Food to Relish

Another good restaurant in the Tomas Morato area is Relish located at Scout Limbaga near corner Tomas Morato. Apparently, food lovers have discovered the place with the restaurant full during the time that we dined there.

We tried the pumpkin soup, pasta with wild mushroom and truffle oil, and prawns thermidor, and they were all great. Prices range from P300 (US$7.31) to 400 (US$9.75) per dish and the servings are generous.

However, just like Romulos Restaurant also in the Morato area, the place suffers from bad acoustics. You can hardly hear your conversation with your companions because the chatter from all the other diners is audible at each table. This in a way makes your dining experience at Relish less pleasant. Best to dine at the second floor where it is a bit quieter.

Romulo Cafe's Crispy Pork Binagoongan

Turning out to be an all time favorite of Filipino food lovers is Romulo Cafe located in Scout Tuazon corner Dr Lazcano St near Morato in Quezon City. It also has a branch in Makati at Jupiter St.

I have eaten at the Quezon City branch a number of times and the place is still always full after 2 years of operation. This is a testament to the quality of food in their menu. Last time I ate in Romulo Cafe what stood out was the Crispy Pork Binagoongan. The pork skin was really crispy and the meat tender. The pork was sauteed with tomatoes, onions, kangkong (water spinach) and bagoong ( shrimp paste), and was served on top of a steamed eggplant. The dish is priced at a reasonable P355 (US$8.65).

Wooden Spoon: Wonder Foods

Reyna Blanca:

Stuffed Pechay:

Current hit among food lovers is Wooden Spoon on Katipunan Avenue in Loyola Heights Quezon City. Prices are reasonable with most dishes priced below P200 although servings are not really generous. But the good thing is that their food is great! The place is owned by Sandy Daza who has a column of course about food and restaurants in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

I have tried a number of dishes in this restaurant which specializes in Filipino cuisine. Lumpiang sotanghan (P95), wansoy shrimp balls (P95), binagoongan (P195) lemon grass chicken (P185) are good. A disappointment is the new addition to their menu, crispy fish which is actually a seafood take on crispy pata but this time using tuna. The fish skin with meat came out tough instead of the crispy skin and tender meat of the really good crispy patas.

What stands out is their stuffed pechay(P155) which is smokey tinapa wrapped in pechay and swimming in really flavorful spicy sauce. You can end your meal with the delightful reyna blanca (P65) which is a milk gelatin topped with pinipig and milk cream.

There are a number of dishes which I heard are also great so another visit to this restaurant is in my To Do list.