The fine October weather in Baguio calls for a must-sit-in-a-cafe somewhere. But, somewhere random is not just what we had in mind. Lauren have heard of this joint from our friend before, so we decided to head straight here upon arriving at the city of Pines. Coming from a Travel Massive event we spend the rest of the night waiting for the day's first trip out of Manila. Ten hours later we were in a mood understanding of the 'walkers' in Walking Dead, only we were looking out for real food. Determined to satisfy our hunger, PNKY Cafe became our first pit-stop for the day.
The cafe was named after its owner Pinky Magsino and according to their informative menu, her whole family are passionate about traveling. The interior were decorated by her 4 children. Thus, you can see the various incorporation of travel themes in the simple set of furniture inside. Like an old battered suitcase (that would make Jack Kerouac proud), postcard styled picture frames, travel snapshots etc.
I have good memory, but don't count on me when trying to recall food I ordered. I've no way remembering it on my own. However, Lauren's mind processor runs two generation more advanced from mine and told me we had Spinach and Chicken Gallantine which was "drenched in cream and fresh button mushrooms and cubed tofu", with sidings of a light Romaine lettuce salad. Plus a pumpkin soup. That was her plate, (which I later cleaned up just because I'm the Harvey Keitel of food clean-up) mine consist of a smoky Fried Tinapa which probably came from nearby Pangasinan or La Union.
Next door from the cafe is the bed and breakfast of PNKY. It has four rooms which were called: Forest Green Room, Baguio Blue Room, Van Gogh Room and the Hideaway Room. The house also has a living and dining area which is adjacent to a gallery.
Under the shade of the surrounding trees, we hanged out at the front porch and sat on the swing bench. The cafe is just almost opposite the Laperal White House, an abandoned house (but still well-maintained) and infamous for being the source of many horror folklore.
I would come back and stay at one of its rooms and hopefully I get to see a white lady standing across the road from the upper window of the Laperal White House. We left just before lunch time and walked back to Azalea Residence, but not after taking pictures of us standing in front of the gates of Baguio's Amytiville house.
I would like to have a travel-inspired cafe one day. At the end of my wandering days all over the world and chasing cheap flights, maybe all the pieces and mementos I've accumulated and most of all - stories to share and exchange with my guests, will bring forth a running motivation for others to see the rest of the world and bring bits of it back home. The cafe is a wonderful avenue for the Magsino family to share their passion in traveling. You hang out in a good place, eat decent food and got a peek of what's it like being on the other part of the world.
