Mile-Hi Diner (Baguio City)

Brr.

I had not expected it to be so cold in Baguio this time of the year. Anyway, my boyfriend (who shall hereafter be known as P) and I went up this first December weekend to take a break from work, and laze around all day in our room in the summer capital.

We did manage to get up and go out, though, and one of the places we went to was Camp John Hay. I must admit that I am a reckless shopper, and I was looking forward to checking out the shops in Mile-Hi Center (I'd gotten a little sick from the wagwagan and needed a breath of fresh air) and eat in one of the restaurants in the center row.

We'd already been to Little John's (we had a lot of fun drawing with crayons on place mats that served as drawing paper there) on a previous visit, so we decided to check out this 50's looking diner with bright red interiors, lots of Hollywood memorabilia and a really cool-looking jukebox.

Mile-Hi glass coaster

Mile-Hi Diner mainly serves American-style food, but their menu also includes Filipino favorites such as Longganisa, Tapa, Garlic Rice and the like, as well as Chinese food. The prices are just right for healthy servings and the staff are quite friendly. All the while I was there I wanted to stand up and tinker with the jukebox, however, the other curious people checking it out were little kids and toddlers. Dyahe. Haha.

We were starving by then, so we decided to order: Mushroom Soup, Honey-glazed Spareribs, extra Mashed Potatoes with Gravy (all for me), Chicken Cordon Bleu (for P), Potato Wedges, and bottomless Iced Tea.

Let me say it now: whenever Iced Tea or Juice says BOTTOMLESS, I order right away. This time it was a very good thing, as we finished more than three 18 oz. glasses each of the delicious iced tea. Granted, it was Nestea, but it was neither too sweet or bland that drinking it was quite refreshing.

The wedges weren't this few, we already ate more than half of it :P

I had expected the potato wedges to be like Shakey's mojos, but the diner's version also held it own: crisp and cooked just right. The only dip we had was mayo, but it tasted great nonetheless. The mushroom soup was also quite good, but I didn't like that it was partnered with two pieces of Skyflakes crackers. Crusty bread or even croutons would have been a better choice for me.

Honey-glazed Spareribs (too sweet >.<)

I didn't want to eat the rice that came with the spareribs, so I decided to order an additional serving of their mashed potatoes, while P took my rice and ate it with his own mashed potatoes.

It might have been my fault for not scrutinizing the menu as much as I should have, because I had honestly not expected that the spareribs I ordered would be SWEET. Come to think of it, yeah, it was my fault. Haha. The menu did say it was HONEY-glazed.

To counter the sweetness, I slathered a lot of gravy on my potatoes and ate generous servings with every bite of the meat. The gravy acted as all-around dip, because I also dipped my buttered vegetables in it (they all tasted great, by the way). Good thing the staff didn't mind me asking for more gravy.

P's Chicken Cordon Bleu

I'm not a fan of chicken, or ham and cheese, so I declined P's offer of Cordon Bleu. But according to him, the chicken was great. The cheese was literally oozing out of the fillet, and it was filled with just the right amount of ham.

Teeny-weeny potato :P

I love little potatoes! Hehehe. I loved dipping them in the gravy and eating them whole. Very, very good.

The combination of copious amounts of iced tea, potato wedges (or wedgies as we called them hehe), and mushroom soup before my main meal had me full before I could even go through half of my spareribs. Thankfully, P is a wonderful human vacuum, always willing to eat whatever I can't or don't want to eat anymore. The result: clean plates wherever we eat out. We don't eat fashionably. Haha. Thankfully, I haven't fattened him up yet. He's still pretty thin.

P sucking the meat off the spareribs

The Mile-Hi Diner is a great place to eat at if you've got a big stomach. The prices are just right for larger than standard servings, and a myriad of choices on the menu. The food is also very filling--we didn't eat a thing from lunch at 1PM until around 9 or 10 that night. That's how full we were.

It also has a branch in Tagaytay, along a row of restaurants on the main thoroughfare in the city. It might also be worth a visit if you're in the area.