The cold one: Salliano's in Marikina, the Celebrated Restaurant of the East-side

Servers moved to and fro, bringing uncommonly appetizing and worth drooling dish after dish to our table in that open air area cum bar of Salliano. The night is going to be festive,'twas my first thought as I came in at the restaurant seeing the signage Salliano's Restaurant and Bar, with icons of giant spoon and fork that connote an atavistic throwback of every Filipino family dining area with giant wooden spoon and fork wall decor. Thus this restaurant in Marikina is known as the home of the biggest spoon and fork.

Bermuda grass were growing up at the center that separates the bar from the glass walled one-story house, built for intimate dining and can accommodate up to 60 persons. The grass lined a square area with outdoor umbrellas and hip benches perfect for no muss no fuss chill out dining and party. The place with the total area of roughly 600 square meters was said to be once a ranch of Don Agusto. It is located at the back of Bluewave Mall, and is now owned by a group of friends who have known each other since Grade 1. And for the love of food and gatherings they commissioned the idea of putting up a restaurant that is family oriented. With their family-style treasured dishes, dining here would give an air of bringing back euphoria of the past.

As we sip refreshments, Mr. Essex Polintan one of the owners was generous enough to give a short introduction of how they started putting up a restaurant without the aid of architects and designers. Salliano is an artwork of Five (5) friends who believe that you do not need to be a Chef to cook delish dishes and have a restaurant.

Mocha and Caramel Frappuccino - Php 150 The air was warm and soft and this frozen coffee was a perfect thirst quencher for coffee lovers like me.

Country Fried Chicken - Php 390 Half dozen assorted chicken wings and legs in a bucket. Though I'm not a beer person I recommend this be paired with beer drink.

BBQ Pork and Beef Ribs served with Spanish Rice- Php 370 I love the Spanish rice candidly cooked to compliment the sweetened ribs and pork with tomatoes on the side.

Classic Fish and Chips - Php 220 A classic British favorite. It didn't have a fishy stench, meaning the battered fish was cooked to perfection. Crunchy on the outside and savory good on the inside. I want to eat more of this when I come back.

Meatballs ala Salliano served with grilled Pita Bread- Php 380 Pungent smell drifted through the air, I love the smell of cumin, basil and other herbs combined with meat. This meatballs is like a version of my favorite English meatloaf.

Osso Buco with Gremolata Sauce- Php 320 Impressive Italian dish of braised veal shank with the accompaniment of gremolata sauce.There is no stove so powerful as a full stomach, and this dish is a 'power' meal worth every bite.

Paella ala Salliano- Small Php 490 Large Php 720 A Filipino-Spanish dish favorite cooked in a paellera or black steel pan served during important celebrations. This dish has rice as the main dish cooked slowly in a low fire. It is cooked with saffron and olive oil that gives an orange-red color of the rice looking more appealing with the mussels and shrimps juxtaposed on top. This is by no means an ordinary paella, as Salliano's makes sure it stands out from other restaurants with their very own special rice that cannot be just bought in the local market.

Pasta de Mariscos - Php 290 A shellfish/ seafood pasta cooked in olive oil and tomato, a gourmet comfort food.

Three-cheese Artichoke Dip served with toasted baguette - Php 220 A mini appetizer of bubbling cheesy dip that is scrumptious and tastes best while still hot.

Truffle Carbonara - Php 280 Another favorite that truly made my day. This creamy truffle carbonara was Pastarific! This is indeed what writers call, a forkful of luxury.

Callos - Php270 If Valencia has Paella Valenciana, Madrid has Callos ala Madrileña. It contains beef tripe- edible offal from cow stomach, blood sausage, chickpeas and bell peppers. This bowlful of stew proves how diverse our culture is. Spain being our major influencer handed down recipes that were served only to the affluent ones. In the past when we were still a colony of Spain, one way to tell if a dish is special is when the broth is tomato based, clear soup or stew were only served to peasants and people of low status.

Pugon Fired Salliano's Pork Crackling - Php 420 All the foods that were served were worth photo-sharing, but this dish seemed to suck up all the light in the room. I'm a big fan of roasted pork and Lechon, and my eyes went even wider the very instant I saw this. One seeing is worth one hundred tellings, the meat and the fat of the pork was deliciously juicy, that kind of fat juiciness that won't give one a nauseating feeling.

Castarones de Salliano - Php 130 I dug into this unfamiliar dessert with relish, and it stroke an emotional chord that lingers. Reminded me of leche flan and macaroons that were my childhood favorite, with melt in the mouth smooth creamy taste it was the perfect sweet of the day.