Baguio City, The Philippines – There’s a pretty interesting restobar along Legarda Road, Baguio City and they serve shakshouka, horchatas, and other not so common dishes, at least in the city of pines. This foodplace is called SKEWERS (previously called MITHI when it opened its door last August and is now slowly being pegged as Baguio’s next “it” brunch spot furong the day and a “happy hour spot” at night.

The moment I saw a post in their socials that they serve shakshouka and horchata, I instantly planned a visit. So I was prompted ro further go through their published menu, and oh boy, they have an array of interesting grilled cheese options and all-day breakfasts. I was excited to try their shakshouka and horchata but at the same time, sad that in as kuch as I wanted to try everything in their menu, I just couldn’t eat them all even if I brought with me some friends.

Okay okay so I have been mentioning shakshouka in this write-up and if you haven’t encountered this dish, then read along. The first time I had shakshouka was 6 years ago during a trip to Tel Aviv, Israel.. I vividly remember going to this cafe near my BnB that serves various Middle Eastern dishes. I thought the name shakshouka was unique so I went for it and wow, I fell in love with it the moment I got to taste it. The meal is so simple yet bold in flavors and spices. I ended up eating shakshouka every single day of my stay in Israel that time.

Quick facts: shakshouka, is a simple Maghrebi (North African) dish, that is popular throughout the MENA (Middle East, North Africa) region. It features poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce, seasoned with peppers, onion, garlic, and various spices like paprika, cumin and chili powder. And when I say it’s spicy, it means flavorful spicy, and not hot spicy. Though you can always add some cayenne pepper if you’d like to heat it up.

The best side dishes to serve with shakshouka are crusty bread, pita bread, hummus, couscous, or even some roasted potatoes, olives, and feta cheese.

My love for shakshouka extended when I visited Morocco and Egypt where alot of restos also serve this dish. So I am very pleased that a Baguio eatery is now serving shakshouka. Skewers’ shakshouka is served with a crusty, delicious sourdough bread. And I think that their shakshouka is aromatic and really satisfying!

Now on to the horchata, or orxata. I previously talked about horchatas in my Hatch Coffee post wherein I also ahared my forst taste of this drink back in Spain 5 years ago. Horchatas are various beverages, generally plant-based, but sometimes contain animal milk. They are usually made by blending white rice and cinnamon sticks in water and letting them soak overnight. The rice and cinnamon are then discarded, to which the remaining liquid is flavored with vanilla, sugar, and ground cinnamon. It is often thickened with milk and most often than not, served cold.

If you haven’t tasted a horchata drink, it tastes similar to rice pudding but in a refreshing, liquid form. The perfect balance of creamy and sweet taste is attributed to the milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mithi offers a variety of horchata. They have the classic one, they have a dirty horchata (one that has coffee in it), they have a “chorchata” – a horchata with chocolate, and a “corchata” — a horchata that uses coconut milk. I had the corchata and it was so good!

We also tried their soft shell tacos, and my friends also opted to try their dirty and clean classic horchata.

I’d definitely come back at Skewers Restobar soon and try the other stuff in their menu. Especially now that they have a larger space and bigger menu. They are now located at 1, Baguio Diamond Mansions, Legarda Rd, Baguio, 2600.

Address: 1 Baguio Diamond Mansions, Legarda Rd, Baguio City, 2600. Take it easy.