know it yet, 50s Diner has opened a branch more than a couple of months ago at the top floor of the Porta Vaga Mall at Upper Session Road.
If I’m not mistaken, that dip for the fruit is composed primarily of condensed milk.
It’s one of those “reliable” places where we go to for breakfast when we couldn’t think of any other place to go to. 🙂 There was one time when we were about to enter another resto (name being withheld for safety reasons, LOL) then did a 180-degree turn when we saw how pricey their rice-boneless-bangus-omelet combo is. We marched straight to 50s Diner and got the same combo PLUS coffee for, like, half of the price.
So, yes, it’s like our go-to when we are stumped for a breakfast place to go to. (Oh, aside from Calajo Foodhouse and Good Taste Restaurant, that is.)
Jim’s Retro Diner, Session Road
What I call a “50’s Diner spin-off”, the Jim’s Retro Diner at the basement level of the La Azotea Building at Upper Session Road has been around for quite a while now. I’ve heard some good things about the pizzas of this place, and I might have been able to taste it at some point or other in the past, but I just don’t remember clearly.
The original plan was to have breakfast at Sweet Stop, but it was still closed when we got there close to 9am. Good thing when we looked down at Retro Diner, we saw it was already open and serving breakfast.
So here’s the reason why I am reminded of the 50s Diner (which is right across the street inside Porta Vaga Mall, by the way): the aesthetic.
Marble checkerboard floors, vintage and classic movie-themed decor, red-dominated color palette… it definitely brings to mind some 50s diner sensibilities.
The most glaring difference between Jim’s Retro Diner and that other place is definitely the space. Jim’s Retro Diner is significantly smaller, so if the place is packed, then it is SURE TO BE PACKED.
The menu is even rife with similarities! Their main offering are their burgers (they even have a giant burger) and pizzas. If I’m not mistaken, they also do orders for pizzas, customized as to your preferences.
What about the price point? Again, I think it’s also very close to that of 50s Diner. Click on the images below to check out their menu and the prices.
My breakfast buddy ordered a combo, which included spaghetti. garlic bread and a slice of pizza (which was served a bit later).
As for me, I wanted to try their burger. This is the Diner’s Burger. They also have a Burger Overload, but the difference with Diner’s Burger is that it has double beef patties. I…. can’t handle that, haha! (it gives me horrible flashbacks of KFC’s Doubledown, which pretty much traumatized me further against burgers.)
And yes, they use their own bread, and it’s got those granola/oats on it!
So that’s the burger…..
Because I am a sucker for smoothies with carrot or kale in it. This time it’s carrot. Sans sugar. Just the way I like it.
I’m really not a fan of burgers in general, and no matter how much you’d argue that the “burger is a complete meal!”, I still wouldn’t buy into it. Oh, and I can’t even remember the last time I had Jollibee or McDonald’s signature burgers… maybe more than a year now…? And probably because someone else paid for it. Hah.
However, that doesn’t mean I am opposed to them.
Check out Jim’s Retro Diner’s Facebook page here.
So what did I think? It was good, but not spectacular. Nothing too special about it. But it was filling, and for the price point, I was satisfied. Did it rock my world? No. Will I go back? Probably, just to try their other dishes. Maybe I’ll find something spectacular on the other pages of their menu.
Ze Creamery
We’ve come to ze highlight of zeees FoodVentures post. And you’d see why I say “highlight”, because I think I went overboard with taking the photos.
My supe Ma’am Flor repeatedly mentioned this place called Ze Creamery to us, saying it’s worth checking out. At the time, I thought it was something like “Z Cremery”.
One Friday evening. we decided to tick it off our list.
Located at Bukaneg Street, up the street across Prince Plaza Hotel, we made that short walk to Ze Creamery.
I was surprised to see that it’s not as huge or wide as I expected. In fact, there were less then ten tables, and… yeah, it’s quite small.
Their offerings are quite straightforward, and you can check them out below. Click on the thumbnails to view larger image.
The price point, I’d say it is a couple of steps below mid-range…? They’re actually more affordable than I’d thought.
Their specialty is the “freak shake“.
Freak shake got its name, probably because these are shakes that lets you get your freak on. Haha! They pretty much piled everything on it, but somehow made it work.
Freak shakes, at 16 oz, are for single servings in Mason jars (although it is so rich I’d say it’s good for sharing for the more food-conscious ones out there). They have larger servings, called Monster Shakes which, at 22 oz, is for more than one person.
YOLO, I say. So I went ahead and ordered the Minty Chocolate Freakshake.
By the way, those Salted Egg Chips are soooo good.
Check out my Minty Chocolate Freakshake. That large chunk is dark mint chocolate, topped with lots and lots of mint-flavored cream, tiny marshmallows, chocolate syrup, and scoops of vanilla ice cream.
(We asked if the ice cream is their own creation, but no. It’s Selecta Vanilla ice cream, haha!)
Each of us ordered our own freakshakes, and this one is Mike’s. It’s the Death by Choco’lat Freak Shake.
Aside from the obvious (chocolate, I mean), it’s topped with choco brownies, large chocolate-flavored marshmallows, a wafer stick, choco syrup drizzles, and again, vanilla ice cream.
Seriously, I wondered, has vanilla ice cream tasted this good? Because I never really thought much of vanilla. I always thought it was a boring flavor. Safe choice, I agree, but boring. (Don’t fight me on that. Its my opinion.)
When this was served, I had only one word in mind.
SINFUL.
Jed ordered the Red Velvet Freak Shake.
I’m guessing that is red velvet cake sitting atop the vanilla ice cream. I always found red velvet a tad too sweet, so I didn’t even attempt to taste a bit of this one.
When the freak shakes were served, though, I was going, “are you supposed to drink these shakes, or EAT them?” XDD
At that time, the Creamy Matcha Freak Shake was unavailable. The Strawberry Shortcake Freak Shake was then recommended by the server.
AND LOOK AT THAT SUGAR CONE hanging on the edge of the jar. Scoops of vanilla ice cream is on the cone, along with a large dollop of strawberry jelly, pink marshmallows, and tiny strawberry-chocolate coated pretzels! (Or Berry Knots, to be more exact.)
Didn’t taste this, either. The pink and red colors just screamed UBERSWEEEET to me, so. No.
Aside from the Freak Shakes, they are also known for their large size burgers. If you clicked on the menu thumbnails above, you’d have seen the fun names attributed to the burgers.
What we ordered was their Monster Burger, which is good for 4 people. This is Ze Creamery’s signature burger, containing 1/2 kilograms of beef patty topped with melted cheese and caramelized onions.
By the way, the sesame seed buns they use are Ze Creamery exclusives.
And yes, that’s an entire sunny side up egg inside the burger. 🙂
And those fries… love ’em.
This is their Pizza Pullover. If you notice, the middle is hollow, only filled with potato chips and veggies, as well as a dip. The dough has been artfully stretched then braided unto itself. forming a circle, before being baked and topped with the various pizza toppings.
Ergo the name “pullover”.
It’s sooooo flavorful! The bacon and other pizza toppings woven into the pulled-over dough definitely made it extremely unique and savory at the same time.
Also, let me just appreciate how fresh their greens are.
Oh, the location also affords you a view, although mostly of residential areas. Haha!
But that’s no biggie, since Ze Creamery does not use any “views” in its marketing, anyway.
So food quality? DA BOMB. But if you’re just looking at the Freak Shakes, I think once a month would suffice. Too much sugar rush… and calorie rush, if you ask me. But I would definitely go back, if only to try out their other burger offerings.
Price point? I’d say a step close to mid-range, but still on the affordable side. I’d prefer to come here with a group, though, just so there’d be more people to split the bill with, haha!
Check out the Ze Creamery Facebook page here.
And there ya go! The highlights of my foodventures for the month of July! I’m not too sure I’d have more than one or two foodventure places to share for August, though, since I’d be away for the last 2 weeks, which means no cafe- or resto-hopping for me.
See you in my next FoodVentures post!
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