I love taking my visitors and my friends out for a lunch treat. Usually I take them to Pamana which is just beside Eco Hotel Tagaytay, if I have free time it would be Balai Dako by Antonios which is a bit further away from Eco Hotel. Balai Dako is a Visayan word for Big House, my boss the President of the hotel introduced it to me when I was just new in Tagaytay.
But first... coffee!
This time, I was with one of my co managers celebrating her assignment to El Nido. We ordered Pinakbet, caldereta and the best of the bests Balai Dako's Batchoy. I couldn't get enough of their Batchoy, it is my favorite among all other dishes they have. Flavor is rich and the noodles don't sog.
The pinakbet however if compared to Pamana's I should say is bland.
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BANGUS ALA POBRE | 710 (1kg)
Pan-fried milkfish seasoned with crushed black peppercorns
Good for 5-6 persons
My parents know I am not a fan of Milkfish, or the fish known to everyone as Bangus. There's an exemption to my rule though, when I am in a classic Filipino restaurant like this, I try dishes I've always avoided for I know their solid reputation would never fail my taste buds.
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Lunch meeting with my bestfriend slash co manager and the company's newly hired IT
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| A Must Filipino Dip/concoction integral to Pinoy cuisine |
Batchoy again! Plus the not so rubbery grilled squid
Just by the entrance right in the middle to the main dining is where they make freshly baked piaya for sale. Also spelled piyaya, this is one of the delicacies of Bacolod. It’s a flaky flat bread with dark muscovado sugar.
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BATCHOY
Thei version of the Ilonggo classic. Thick egg noodles, pork meat and pork off al and a rich pork broth |
Baby squids in olive oil is also a favorite of mine. It's an appetizer but I like eating it with my rice. The restaurant is usually packed during lunch hours. Almost every dish is affordable and uniquely Filipino. I would love to eat here everytime and not mind the distance and traffic, but the servers are real snobby they can't even smile... I wonder why?
