We arrived in Baguio on Holy Thursday and stayed at the Gonzalez Inn at the corner of Navy Road and Leonard Wood Street. Unit 2 was our spot and it was perfect because it had a nice view, since it was located near a cliff; and it had a terrace with a view of the river were we sat most of the time just chilling out and cooking barbecues at night while we sipped beer and played poker.

After a quick lunch at Chivas Resto and Grill in Edy Building along Kisad Road, a place that serves authentic Dinakdakan (a native Ilocano dish composed of pork face and ears softened and grilled, pork liver grilled and sliced, onions, ginger, vinegar, pepper, leeks, chilies and tossed with a mixture of mayonnaise and cooked pork brain for that nice rich finish), we decided to get three orders for our pulutan.

Our next stop was the Baguio Central Market where we bought Bonuan bangus and Vigan longanisa (also good for pulutan) for breakfast, and pork leimpo for our barbecues. While cruising the market like a kid inside a toy store, I could not help myself and bought some really gorgeous produce like brocolli which was selling at P45.00 per kilo; sweet and crispy romaine and Baguio lettuce; leafy greens; fresh oyster; shitake; straw and button mushrooms; carrots; gigantic celery stalks; aubergrines (giant eggplant); Sagada oranges; fresh blue berries grown locally; and the super sweet strawberries.

While buying from our suki chicharon sidewalk vendor we discovered a new Baguio street food craze and everyone seemed to love it. It is called chicken nuggets. According to the vendor, it is meat from the sides of gizzard; marinated with some calamansi juice; dredged in heavily seasoned cornstarch; and deep fried until golden brown and extremely crispy. Texture and taste were perfect. Sold at P5.00 peso per stick, I had to pay him P100.00. Why? My friends and I also bought take outs and tried it out with seasoned salt (Ersao style) instead of the usual vinegar to go with our beers and it was like a match made in heaven.

Friday night we decided to check out the city. Most bars were closed because it was Good Friday. Luckily, and surprisingly, there was a Gilligans Island on Legarda Road that was open and packed with people. The music was so loud it triggered car alarms. Upon entering, we started looking back at our college years in "Gilligans Katipunan". We were at the latter almost everyday after school; we also had our favorites of the house, their signature sisig--actually a chicharon sisig (now they add green bell peppers which I think is a bad idea)--and their centennial pizza--a not so thin, rectangular crust pizza smothered with asado sauce and slices of pork asado, topped with mozzarella cheese and baked to gratin. It was so simple yet it was so good when eaten with beer.

After downing a few bottles we started to get hungry and started walking to Behrouz Persian Kebab also along Legarda Road. Coincidentally, the person behind their grill was (I think) the owner (probably having his vacation also); that’s why we were so confident that we were getting quality kebab, ox brain and hummus.

Saturday was pig out day. A stone’s throw away from where we stayed was a place called Giddy’s Grill, an antique shop and barbecue place all in one. They served a hefty assortment of isaw, sold at ten pesos each and it was about 12 inches long. We ordered chicken wings, leg and thigh, gizzard, chicken ass, isaw and a lot of betamax (barbecued chicken blood shaped like betamax tapes), plenty of rice and ice-cold beer to drain it all down. We stayed there until the wee hours of the morning and went home scratching our tummies because we were so full.

Sunday, we went to church to celebrate Easter. We thanked God for all His blessings, for without His grace, we would not have enjoyed the beer and the pulutan and of course life itself.

When out of town, it is almost guaranteed that you do not have time to prepare good pulutan because you are probably busy going around. Here is a recipe that is quick, easy and will surely go well with your beer:

Ginger Chicken Wings

Ingredients12 pcs Chicken wings

1 tbsp patis

1 medium size ginger, grated

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

3 tbsp calamansi juice

Salt to taste

Cornstarch for dredging

Oil for frying

1. Marinate chicken with grated

ginger, cracked black pepper,

calamansi juice, patis and salt.

2. Dredge in cornstarch and fry until

golden and crispy.

Note: You can do this in advance.