Azalea Residences Baguio Day 2

Day 2 came by in a blink of an eye. We slept at past 3am already, after spending our first night in our first trip together with so much stories to tell (and kalokohans to share, lol). When my alarm went off at around 7:30am, I woke up slightly disoriented. "Asan na nga ba ako?" Lol. Then we headed to Tradisyon Coffee Shop for the free breakfast buffet, and eventually (with the good food and unli coffee) nagising na din ako.

Chinky Eyes Club, lol:

Finally tried Azalea Residences' famous YUMMY hot chocolate. Super sarap nga and perfect for Baguio weather:

Our first agenda for the day was a hotel tour. After checking out Azalea Residences' different rooms, our last stop was the hotel's super beautiful Presidential Suite:

The Presidential Suite is a dream-come-true for big barkadas or families going to Baguio. It is a 2-level unit with 3 bedrooms upstairs, a huge living room with a digital fireplace, dining area, a common restroom, and a kitchen. The place is decorated to resemble a modernized Baguio log cabin.

Group pic! In love with the giant dream catcher and brick walls:

Ang fashion blogger, basta makakita ng grass, photo op kaagad ng shoes, haha!

After the tour was the start of our Azalea Residences Group Challenges! For the first round, we were grouped by friends and was given a budget of P1000 to shop and shoot an Ukay OOTD in just one hour! The theme they gave to us was "chill spot in Baguio".

They drove us to a thrift shop na open kahit umaga, which is called Bayanihan located near Burnham Park (a 15-minute drive lang from the hotel). Tapos they left us na and let us do our thing within the alloted time. Bayanihan is a huge building, which was formerly a hotel daw, kung saan bawat floors converted into stalls and stalls of second hand treasures. Although a bit expensive than the ukay-ukay that I've been to before, they still sell a lot of branded pieces like Prada bags, Uniqlo top, and leather goods.

The search is on! So many interesting pieces here, like this three-tone brogues and rosette cream top. Our goal was to dress up Trice in vintage-chic style.

After haggling, we got all our desired pieces at P1,000 eksakto! Thank you ates!

We conceptualized a theme, so although hassle and with time constraints pa, we pushed with it and rode a taxi to our desired "location" for our vintage shoot! And in fairness naman, all our cab fares in Baguio less than P100 lang umaabot!

I suggested Mt. Cloud Bookshop, located in Casa Vallejo Upper Session Road, dahil naalala ko how IG-worthy the place is. 

Every nook and corner of Mt. Cloud Bookshop complemented Trice's all-vintage outfit: from the polka dots blouse, pale blue skirt, tan heeled loafers, and sling bag. And yup, lahat nun P1000 lang!

Siyempre, di ako pahuhuli! Lol. I also bought a book At Large At Leisure written by my UST college prof in Features Writing Sir Nestor Cuartero. Sayang we didn't have time to stay long here in Hill Station, we went back to the hotel na for lunch before the 2nd challenge.

The Round 2 of the challenges was sobrang exciting and mas mahirap for me! A cooking contest! For the cook-off, we were given P1000 again per group, which was formed via draw lots na so we can interact with the other bloggers. They brought us to the local Baguio market where we bought all our ingredients, and the task is to create a "very Baguio dish" in our hotel rooms' kitchen area. All in 2 hours only!

My teammate and group leader Ate Minnie, who thought of using chicken for our main dish. During our short ride to the market, we Google Baguio's famous dishes and ingredients (other than strawberries, hehe), so this dish is basically Baguio Pinikpikan inspired... minus the pukpukan (haha).

My other teammate Ate Jen; and also bumped into Seph and Sarah's team during our "shopping":

So much to see in the market - stacks and stacks of fresh strawberries, cactus and other potted plants, bottled sweets, and fresh vegetables:

Back in the hotel, it started to rain nadin so ideal nadin to stay-in and maximize our hotel rooms. Inside the Azalea's suits is a complete kitchen area - with microwave, pans, chopping board, rice cooker, utensils, lots of plates, etcetera.

My Ates, guiding me with the other tasks na kaya ng isang beginner cook! Hehe! In short, hugasan ang mga veggies, mag cut ng broccoli, buksan ang delata. Haha!

Finally: Our chicken dish with oyster sauce, fried noodles, strawberries and boiled eggs, fresh buttered vegetables, and brown rice (inside the bell pepper!). Best in presentation, galing nila Ate Jen and Minnie!

Yep! We cooked all these in our hotel suite's kitchen! :D

The judging part - along with the yummy dishes of the 2 other teams! 

Before the announcement of winners of the challenges, we had dinner at the Tradisyon Coffee Shop - where it was Pizza, Pasta, Salad Buffet night! I can't believe their buffet is just P350 per head!

Super busog pa from eating and trying all the good contest entries, but I cannot resist their cheesy Vegetarian Lasagna... Di ko na napigilan wag kumain! We also had the option to create our own pasta and Mongolian dishes. I was also eyeing the wine and cheese corner, hehehe.

And finally... They announced the challenge winners! After also awarding special prizes (best in participation si Trice, best in pajama si Ate Rochelle), the best team for the Ukay OOTD Challenge is.... Our group! Yehey! Worth it ang pag cab to Mt. Cloud, hehe!

And for the cooking showdown, my team also won! Felt so lucky that night, haha!

One final group pic before we headed out for the night ukay-ukay. The others will go home nadin ng 4am so they also went to pasalubong centers for jams and raisin breads. A big thanks to this fun batch for the great and very GV weekend!

Ukayan in Harrison with my group Seph, Trice, and Sarah... Ang daming tao and wala kami halos nabili na! :( Although may mga tig 10 pesos parin, a lot of the good finds like DMs and New Balance, mahal nadin nila sinesell (thousands).

So we just went home - I mean, went back to our hotel room. Which is fast becoming "homey" to me nadin, but this was our last night na, huhu. :p

To be continued..
Read my Day 1 Post
Azalea Residences Baguio
#7 Leonard Wood Loop
Brgy. M. Roxas 2006 Baguio City
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