East End Taverna: European Cuisine in our Doorstep

East End Taverna 
European Cuisine at our Doorstep 

Seeing a vacant parking space East End Taverna,
one of our favorite restaurants in Naga City was

was an answer to satisfy our long- standing craving,

 

…for the delicious  European- Mediterranean cuisine 
that we feasted along the way during an almost month
 long of European vacation that commenced in Paris, 

…followed by Lisbon,

…to Extremadura, 

…and concluded in Madrid.

When we scanned the menu, we decided to feast on

East End Taverna’s plain Mediterranean specialties.

 

The Mediterranean Salad was a perfect beginning to

what would be another awesome culinary adventure in this

restaurant. Everything was fresh, crisp and lightly perked

with just the right amount of acrid balsamic vinegar dressing.

 

The Stracetti di Manzo with butter lemon sauce

was so good. The thin slices of beef were tender,

and bathed with a delightfully tangy buttery sauce.

 

This dish reminded us of the Lomo Asado con Salsa de Manzana

served in the old town of Caceres in Extremadura, Spain. It was
just as delicious and looked very similar. The tanginess however

came from the apple sauce, instead of the lemon butter sauce.


 

 

East End Taverna’s Weekday Porchetta

is our favorite dish in this restaurant. It is

a tasty herbed ‘lechon’ that is tender in the

inside and yet with crunchy and crispy skin.

 

This sated our craving the iconic Spanish dish

where Pinoy lechon have evolved. The sinfully

delicious Conchinillo Asado, that we enjoyed

also at the Medieval town of Caceres in Spain.

We were expecting a little French twist on Le Shawarma,
 as the name implies and what we got was a toned down 
version of a usually spicy and very aromatic dish. This one
 was not the smelly kind of shawarma, but just as delicious

.
 

This reminded me of the tasty Shawarma that

I pigged out at the beautiful city of Prague,

but left me reeking with garlic for several days.

The Medaglioni di Manzo, made of thick

slabs of tender beef, generously bathed with

what seem to be a tasty mushroom sauce.

This dish reminded me not of Europe but of the divine

Mushroom Steak in Orlando, Florida, made from juicy

flatiron steak topped with sautéed wild mushrooms.

Of course, no dinner is complete without trying what East End Taverna 
does best- their varied pasta dishes. We ordered the Penne Sicilian. 
It had a deep mozzarella aftertaste and topped with grated Parmesan  
 cheese and some additional fresh basil. While most Italian pastas use 
eggplants in this dish, the chef added steamed okra and   interestingly it 
created a wonderful Pinoy twist on this otherwise Mediterranean favorite.
An awesome primer to our incoming spring Swiss and Italian vacations.

A new twist on how the chicken wings are cooked

is the new Crab Fat Wings.  It is sweet, tangy and

spicy and had a hint of  ginger as an aftertaste. The

addition of the ‘taba ng talangka’ or crab fat created

a delightful explosion of exotic flavors in every bite.

As a family who loves to travel and Europe as our favorite destination, 
East End Taverna's dishes take us back to the European countries 
that we visited in the past. It also made the cuisine that we have  been 
craving, available right at our doorstep, travel free and passport free.

Read the link below for related posts:

 East End Taverna: ‘Maluto or Purée De Pommes De Terre, Chibog Est Très Délicieux’
 East End Taverna: Consistently Très Délicieux

1st Colonial Grill: Robinsons’ Place Naga, Al Fresco

1^st Colonial Grill
Robinsons’ Place Naga, Al Fresco 

1^st Colonial Grill is one of our favorite restaurants,

but we have not dined here for quite sometime as we

dreaded  the over- crowded SM City Naga where their

first branch is located, and we have always avoided the

 traffic choked Centro where their second store is found.

 

So when they finally opened at the awesome

Al Fresco Section of Robinsons Place, Naga

we immediately trooped to their newest and

third 1^st Colonial Grill restaurant in the city.

 

We loved the Sinigang na  Bangus, 

 

…that came with huge slabs of milk fish, fresh veggies
and delicious broth with just the exact level of sourness.

I have always detested the exceedingly sour sinigang in

this restaurant in my past blogs and it seemed that they

have tapered it down this time and I absolutely liked it.

 

The Chopsuey sa Buko was okay. The veggies were

fresh and crunchy but I would still prefer the classic

recipe. They seemed to have added coconut milk on

the dish and it tasted like a half cooked ‘gulay sa gata’.

 

Lumpia Shanghai is my wife’s favorite

dish and the delicious 1^st Colonial Grill

version is one of our favorites as well.

The Ginataang Santol is the restaurant’s new

offering. I ordered one being my favorite local

dish. It did not disappoint as it tasted so good.

No one in the country does Kandingga best

than 1^st Colonial Grill. Popularly known as

‘bopis’, this exotic and spicy dish made out

of finely chopped and sautéed pig's lungs is

served sizzling dry, yet very tasty unlike the

disgusting mostly saucy versions in the country. 

 

The Kandingga was so delicious that we gobbled it up

fast like there was no tomorrow and like a  blitzkrieg,

it immediately disappeared from the sizzling hot plate.

 

It left us craving for more so we ordered

another one and made everyone  happy.

 

No meal is complete without havinga Sili Ice Cream.

 

The 1st Colonial Grill became famous due to this unique

dessert. It garnered several culinary awards and was

already featured in magazines, TV and various  social

media platforms. The blushing pink spicy ice cream laced

with local siling labuyo is available in different levels of

spiciness from 1, 2, and 3, (an order from hot to hottest).

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We returned to 1^st Colonial Grill

at Robinsons’ Place after few days,

 

…it was a hot day so I bought a scoop

of sili ice cream being sold on their cart.

 

When we sdettled inside the restaurant-
 little did we know that they also serve a 
free scoop of ice- cream to their diners.

 

We were again tempted to eat lunch there.

This time however,  we made sure that we

will not run out of our all- time favorite

Kandingga so we doubled our order.

 

Just like the Sinigang na  Bangus, that we ordered few

days ago we also loved the Sinigang na Hipon. It also

came with fresh veggies and this dish confirmed that gone

was exceedingly sour sinigang broth of the past and what

they have now is the one with just the exact level of sourness.

The Pork Sisig was okay and tastes like

the usual ones we enjoy. However, it is

not  something that I would rave and crave. 

 

Otherwise, both the Grilled Tanguigi,

…and the Laing were exceptionally delicious. 

Having originated in Albay and being a true-

blue Bicolano restaurant, these classic regional

fares are a must try dishes in 1^st Colonial Grill.

Read the links below for related posts:

1st Colonial Grill SM City Naga: Authentic Bicolano Cuisine
1st Colonial Grill, Centro: Showcase of Indigenous Bicolano Dishes 
1st Colonial Grill: ‘Gata’ and ‘Sili’ Overflow
1st Colonial Grill: Classic Homegrown Cuisine

1st Colonial Grill’s ‘Bahay Kubo Salad’ Innovative, Healthy and Delicious 

Buhi Wet Market: Tilapia, Tabios and Rock & Roll

Buhi Wet Market 
Tilapia, Tabios and Rock & Roll

We drove all the way from Naga City
to St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Buhi,
Camarines Sur on a Holy Thursday,

 

…to visit the Perpetual Succor Shrine,

…but to our disappointment, and for some unknown

reasons, the shrine was closed for the Holy Week.

 

Since we are already in Buhi, we decided

to visit the town’s lakeside wet market.

 

The decrepit, trash strewn market 
is in a sad state of disrepair,

 

…and the dilapidated structure seem to be screaming 
for a much needed clean- up and  renovation.

 

 

 Buhi market is the best place to buy the freshest 
Tilapia in Bicol, as being a lakeside market,

 

 

... the fish is sold right after being caught from what is 
considered as one of the cleanest lake in the Philippines. 

 

The popularity of Buhi Lake caught tilapia came

about due to its mild, sweetish taste as compared

 to those caught in the nearby Lake Bato, which

apparently had a rancid and mucky aftertaste.

 

The Buhi Lake Tilapia is  sold at 90 to 100 pesos 
per kilo and still negotiable among the fish vendors.

Sinarapan, considered the smallest edible commercial
 fish  in the world is  found only in this rustic town. Also 
locally  known as Tabios, it has an average length of
 twelve millimeters, and belongs to the Goby family,

 

Tabios or sinarpan is endemic in Lake Bato, but

can also be found in two smaller lakes Manapao

and Katugday located at the foothills of Mt. Asog.

 

We cooked the fresh sinarpan

as Guisadong Tabios for dinner.

 

We also incidentally discovered

a multi- colored cassava chips which

the locals call ‘Rock and Roll’.

 

I’m not aware on how this indigenous chips made from 
a native root crop got its name, even the vendors did not
 know why it was named after a wild and outrageous music 
genre- but it was crunchy and tasted so good after frying.

 

We also chanced upon a stall selling the iconic “Pancit Bato” 
made in the nearby Rinconada town of Bato in Camarines Sur.

 

It is native sun dried noodles made primarily from wheat flour and
 lye  known that gives off a unique characteristic gritty  texture and
 naturally mild briny taste not found in regular Canton or Miki noodles.

We also shopped for the needed ingredients

in cooking the pancit bato like fresh pechay,

 

…and dried shrimps.

 

Flavored with a little soy sauce we served it

as a classic Guisadong Pancit Bato at home.

The idyllic town of Buhi is a little

over an hour drive from Naga City,

 

…and an ideal place to escape for a moment of peace

and quiet, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Read the link below for related post:

The Other Woman in Buhi