Mang-Usyoso Sa Ili-Likha (Let's Get Curious At The Ili-Likha Artist Village)

Being a stranger in one’s own backyard may sound strange but certainly true as far as this Mediocre Wanderer is concerned. Especially when I saw listed in a popular blog, a place that I pass by a couple of times a week. I’m talking about Ili-Likha Artist Village.

Not wanting to miss out on a possible foodie’s dream, I trudged on up Assumption Road, to see what the hullabaloo’s all about.

Looking at Ili-Likha from across the street, you’d think that this place was the Mad Hatter’s version of a tree house. The “branches” of this tree house stick out here, there and everywhere, for maximum natural light, much like Mother Nature intended its natural counterparts to do so. 

In these “branches”, one may find a cozy nook, a kitschy corner or a plain scene of solitude, all allowing your imagination to go wild, as the inner child marvels at the possibilities, while the outer adult, worries about the structural integrity of the place.

The interior is much like its exterior – a hodgepodge of artistic influences and a non-traditional floor plan. Beautiful mosaics, wood carvings and metal sculptures offer a whimsical glimpse of the work done by Baguio’s artistic off springs. 

Nationalism, highland cultural depictions and just plain whimsies of every color and shape make you imagine that there is an inspired urban fairy and her posse of nationalistic elves responsible for all this.

It’s a beautiful madhouse made with love, care and positive thoughts.

By the way, Ili-likha is the brainchild and property of none other than Baguio’s own artist/eco warrior extraordinaire and the Father of Philippine Independent Cinema, Eric de Guia AKA Kidlat Tahimik. (all makes sense now huh?)

Food wise, you may find various establishments in this tree’s “trunk” that serve all natural, preservatives and MSG free cuisine. They don’t even serve soda in this place. Just handcrafted beverages – from fruit shakes, teas and coffees to health drinks made with chia seeds. It’s THAT kind of a place.

I also loved the free seating arrangements regardless where you order and the open kitchens that allow you to see how your food is coming along as you smell the wonderful aromas wafting in the air.

Narrowing my choices, I ended up ordering a bowl of the popular balbacua from, you guessed it, Balbacua. Owned by local artist (and former pre school classmate of my baby brother) Kabunian De Guia , the food kiosk offers what it’s named after, plus stuff from their other food franchise, Pao Tsin (formerly set up at SM, until THAT major tree cutting issue came about). 

My nice bowl of steaming, tender beef skin stew (stewed for 6 hours) was complemented by egg noodles as they had run out of my first preference, red rice. 

A tall glass of iced coffee jelly was my drink of choice, completing my own yin and yang combo. (Would've inserted food pics plus more shots of the art and mosaics in the place, but I had file issues and ended up deleting them accidentally. WILL POST NEW ONES SOON!)

Here’s a rundown of Ili-likha’s food offerings at their KKK (Kiwing na Kahoy Kommunity Food Hub): 

Overall, my meal, though not mind-blowing, was quite comforting. The biggest draw for me was Ili-likha’s ambiance. As a child, I would’ve traded my entire Sanrio collection for a tree house like this. 

Meet Anton. He's the Kulaz behind the lugaw and the creative mind behind the floral designs of Antonuiz

An artists’ haven and local media’s watering hole, come visit the remarkable Ili-likha , at #32 Assumption Road. It's opened from 8 am to 8 pm daily.

the  nook where I wrote this blog :)

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours!

Ecstatic For Organic - THe Mountain Grown Natural Food Shop

There's this place I've been frequenting regularly at the top of Session Road. It houses a variety of organic produce, condiments, snacks and meat  that are both fresh and inexpensive.

assorted dried fish, shrimps and squid from Cagayan Valley plus snacks and noodles made from different vegetables

Run by nuns, the Mountain Grown Natural Food shop offers stuff from the region as well as other organic commodities from as far as the Cagayan Valley.

herbs, salad greens, Highland veggies, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and the likes,  that range from 20 pesos a pack to 200 pesos

they also offer salad dressings. Try the Iggy's House Strawberry Dressing. It's divine!

Prices range from 20 pesos to 200 pesos that it would now break the bank whenever you cook up a healthy and nutritious meal for your family.

assorted local wines

medicinal teas and Good Shepherd products

Some of my favorites include:

free range chicken, cara beef and other organic meat products that vary depending on the supply

alfalfa and even broccoli sprouts (60 pesos a pack) and locally made camote bread

assorted vinegar bottles

more than one variety of lettuce (normally 25 pesos a pack)

snacks cooked by the Baguio locals, and priced reasonably (try the sampalok balls!!)

organically grown fruits, root crops and exotic seeds and leaves for the health buffs out there

sweet potatoes, cucumbers and many more

cookies, banana chips, malunggay noodles and chichacorn, among others

Visit them all week, from as early as 7 in the the morning to 7 in the evening. They're right across the Baguio Cathedral.

they're right across the parking exit of the Baguio Cathedral

From TMW may all your wanderings be better than ours!

my daily habit - organic food shopping :)

Siem Reap's Red Crab Seafood Place

Nothing says fresh seafood than having it alive one minute and served on your table, cooked and delicious, a few minutes later.

We were happy to find one such place 5 minutes from our hotel, The Royal Empire in Siem Reap.

The restaurant we went to was none other than the Red Crab Seafood Restaurant. They’re located at National Road No. 6 Phum Krous Sangkat Svay Dangkum Siem Reap Road Cambodia, Siem Reap 9999999, Cambodia.

 

 

We were lucky to get a table when we arrived there for dinner on a weekday. Bus loads (yep, BUS loads) of foreign tourists were brought to the place as a perfect end to their day in Siem Reap.

 

 

The place in itself is quite spacious, and the staff, fast and efficient. If you’re coming as a big group, do make reservations. Never come in hungry, unless you ordered ahead.

 

 

More than a dozen aquariums dot the outside wall of Red Crab, near its entrance. You can either choose which among these sea critters you will be having, as well as the manner you would want it prepared.

 

 

If you don’t want to deal with this, you can always pick your dishes from the extensive menu that Red Crab offers.  Here's what's on the menu: RED CRAB SIEM REAP MENU.      

 

Here’s what we got:

 

 

Service was so-so, but we kind of understood, given the bus load of people that seemed to have 8 dishes per table. The place was quite clean and brightly lit inside, and the AC, real cold.

 

 

Food was delicious, and the food presentation plus condiments, complete. Things were a bit pricey though, as expected.

 

 

Overall, it was a great meal.

 

 

For more information about Red Crab, you may visit their Facebook page at this link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Crab-Seafood/699129863454195

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours!

Japanese Pizza Yes, Siem Reap: A Restaurant Review

Siem Reap Cambodia, based on our week long stay, was anything but lacking. This was definitely true when it came to the availability of various cuisines. Being a tourist destination, they had most cultures covered. Among them was Japanese food. 

For this edition of The Mediocre Wanderer, we’d like to show you a place we favored while we were in Siem Reap : Japanese Pizza Yes!

 

With a few reviews in Trip Advisor, we were curious to see what this quaint restaurant had to offer, as it was a less than 5 minute tuktuk ride from our hotel. Sold on that one review that said it had the best okonomiyaki outside Tokyo, we figured, “Why not?!” and went there one lunch time.

Getting down from the tuktuk on to JPY (Japanese Pizza Yes)’s parking lot, we were welcomed by the sight of a sloping bamboo roof and an elevated deck as the restaurant’s porch/open air dining area. As it was warm that afternoon, we were quite relieved to find out that there was a whole air conditioned structure beyond the deck. 

waiting for our food

The deck isn’t strollers and wheelchair friendly, as you have to take 2 steps up the deck. It is pretty though, with its straw and bamboo structure.

outdoor seating/cooking area

At the deck, a trio of fry cooks was manning the griddle/grill/stove at the open air cooking area.

The interiors of JPY seems to either advocate minimalism or still needs some finishing work done, given its less than a year existence. 

loved the straw chandeliers

Simple lines, wooden furniture, small green plants and straw/hay chandeliers made up the overall deco of the place.

The servers were friendly and understood English without difficulty. 

The menu was simple and straightforward, with promos for set meals. This was probably the most inexpensive yet satisfying place we ate at in Siem Reap.

hamburg steak with onion sauce

All the food ordered in the 2 times we visited was quite delicious and freshly made. Serving time was fast during the lunch hour and slower during the dinner rush.

miso soup

 Here’s a look at the other stuff what we ordered:

curry burg

seafood okonomiyaki

seafood fried rice, topped with dried bonito

hot spicy okonomiyaki

If you’re heading to that area anytime soon, here’s a look at their menu: JAPANESE PIZZA YES MENU
  
YAYs and NAYS: 

Yay - good flavors, friendly staff, reasonable prices, clean facilities, free wifi and a chill ambiance
Nay - While servce was fast during the slow lunch hour, dinner was a different story

Planning on a visit? You may find them at this address: National Route 6 (Airport Road), Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia. Phone# +855 89 684 704 or visit their website at: http://yes-restaurant.main.jp/

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours!