I wasn’t expecting much (which is typical of me). Tagging my mom along with some of my favorite travel buddies may seem odd but it worked pretty well. Our long weekend getaway in Tacloban was a perfect blend of a no-itinerary-kind-of-trip plus ultimate food critiquing; everyone can be easily persuaded. No hardcore bully; such a bummer.
Firegrass
Tavern Restaurant
Pasta, Pizza, Burger, Baby Back Ribs and more. I
was wide-eyed when we were given the menu for that late afternoon snack. I was tasked
to choose for the group and it was confusing so I asked for the house
specialties. I hate surprises, but this one.
Firegrass Tavern is one of the dining options at
the newest hotel in Tacloban City, Ironwood Hotel. It was a scorching hot
afternoon and after a round of what-to-see around town, we went back at the
comforts of our home in Tacloban and were treated to a lovely afternoon snack (bordering
to early dinner). .
And then one by one, our food arrived. Resting on wooden
cutting boards, the Grilled Baby Back
Ribs looked gorgeous while the combo of Queso
de Ajo Margherita and Chicken
Bruschetta were so tempting. The Baked
Prawns served on a bowl dish was savory and while me and my buddies were busy
taking snaps of the food, my mom took a sample of the bruschetta with her unapologetic,
sheepish look.
The pizza was oozing with cheesy goodness and at
first bite you could feel the freshness from the tomatoes, garlic and basil. It
was so good that I forgot about my fixation with all-meat pizza.
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| Queso de Ajo Margherita (P500) |
Chicken Bruschetta was next. The grilled herb
chicken blended well with mango salsa that nothing was overpowering anything. But
this isn’t my favorite among the bunch.
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| Chicken Bruschetta (P150) |
The Baby Back Ribs with special barbecue sauce and
veggie side dish were so tender and tasty. I was itching to get some carbo but
no, I restrained. Again, I am no rib-person
but this one’s pretty much tried to convert me.
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| Grilled Baby Back Ribs Solo (P250) |
And now we go to my favorite one, the Baked Prawns.
I super love seafood (crustaceans being on top of the list) so let me be
biased on this one. The tiger prawns that were drenched on a special citrus
sauce may look modest but when I tried it, the flavors exploded in my mouth. I
was trying to dissect its elements but didn’t go as far as one ingredient before I grabbed
another bite. The fresh prawns and the tangy citrus sauce was heavenly but would be really perfect if
it was spicy.
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| Baked Prawns (P250) |
Chew Love
Fancy diner feel,
funky decors and appliques, strange food elements, and feel good cafe. We checked
out from our hotel and went out to look for a nice lunch place when we spotted
this picturesque resto/cafe in town.
It felt like I was on a wonderland of some sort.
Mural paintings and a rustic wooden house in shades of aqua blue, pink and yellow were like a
painting against the clear blue sky. It was magical at noontime, I could
imagine it at nighttime.
 |
| This ain't a painting. |
We entered Chew Love and gasped for air (especially
my mom). It was cute, girly and sweet; very anti-me. But you know what? I never
hyperventilated nor had one of those panic attacks. It wasn’t over the top cheesy
and girly. It just ain’t my thing but I was quite comfy with it. So let’s go to
the food.
 |
| Super fancy |
My Kare-Kare
rice meal looked pretty with its heart-shaped steamed rice. I smothered the
creamy peanut sauce over the rice which was delicious as it was. The shrimp
paste was good, but not as good as my mom’s – biased, and the crunchy greens
brought just about the right amount of texture. The meat (innards and stuff)
were tender and not gamey at all.
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| Be Kare-ful With My Heart (P180) |
The hot and spicy chicken pops were oh so great. It
could rival my favorite fastfood’s version. The new twist on siopao was my favorite! The pork asado filling was so tasty and not that
sweet. But the winner for this round was the Halo-Halo. It was so yummy that my mom stole it from us after we
had a few spoonfuls.
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| My Hotbeats For Ye (P110) |
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| Kim Yam Pao (P70) |
I don't dig desserts much which makes me the perfect critic on desserts.
Right? Oh well. The halo-halo was so creamy and sinful heavenly that it deserves its bragging rights. The
secret, I guess, was on the shaved ice which seemed to be infused with creamy I-dunno-what-it-was. My mom figured that
one too while screaming that Gold Digger is the best halo-halo she had so far.
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| Double Gold Digger (P170) |
Jo’s Chicken Inato Milagrina
It was dinnertime and someone suggested a cool
grill house in downtown; everyone’s too tired (blame it on a full day Tacloban– Palo, Leyte excursion) to protest so we followed through.
Jo’s Chicken Inato brought back some good memories
from my childhood days. They had a branch in Quezon City way back when I was
younger and it was a favorite after-church place for the fambam. It closed for
good after years of giving grilled happiness to me and my family.
Jo’s Milagrina is a branch of Jo’s Chicken Inato in
Tacloban Ciy. Flashbacks went on as we entered the open-air dining area with
unique chicken decors around. The aroma of freshly grilled fares was enticing.
I had in mind what I wanted, quite odd for women.
I had Super
Inato Combo of Paa + Pork Barbecue (P125) and Mixed Fresh Fruit Slush (P95)
For sharing, we had Sinuglaw (P180), Pinaputok na Bangus (P210), Crispy Dinuguan (P180), Fried Kangkong (P110), Turon with Ice Cream (P180), Mango/Buko Pandan (P80) and Buko Halo (P130). We’re really hungry
like that.
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| Mango/Buko Pandan (P80) |
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| Buko Halo (P130) |
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| Turon with Ice Cream (P180) |
I initially wanted grilled chicken breast and wings
(Pecho) but arriving a few minutes
before the closing time prevented me to do so (read:sold out). Being left with
no option introduced me to the succulent leg and yummy thigh part of the
chicken. It was grilled to perfection that my soy+lime+chili dipping sauce was
left untouched. The grilled pork was equally tasty and tender.
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| Super Inato Combo Paa + Pork Barbecue (P125) |
The fried crispy kangkong was also a hit. I have tried a few versions of this before
but nothing comes close to this one. It was crispy, crunchy and not too oily.
The Pinaputok na Bangus was devoid of
bones and fishy taste. It wasn’t my favorite though.
 |
| Fried Kangkong (P110) |
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| Pinaputok na Bangus (P210) |
I’m biased with Sinuglaw.
Imagine my two favorites combined into one amazing dish (Sinugba = Grill | Kinilaw
= Ceviche). The vinegar-based sauce perked up the freshness of the tuna. The
grilled pork balanced it out bringing the perfect texture to the tenderness of
the fish meat. It was delish!
 |
| Sinuglaw (P180) |
But my ultimate favorite was the Crispy Dinuguan. It was so delicious
that I’ve been dreaming about it lately. The crispy fried pork bits were
incorporated on the thick pork’s blood dish that’s one of my all-time favorite Pinoy dishes. I hate that it was so
good; hate that Tacloban is a 1-hour plane ride away from Manila.
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| Crispy Dinuguan (P180) |
Quarterhouse
Barbecue
Across Ironwood Hotel, Tacloban City
It was our first night in Tacloban and after
battling Metro Manila’s crazy traffic and the now becoming routine delays at
the airport we arrived at Ironwood Hotel in one piece. It was around nine in the
evening and after checking in we set out too look for our dining options. We were so
hungry that when we saw this sidewalk filled with diners and foldaway
chairs/tables with a smoky booth on a corner we knew that this would be our
dinner place.
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| Quarterhouse Barbecue |
It was simple. We had to choose our skewered
happiness (pork/chicken, innards, sausage, etc.) that were priced between P5 to
P25 and let them grill it for you. We had to wait for a table to be available and were assisted by a staff on
securing one. It was filled and people were patiently waiting for their turn.
After waiting for a few minutes, we were given some plastic gloves (no spoon and fork, eat with your hands), steamed rice, a huge
bottle of soda and the grilled fares. We indulged and almost finished
everything in a flash and ordered some more.
It was just okay. I loved the chicken wings but not the chorizo. I liked the isaw but not as much as the best isaw in the Philippines. But you know what? It was a delightful dinner as we get to immerse into a Taclobanon’s typical night. Oh by the way, we spent around P300 for this simple feast, quite pricey eh?
Timo Romano’s
Lechon
It was two hours past lunchtime and we had a
mission to try Tacloban’s bet for the best lechon.
So we went at Real Street (famed area for lechon sellers) and spotted Timo Romano’s Lechon. It was late and what was left
was a slab of boneless lechon. We
ordered half a kilo and feasted (P400 | one kilo).
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| Boneless Lechon Belly (P400/kilo) |
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| It was tough and chewy. Sayang. |
******
Check Tacloban City accommodations here
Thanks Carla for the blog! We appreciate the review. Our staff are all the more inspired to do their best every single day when they hear positive feedbacks on our food and service.
ReplyDeleteWe hope you get the chance to come back so you can experience more from Tacloban and check on other homegrown businesses that came about after Yolanda hit our city. To more blogs. God Bless!
We so love Jo's Milagrina and my mom is currently trying to copy the Crispy Dinuguan. Haha. Thank you so much Apple and we'll surely come back to Tacloban :)
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