the best yoghurt in sagada

After basking in the glow of the Sagada sunrise, we were ready for some grub. Good thing we discovered that Strawberry Café opens promptly at 7AM. And it was right next door to Sagada Homestay Inn, our home for three nights.

Their menu is somewhat limited, but seems to cover all the basic food groups, like cakes and milk shakes.

To ward off the morning chill, most of us ordered the arroz caldo (literally, rice soup) with some chicken and a hard-boiled egg.

I had a bowl of chicken mami, just because I saw the owner eating some the previous day and it made my mouth water.

Add a dash of chili powder and a squeeze of dayap juice.

Someone ordered the yoghurt with strawberry preserve and offered me a taste.

And finally, since their name is Strawberry Café, we had to have some strawberry milk shakes.

Verdict: Where should I start? I absolutely LOVED everything. I wish that we had tried Strawberry Café earlier. (Isn't it always that way-- you take for granted the things that are under your nose?) No offense to Mr. DJ and Mountain Boy who cooked some outstanding chow for all of us at Homestay, but this breakfast at Strawberry Café was the best meal I had in Sagada.

Both arroz caldo and mami were made with the most flavorful chicken ever. None of that steroid-filled, unnaturally plumped-up, frozen and refrozen supermarket mystery meat. This was the real thing. It's what I imagine my grandparents ate when they were young. And that chili powder. Homaygad. Just a little dash was enough to bring a tear to my eye and liven up any dish. I should have brought some home. *banging head on wall*

Their yoghurt was a revelation. Tastier than Yoghurt House's, and cheaper too. We liked it so much that a few hours later, we bought some more, plain this time, and topped it with some blueberry preserve. Oy.

The strawberry milk shake was thinner than I expected. More like a strawberry juice with a splash of milk, but without the usual milk, cream, sugar and whatnot, the taste of the fresh strawberries really shone through. They make their own jams and preserves at Strawberry Café, and the strawberries in my shake were so fresh that they seemed still alive and kicking. We found out that the owners of the café have their own strawberry farm. I want to go to THERE next time.

Good to the last drop. We'll be back for more.

A note about Yoghurt House: Although it's the most famous restaurant in Sagada and well worth a visit, yoghurt can be found everywhere and as it's usually home-made, it's really a matter of personal taste which is the best. I prefer Strawberry Café's, but I would go back to Yoghurt House for their eggplant pasta, which was simply delicious. And the fried rice was pretty filling.