But while Baguio is a major outlet of vegetables produced in Benguet and Mt. Province, only a handful of vegetarian restaurants thrive in the city.
These restaurants, however, survive the intense competition among local food outlets because they serve a steady and loyal market among health buffs and members of various groups who avoid meat in their diets.
Ed Joel Carlos, owner of the Azotea Greens, said that he wants to promote a vegetarian diet in a community known to be predominantly "meat eaters" to advocate a healthy lifestyle.
"We do not belong to any spiritual movement which promotes vegetarianism but they inspire us, they are part of our market," Carlos said.
He said he and his wife Ave became vegetarians eight years ago because they wanted to live healthier. They were co-owners of the '70s Bistro, a popular music joint and bar in Quezon City.
Carlos said it would take a lot of creativity to prepare a dish using only vegetables.
He said they had to make their dishes appealing to their clients and even to those who are not strictly vegetarians so they prepare popular Pinoy dishes like adobo, afritada, nilaga, kaldereta and ginataan using "vegetable meat."
Carlos said they use "veggie meat" made of soy, wheat and corn protein and carageenan (edible seaweed) as substitute for real meat.
He said Azotea Greens became popular for its "mushroom sisig," a family recipe made of minced button mushrooms, tofu and spices. Aside from Filipino dishes, Azotea Greens also serves Italian and Chinese vegetable dishes. The restaurant is located at the second floor of the La Azotea building on Session Road.
'Heaven on Earth'
The Heaven on Earth Vegetarian Center, at the fourth floor of Abanao Square on Abanao Street, serves another set of clients for its vegetarian fare.
Rafael Wasan, Heaven on Earth owner, said his membership to the spiritual movement Ananda Marga helped him embrace a healthier lifestyle.
"We would like to provide a choice...that was why we put up this place," he said.
Wasan and his wife Rose said since becoming vegetarians in the 1980s when they joined the Ananda Marga, they rarely get sick.
He said eating "just vegetables" would not make one's body weak as vegetables could provide the required dietary needs even without meat.
Heaven on Earth serves a complete meal, consisting of two viands and a cup of brown rice, for P39. It serves Filipino adobo, afritada, sisig and other dishes using veggie meat and tofu.
Wasan said they do not use dairy products--milk, butter and eggs--and avoid garlic and onion in their dishes.
He said they use herbs (basil, oregano) and other spices (turmeric) in their dishes because these are healthier.
"What we are doing is more of an advocacy than profit," he said.
Bliss Café
Now on its third year, Bliss Café remains popular among Baguio residents and tourists looking for fine dining experience.
Located at the second floor of Munsayac Inn on Leonard Wood Road, this vegetarian restaurant prepares "slow food" because all meals are cooked as ordered.
Shanti Isla and Jim Ward, owners of Bliss Café, said they wanted their clients to enjoy the food and ambience of Bliss Café.
"From a business standpoint, we are categorized as fine-dining restaurant that is why the food costs higher. More than 70 percent of our clients are tourists," Ward said.
"We love what we are doing, but it is still an uphill battle to get Filipinos [accept a] vegetable diet. I think there should be more education on proper diet," he said.
He said Bliss Café is a place where one can meditate. The scent of incense and images of Buddha would greet clients at the art gallery and dining area. Books on vegetarianism and Buddhism are available for clients.
Bliss' "mock-duck" adobo curry style is among the favorite dishes. The "duck meat" is made of special gluten and is served with pasta and eggplant.
The "Mexico set" (burritos filled with red beans, corn, cabbage and cheese) and Indian set (paneer or Indian white cheese sauteed in curry and cumin seeds, potato and basil) are also popular among customers.
The restaurant also serves pasta, vegetable salad and sandwiches. It also hosts art exhibits, poetry reading sessions and film showings.
OMG!
To say that "Oh My Gulay" is a vegetarian restaurant is an overstatement.
The restaurant is one of the features of the Victor Oteyza Community Art Space (Vocas) run by filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik at the family's La Azotea building on Session Road.
Tahimik describes his restaurant as "semi-fine dining" where meals are "not cheap and not expensive."
"We are a restaurant with no ideology in a nonmeat enterprise. We do not have any expectations in terms of profit. We put up the restaurant to support the activities of Vocas. With its modest profit, [we hope] it can support the art space," Tahimik said.
Vocas' interior design and its art space filled with paintings and woodcarvings of local artists draw clients to the place and eventually to the restaurant, said Tahimik.
Oh My Gulay offers a choice of pasta dishes, salad, sandwiches and beverage that uses the freshest vegetables and fruits from the local market. A dish costs at least P90.
Their pasta putanesca (playfully called "Anak ng Putanesca") usually elicits laughter from clients browsing the menu.
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