Calle Barlin at Andrew and Hillary Hostel

Calle Barlin Café 

at Hillary and Andrew Hostel

 I became nostalgic when we dined

ar Calle Barlin Café one weekend.

 Who wouldn’t be? Before Magsaysay Strip, 

this old ancestral antique house was Naga City’s  

ultimate dining destination in the early to late 90’s

 This was the place to go then. Known as  

‘Sa Harong” in the mid 90’s, then became  

‘Our House” in the late 90’s, it was re- invented  

this time as a budget home stay hotel with a foreign 

sounding name  of Hillary and Andrew Hostel.

 The hotel’s in house restaurant, Café Barlin, 

is located on the ground floor and had an old 

Filipino- Spanish Colonial motif, and would

make the guests feel like they are dining in  

their grandparents' old ancestral house.

 They served some surprisingly  

delicious Fresh Fruit Juices.

 We started our dinner with the very delicious 

‘Tinolang Manok’ and indeed it tasted so 

naturally good, devoid of any artificial flavors. 

 It’s 100% pure home style cooking at its best.

They also serve one of the best tasting Bulanglang  

that we have ever tasted. It had a sweetish- salty tinge  

with just the perfect hint of ‘bagoong’, enough to provide 

additional flavor without overwhelming the whole dish.

 If there is one dish that I would recommend in 

this restaurant, it would be the tasty Fish Bistek. 

The fish was served in a sizzling platter with all 

the caramelized flavors and savory ingredients  

sticking on the surface of the perfectly cooked fish.

The place was popular for its barbecue in the past.  

The new Calle Barlin Café version was okay  

but  it tasted different as previous had  firm and chewy   

consistency, an outcome of perfect grilling on  low fire.  

This version was very sweet, tender  and seemed to have   

been pre cooked and pre- simmered before grilling.

We concluded our dinner with 

a delicious Blueberry Cake,

... and Fruit Salad with Lemon and Honey Dressing.

This healthy dish was so delicious as i didn't expect

that fruits would go well with the sour lemon and sweetened

with honey.  I  consumed two servings of this dessert.

 The reinvention of Calle Barlin Café is a welcome 

addition to Naga City’s culinary scene and a great 

improvement from its old raucous setting,

...as it now had .a more relaxing and tranquil ambiance making 
it and ideal dining destination for those looking good food, 

old style home cooked meals and for peace and quiet .