Gastroville’s Vietnamese Dishes

Gastroville’s Vietnamese Dishes 

Naga City is bereft of  Vietnamese restaurants

and we were happy to discover that Gastroville

in Vista Mall  is offering Vietnamese dishes.

The Phở  was so flavorful, and reeking with the delightful

fragrance of spices like star anise, a hint of cinnamon and

of cardamom. The broth was very tasty and had perfectly

cooked rice noodles, various herbs and tender cuts of beef .

The delicious Banh Mi Sandwich was loaded with lots of

fresh vegetables, tasty grilled meat and piled up high on a

French baguette baked fresh from the nearby Bake My Day.

I loved the Gỏi cuốn or the Fresh Vietnamese Spring Roll

The cold roll had chewy rice vermicelli, tasty and tender

chicken, fresh veggies wrapped in bánh tráng commonly

or rice paper. It was so good we ordered another serving.

If you’ve never tried a Gastroville’s 
Vietnamese dishes, It’s time. 

 

They got the perfect signature scent and feel of

 Vietnamese cuisine- all delicious and crave worthy.

Read the links below for related posts:

Vista Cinemas Naga; The First Luxury Cinema in Bicol
 VistaMall Naga Series 1: Gorgeous VistaMall Naga- One Stop Gastronomic Haven
 Vista MallNaga Series 2:  Paluto- Delicious Market Fresh Dishes
 VistaMall Naga Series 3: The Coffee Project- Awesome Coffee, Beautiful Café  
 VistaMall Naga Series 4: Bake My Day- Fresh from the Oven Goodness 
 VistaMall Naga Series 5- Gastroville: Affordable International Cuisine
 Vista Cinema VIP Birthday

Hukad SM San Lazaro

Hukad 
SM San Lazaro

The restaurant name Hukad intrigued us,

 

.. and we later learned that it was a Visayan word 
for a native wooden ladle used as a serving spoon.

 

It had a local festive décor and
the staff was amiable and friendly.

 

An old favorite dish and usually of guisado type but Hukad Ginataang Mongos 
 had a newer twist. It was stewed with coconut milk and was slightly sweetish. 
Stewed mongo is a family comfort food, but we would need more time for our 
Bicolano taste buds to learn appreciate  this more saccharine version.



We liked Hukad’s own version of Pinakbet.  Since we love amplaya 
and there was a lot of them in this dish. There were also an abundance
of eggplants and tomatoes, sautéd with bagoong. It was a  deilcious
 fusion of hale and hearty guisadong amaplaya and exotic pinakbet.

 

The Lechon Cebu Belly was to die for, literally and figuratively.
The crunchy skin and the tender belly was reeking with flavorful
herbs and spices, intertwining with the aftertaste of  tangy lemon
grass, leeks, pepper and  there was even a delightful hint of garlic.

 

I love the Hukad Halo- Halo had just the right ingredients
 resulting  to a more focused ans  refined tasting halo- halo
 without the ‘umay’.  It is so unlike typical Pinoy versions 
overflowing with almost everything on it that every ingredient
added overwhelms and masks their individual  flavor.

 

Of course I never miss to order my favorite refreshment
whenever I dine in a Filipino restaurant, Sago’t Gulaman.

 

We dined at Hukad as it was the only restaurant
that wasn’t crowded at SM City Lazaro in Manila,

 

...and we’re lucky as we had the chance to try some
awesome new takes on all time favorite Pinoy dishes.

Okuya Naga: Magsaysay’s Last Japanese Resto Standing

Okuya Naga
 Last Japanese Resto Standing 

Naga City is a vast culinary battlefield, with

Magsaysay Avenue as the central war zone.

There was a time when Japanese cuisine

was a craze and several restaurants sprouted

in the city offering the popular Oriental cuisine.

The Japanese restaurants were slowly replaced by Korean restos in
 the battle of culinary supremacy. But Okuya at the Piazza survived. 

 

Last Japanese restaurant in Magsaysay on its feet.

 

It is understandable as it serves some of the freshest,

 

 

…tastiest,

 

…and most affordable hale and hearty dishes in town.

The “last Japanese restaurant standing" in Magsaysay Avenue..
  The sole survivor of a  fierce culinary war, when everybody else has fallen.

Indeed, you cannot put a good restaurant down.

Read the links below for related posts.

Okuya, Naga: Affordable Japanese Food 

Okuya Naga: Fresh Japanese Dishes

Okuya’s Ruben Maki: The Flavorful King of Maki

Okuya and Gerry’s Grill: Japinoy Fusion Feast

Okuya Naga: Eat Good, Feel Good Restaurant

Okuya Naga at the Piazza  

Tugawe Cove Café: Island Dining in the Heart of the City.

Tugawe Cove Café
Island Dining in the Heart of the City. 

One of the best places to dine in Naga is at Robinsons Place  
and one of the best  restaurants there is Tugawe Cove Café.

The Buttermilk Fried Chicken was perfectly tender,

with flavorful breading that makes it very crunchy on

the outside while tender and juicy inside- just what one

wants in fried chicken. Served with a mound of rice,

topped with sunny side up egg and Kimchi as a side dish.

 

The Buttermilk Fried Pork Chop was just as good.

Loaded with big flavors, the savory Chili Garlic Prawns

will have you smacking your lips in a glorifying, culinary

nirvana. It was so darn delicious and you feel like you’ve

dined at a fancy Asian restaurant, not in a mall based café. 

 

The Lemon Butter Fish and Clams is a dish to die for.

Not literally of course it is a very healthy dish but the

buttery- tangy slab of grilled fish, topped with equally

flavorful buttery- tangy shellfish is so delicious and one

addicting dish that could keep us returning to this café. 

 

Tugawe Cove Café is an offshoot of Caramoan’s

most popular and luxurious resort Tugawe Cove.

Located at the al fresco section of  Robinsons Place,

Tugawe Cove Café brings the isolated, relaxed and

delicious island dining right in the heart of the city .

Read the lin below for related post:

Tugawe Cove Café; Relaxing Resort Like Café

Savoy Hotel: Budget Hotel by the Airport

Savoy Hotel
Budget Hotel by the Airport 

While we stayed at Belmont Hotel on our way to Europe,
but their One- Bedroom Suite was fully booked so we decided
to stay at the Savoy Hotel when we returned to the Philippines.

 

Check in and it was a breeze, and the people 
at the front desk were courteous and friendly.

 

Savoy Hotel’s beautiful lobby was of
modern contemporary Asian design-

 

…it was very spacious, neat and tidy.

 

 

We were starving after a long haul trip so we
decided to have dinner first at the Savoy Café.

 

We proceeded to our room,  at the 
 7^th floor immediately after dinner.  




Stay 

One Bedroom Suite 

Our room was a One Bedroom Suite and it will serve
as our overnight transit hotel on our way back home to
Naga City after almost a month long European vacation.

 

The living room however looked gloomy as it was
executed in earth  tones of gray, brown and black.

 

There was blue sofa which was too
small to function as an extra bed.

 

There is a huge flat screen TV,
with superb audio/video systems.

 

There is working desk at the end of the room,

 

…a well stocked minibar,

 

…and a small refrigerator.

 

An open walk in closet is found at the portal that leads to
  the bathroom, which is also accessible by the bedroom.

 

It was provided with electronic safe,
clothes ironing and pressing equipment,

 

…and accessories to make the
guests stay more comfortable.

 

 

The bedroom was spacious and just like the gloomy
living room, it is of modern contemporary design
executed on earth tones of gray, brown and black.

 

It  comfy queen size bed,

 

...and the extra bed we requested
was just as comfortable .

 

It had huge wall mounted 
wide- screen LCD flat TV

 

There is only one toilet and bath accessible
both from the bedroom and the living room,



… with nice shower room,
but unfortunately, no bath tub.  

 

It was provided with plush amenities,
and adequate toiletries. 

 

 

The room had two landline phones-  
the first one in the living room,

 

…the second on at the bedside,

 

We were very happy with the very fast
and complimentary Wi Fi connection. 

Stray

Savoy Hotel is a part of Resorts World Manila and
of walking distance to the upscale  Newport Mall,

 

…so there is really a lot of attractions
and places of entertainment to visit,



…and very close to so some of the
best dining destinations in Manila.  

Play

Belmont has a beautiful
and scenic indoor pool.  

 

 

It also had a well equipped gym. 







Feast

Savoy Café

Savoy Café, had a decent choices of local i

international dishes in their  ala carte menu.

The food is good,

  

 

…and the service was excellent.
 





It also serves as a venue

for the free breakfast buffet. 

  

-0-0-0-0-0-

Savoy Hotel is a comfortable

and affordable airport transit hotel,

….with spacious suites room

but with gloomy ambiance,

 

…as it was executed on earth tones gray,

brown and black that radiates melancholy.

Otherwise, it is one the best value for

money hotels in Resorts World Manila