Art and Food Appreciation at the BenCab Museum and Cafe Sabel

A trip to the city of Baguio will never be complete without paying a visit to some of the city's more famous attractions such as Burnham Park, The Mansion, Wright Park, and even the Strawberry Farm in the neighboring town of La Trinidad, Benguet. Going to Baguio without visiting these places is like going on a trip to New York without immersing yourself in the chaos that is Times Square, or visiting Agra in India without admiring the beauty of the Taj Mahal. The places mentioned above are an essential part of any Baguio visitor's itinerary.

These past few years, however, another attraction has been quickly cementing its place among Baguio's must-see stops. The BenCab Museum in the nearby town of Tuba, Benguet houses the works of National Artist for Visual Arts Benedicto "Ben Cab" Cabrera, as well as a number of other artists. This blog posts covers our visit to the museum to see the works of art, as well as our dining experience at Cafe Sabel, the museum's in-house cafe and restaurant.

The BenCab Museum is a 20-30 minute journey from the heart of Baguio via the Naguilian Road and the Asin Road. Our journey, however, took longer than that because we got stuck in a nasty traffic jam along the way (yes, traffic in Baguio can be pretty nasty at times--they even have a number coding scheme in effect just like in Metro Manila to somewhat ease the congestion).

A view of the museum from behind. To see all the works of art, visitors must start from the uppermost level (where the entrance is) and then work their way downwards.

Even the parking area is decorated with works of art.

The museum's lobby. Tickets to get into the museum are at P100 each.

The museum has been getting a lot of attention from the media since it opened its doors to tourists back in February 2009.

32 Variations on Sabel (Glaze on Mariwasa Tiles) by Ben Cabrera.

The museum also houses an Erotica Gallery. Obviously, this area is off-limits to minors.

What an amazing view!

The museum also has its own duck pond and mini-farm where crops like onions are grown.

Cafe Sabel

After exploring the museum and seeing the wonderful works of art, we decided to have lunch at Cafe Sabel, the museum's in-house restaurant and cafe.

Since it was already lunchtime, the cafe was already quite crowded. The line at the counter where guests order the food was long, and the place seemed understaffed. As a result, service was a bit on the slow side.

Visitors must order their food at the counter. On their menu are items that include salads, sandwiches, pasta, and dessert. They also have a decent selection of beverages.

This section of the wall is adorned with promotional posters of Ben Cabrera's previous art exhibits.

It was my first time to try Lemongrass Tea (with honey), and I actually like it. This whole "lemongrass" thing didn't seem so appealing to me at first, when I would see it on TV.

A plate of Organic Vegetable Lumpia. Being a veggie lover (but not vegetarian), this one was a winner for me. It was really good!

I ordered a plate of their Carbonara which came with a slice of wheat bread toast. It was certainly one of the better carbonaras I've ever tried, but nothing I would exactly rave so much about. The serving size was decent.

Camote Fries, which I did not get to try.

It took a really long time for this Blueberry Cheesecake to reach our table. We had to call the attention of the staff several times. This was served to us warm so the cheese was runny (it should be refrigerated first), so it didn't taste as good as it ought to be. How disappointing.

Overall, I think the staff could be better trained to handle a sudden influx of diners. That should have been expected already for a tourist attraction such as this one, that gets hounded by local (and even foreign) tourists on holiday weekends such as the time we were there. Still, with the exception of the Blueberry Cheesecake, the food we ordered (the lumpia, especially!) did make up for everything.

BenCab Museum

Km. 6 Asin Road, Tuba, Benguet

Tuesdays-Sundays, 9:00 am-6:00 pm

Website: www.bencabmuseum.org 

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/BenCab-Museum/148385238553174

Appreciating Art in the City That Never Sleeps (Part 2): The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Aside from The Museum of Modern Art, another museum we checked out during our week-long stay in New York was the Metropolitan Museum of Art, located along a stretch of Fifth Avenue called the "Museum Mile" in the upscale Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. Fondly called "The Met" by locals, it is currently the largest art museum in the entire US and is currently one of the three largest in the world. 

To be quite honest, I actually enjoyed exploring this museum more. Unlike the Museum of Modern Art, The Met's displays were not just limited to paintings or sculptures. On display at The Met were also such items   as armor, costumes, silverware, furniture, jewelry and countless other items collected over the years, dating to as far back as Ancient Egypt or Ancient Rome. It is indeed fascinating for me to get a glimpse into how people used to live across different parts of the world--and getting the chance to walk into rooms that were created to look like a typical American home from, say, the 1800s just made it even more interesting!

The steps leading up to the Museum's main entrance is a popular place to hang out

Inside the museum's grand lobby

The museum, by the way, is divided into different sections, with each section featuring works of art for a particular region or country.

Ancient Egyptian statues

Actual pieces of jewelry and accessories worn by Ancient Egyptians

A miniature depicting life in Ancient Egypt

Gold footwear and toe protectors, often worn by royalty

Certain parts of The Met have large glass windows allowing plenty of light inside

High ceilings and glass windows give this place a sense of spaciousness

Throughout the museum, you may refer to interactive screens such as this one for more information on certain displays

Paintings by American artists

Lady in Black by William Merritt Chase (1888)

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze (1851)

A nude sculpture by an American artist

Another sculpture, also by an American artist

On to Liberty by Theodor Kaufmann (1867)

Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts (High Tide) by Winslow Homer. This painting actually caused a stir when it was completed because of the exposure of the women's legs which was considered "inappropriate" during this time. In fact, when the painting was reproduced for a magazine, the women's legs had to be covered with leggings.

Carmencita by William Merritt Chase (1890)

Ernesta (Child With Nurse) by Cecilia Beaux (1894)

Jewelry worn by American women during the 1800s

I wonder what this woman is doing?

Paintings by European artists on display 

Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794) and His Wife (Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze, 1758-1836) by Jacques-Louis David (1788). 

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes by Jacopo Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti)

A book which traces its origins to Persia (Iran) in the 14th or 15th century

Armor used by the Persians

The nobility of 17th century Syria would receive their guests in a large room such as this one.

Artifacts from 15th-century South Asia on display

Ancient Roman art

Ancient Greek sculptures

Ancient Greek jewelry

A modern photography exhibition