Sunday lunch buffet at Cafe Juanita

Would you believe it's my first time here at Cafe Juanita? Well, for one thing Kapitolyo is kinda far from where we live. Usually, we would only venture north to Quezon City or Pasig for special occasions haha! And this time, it was my tita's birthday.

Balay Dako, Tagaytay

Our family had a vacation in Stilts Calatagan a few weeks ago and on the way there, we stopped to have lunch in Tagaytay. My mother-in-law suggested that we eat in Balay Dako since she just ate there a few days ago and she was raving about how nice the place was.

Locavore Kitchen x Drinks

When one of my best friends is in town from Singapore, she always makes it a point to eat somewhere new and of course, in a Filipino restaurant. She was actually the one who discovered Locavore in Instagram and insisted that we eat there despite it being all the way in Kapitolyo, Pasig.

Locavore opened last October 2014 and the name actually means "one who eats foods grown locally whenever possible". They use organic ingredients and serve locally produced Filipino dishes with a French twist by Chef Mikel Zaguirre.

Not being familiar with the area, we almost passed by and missed the restaurant since the facade (as well as the street itself) was very unassuming.

They were still on soft opening when we visited and they had actually just started serving lunch (from 11:30am to 2:30pm) a few days before. But the place was surprisingly full on a weekday and we even spotted a few celebrities eating there as well. Looks like we were in the place to be! ;p

The whole place is very industrial and modern looking. I love the use of chalk on the bare concrete walls and the mix of metal with bamboo.

open kitchen

This was their Soft Opening Menu when we visited last month, so not sure if they changed some items or increased the price already at the start of this year.

Here's the stuff we ordered:

They have lots of choices of kinilaw like Fresh River Shrimp, Kalibo Oyster, Tanigue. and Lapu-Lapu. We ordered the Tuna and I really like the presentation in a jar. It was a little too oily for us though.

Tuna Kinilaw (P220)

Gensan Tuna/Wansoy/Green Bell Pepper/Red Bell Pepper/Ripe Mango/Togarashi

Pusit Ala Pobre (P220)

Squid/Squid Ink/Garlic Confit/Spring Onions

I'm not a fan of sinigang but I really enjoyed their version which is way different from how sinigang is usually served. This was probably my favorite dish from our entire meal!

Sizzling Sinigang (P530)

Beef Short Ribs/Sauteed French Beans/Sampaloc Gravy/Garlic Confit

Gising Gising (P290)

Sigarilyas/French Beans/Shallot and Garlic Confit/Gata/Spring Onion

This pata dish was kinda "makunat" though. It was a bit of a disappointment since we've definitely had better from other Filipino restaurants like Mesa and Crisostomo.

Thrice Cooked Pata (P770)

Picked Cucumber and Onion/Sarsa/Pinakurat/Bagoong Dipping Sauce/Soy Vinegar Sauce/Cucumber

On the other hand, this beef dish was really soft and tender. Another one of my favorites.

Beef Pares Stew (P390)

Short Ribs/Brisket/Star Anise/Garlic Confit/Shallot Confit

Love how they served the rice. They have organic white and brown rice to choose from as well.

Roasted Garlic White Rice (P70)

They had a lot of dessert items on the menu but only the Pandesal Pudding was available when we were there. We wanted to try the Leche Flan pa naman, but this was a good alternative.

Pandesal Pudding (180)

Custard/Pandesal/Cheese/Salted Egg/Dulce de Leche

Oh, and I really like how they have all kinds of sauces and condiments on the table. Really completes the dining experience.

There were some hits and misses but definitely a must try!

LOCAVORE
10 Brixton Street, Kapitolyo, Pasig City
Telephone: 632-9600
Mobile: 0923-5889419
Website: www.locavore.ph
Facebook: Locavore Kitchen & Drinks
Instagram: @locavore.ph

Crisostomo: Turn of the Century Filipino Dining

We've been eating in Filipino restaurants most of the time this past month since my brother-in-law and his wife, both based in the States, have been here in the Philippines for vacation.

To be honest, I'm not such a fan of Filipino food but I really enjoyed eating at Crisostomo when we were at Alabang Town Center.

click HERE for their full menu

I really liked the restaurant's interiors and the attention to detail - menu items (and even the servers!) were named after characters from Rizal's novels.

Here's the food we ordered:

Bagumbayan Lechon (P285)
Lechon Kawali Chips with Liver Sauce & Garlic Vinegar

Sinuglaw Tarsilo (P310)
Grilled Liempo with Kinilaw na Tuna

Maria Elena (P295)
Kangkong with Lechon Kawali Chips

Salome's Secret (P295)
Binusog na Pusit glazed with Sweet Sauce

Don Juan (P295)
"Liempo" Grilled Pork Ribs

Don Rafael (P625)
Classic Crispy Pata

Adobo Rice (P250)

Fresh Buko Juice (P150)

Everything was really good and needless to say there were no leftovers! :)

Crisostomo also has branches in Eastwood Mall, Nuvali, and Newport Mall. Check out their WEBSITE for more details.

Aracama Filipino Cuisine

I had dinner with my high school barkada a couple of nights ago at Aracama, this new restaurant at the Fort. Aracama (owned by Chef Fernando Aracama of UVA) is actually where the old Embassy club used to be. To be honest, I'm not such a fan of Filipino food but they had an interesting menu which I really enjoyed. Some of their specialties are Chorizo Frito, Mozzarella Malungay Dip, Crispy Pork, Crispy Pata, Lumpiang Sisig, Lumpiang Bangus, Gising Gising, Chocnut Ice Cream, Dulce de Leche, and Suman sa Ibos.

we were seated at the ground floor. love the wallpaper!

Insalata Uva - Signature salad with kesong puti, toasted walnuts, grapes, honey balsamic vinaigrette (P220)

Laswa - Visayan vegetable & shrimp soup (P250)

Pancit Molo soup (P370)

Manok sa Tanglad - 3 pcs. lemongrass chicken BBQ with sweet sour garlic dip & cucumber cilantro ensalada (P380)

Gising Gising - spicy winged beans with spicy green chilies, ground pork & coconut milk (P195)

Miso Sea Bass - Chef's Signature dish of Yore, grilled fillet of white miso marinated sea  bass (P980)

we also celebrated my friend's birthday so we had the chocnut ice cream for dessert, on the house!

They had a great wait staff who were all so attentive and accommodating - from answering questions to taking our photos using all our cams and phones. Plus the prices were very reasonable too (food is good for sharing). They were still on soft opening when we ate there (they'll formally open next week I believe) so go and visit Aracama if you're craving for good Filipino comfort food. =)