When I was invited to Naimas Taste of Home, the name clued me in that it would have Ilocano dishes.

It had a cozy and native-influenced al fresco area.  

What awaits inside is a more spacious area.  They even have a second floor.

Food


Mga Pulutan/Appetizers

Sizzling Sisig (260 php)

Crispy Garlic Isaw (240 php)

The Sizzling Sisig and Crispy Garlic Isaw is worth the cholesterol.

♥ Crispy Tawilis (220 php)

But, I liked the Crispy Tawilis more.  It was very crispy and not too salty.

♥ Sizzling Litid (250 php)

I also loved the Sizzling Litid.  I think I enjoyed most of this sizzling plateful.

Naimas Nachos (260 php)

Naimas Nachos is deep fried wanton with the usual nacho grande toppings.  This is the perfect bar chow as it doesn't get soggy even after a long period of time.


Mga Paborito/Favorites

♥ Adobong Hipon sa Aligue (360 php)

One of my favorite is the Adobong Hipon sa Aligue.

♥ Paksiw na Mata ng Tuna (280 php)

But, the Paksiw na Mata ng Tuna is just as good.

Pigar Pigar (380 php)

I was expecting the Pigar Pigar to have some liver.  But, I guess it was all beef which was good too because it was tender and flavorful.

♥ Kinulob na Peking Duck (460 php)

Definitely save some space for the Kinulob na Peking Duck.  For the price, this is a steal! 

Mga Gulay/Vegetables

Gising Gising (210 php)

The Gising Gising is the healthiest among all our orders.  This is good but I guess everyone prefer the more sinful ones.

♥ Sinigang na Bulalo (380 php)

Well, I haven't had a Bulalo I didn't enjoy so I was also comforted by the warm and savory Sinigang na Bulalo.

♥ Sinampalokang Kambing (320 php)

This is my first time to try a goat dish here in Manila.  Trying the Sinampalokang Kambing brought me back to my childhood memories.  

I've spent some of my summer vacations at my mom's ancestral home in Ilocos Sur.  Every time we'd go there, my uncle would have our staffs buy a goat.  By the time we'd reach the house, there will be a live goat tied to the wooden post by the well.  The dried well was said to bring good fortune to the family.  The goat will be served to us for dinner as a special delicacy.  

How I miss those care-free days.  Everyday we would play with the neighborhood Ilocano boys (who used to bully and tease us by climbing up and make noise on our bed room window only to find out they just wanted to be playmates).  We would run or bike towards the tobacco fields to play hide and seek, luksong baka, patintero and our favorite of all: tumbang preso.  When we hear the church bell rings at 6 o' clock echoing across the entire town, we would head home for dinner which was the highlight of each day.  The manangs would set up our marbled folding tables and pair it with plastic stools by the window side so we could have a wonderful dinner with scenic view of the night sky wonderfully lit by stars, plaza light and church light.

Pancit Canton Regular (350 php)

I think this is hands down the tastiest Pancit Canton I've ever had.  And, look at the toppings... so many!

Pang-himagas/Desserts

Turon sa Saba (120 php)

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
If you're looking for heart warming dishes from the Northern Philippine provinces, Naimas Taste of Home should definitely be on top of your list.  Just expect the dishes to have a bolder taste and flavor than its native counterparts.  But, based on the impressions of my fellow diners, they seem to like it better.

My friends often tease me of being a serious and uptight person.  So once in awhile, I give in and let them take me to the fun places.  One night I ended up at Grilla Bar and Grill with good old friends and met a new ones too.  My friends enjoyed their drinks but as usual, I was there for food and company.
I'm really liked the spacious and upscale feel of Grilla Bar and Grill Makati.  They even have an Al Fresco balcony area.

Food

Appetizers

Chicharong Cebu (160 php)

As they say, You Only Live Once (YOLO) so we started with the deliciously crispy Chicharong Cebu.

♥ Pork BBQ and Salted Egg Triangles (185 php)

My friends were drinking so they really enjoy crunchy finger snacks like the Pork BBQ and Salted Egg Triangles while we chatted the night away.  This is an interesting dish to try.

Sisig

Tofu and Sigarilyas Sisig (145 php)

 The Tofu and Sigarilyas Sisig is a healthiest sisig option in htier menu.  It's still as salty as the regular sisig though.


Veggies

Ilocos Dinuydoy (135 php)

The Ilocos Dinuydoy has three primary ingredients: mashed squash, ampalaya and bagnet presented in a deconstructed way. 

Eggplant Torta - Poqui Poqui (145 php)

The Eggplant Torta - Poqui Poquiis the Ilocano way of eggplant torta.  I find their Ilocano dishes too salty.  Ilocano cuisine being our second native cuisine at home, I was surprised by this.  Ilocano dish is known for simplicity and bringing out the natural flavors.  Ilocanos like my mom are very frugal and appreciative of the lightest flavors. 


Entree

Family Feast

♥ Grill-A-Palayok (695 php)

The Grill-A-Palayok is a fun dish to try with a group!  You can choose your favorite type of meat and you can choose from 3 types of dips: Pork-lemongrass broth, Grilled Eggplant and Nilasing na Mangga.  I liked the latter the most.


Beef

Beef Kansi (345 php)

I took one sip of the Beef Kansi and found it too peppery and salty to be enjoyed as a soup.


Chicken

Sinampalukang  Inihaw na Manok (225 php)

The Sinampalukang  Inihaw na Manok has a nice smokey flavor alogn with the strong tangy taste.  I liked the smokey and tender inihaw na manok bits in it.

Inadobong Tilapia sa Gata at Sili (225 php)

The Inadobong Tilapia sa Gata at Sili is among the dishes I liked as well.  It was fun to eat and has a fun twist of flavors.

♥ Halo Halo Spring Rolls (135 php)

Last but definitely not the least is the Halo Halo Spring Rolls.  I liked this the most!


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
My friends enjoyed our dining experience at Grilla Bar and Grill.  I recommend it for those who enjoy strong taste and pair their food with lots of rice and drinks to tone down the flavors and probably guilt. 

My relatives invited us to go sand surfing at Paoay Sand Dunes and then we headed to Laoag City Ilocos Norte to search for a place to eat our dinner.  La Preciosa is just by the roadside so it's easy to spot along with other popular restaurants.  But, parking by the roadside is a bit of a challenge especially during peak hours. 

We were intrigued by the long lines at La Presciosa and decided to join in.  We had to wait around 30 minutes before we were called in.  It's a good thing that they have a seated waiting area outside so we were able to order in advance comfortably.  Moreover, the owner was there too and she shared the history of La Preciosa to my aunt.


According to proprietress Pam Aragoza, the restaurant was named in honor of her mother Preciosa Palma who first started Peppermint Café back in 1994.  Back then, they catered mostly to local residents because tourism was not so prominent.  When her mother passed away, they decided to move to a bigger location and La Preciosa was born.


La Preciousa is actually a old-style residential home turned restaurant.  It's a two story house with a terrace which they use as an al fresco buffet area.

Buffet (250 php)

For those who are not willing to wait, they suggest to them their buffet selections for only 250 php.  I went up and took a peek at their selections.  I saw the eggplant omelette (poqui-poqui) and the chicken pepian among them but somehow buffet didn't appeal much to us since we want to have full control of our options.

Soon enough, we were called in.  We passed by their small shop section where they sold local delicacies including coffee beans and their cake display.

Tiramisu (900 php/whole cake)

Banoffee Cake (90 php/slice)

As I passed by the kitchen area going to the rest room, I noticed that a lot of customers order the cakes by whole for take out. 

Food
My dear aunt, who hosted our dinner, was in-charge of ordering.  Showing utmost hospitality to fellow Tsinoy Foodie Kurt who she came to know is a first timer in Ilocos, she selected the recommendable Ilocano dishes for him to try out.  

P.S. Pardon our crappy photos, we were really hungry and eager to eat after the tiring activity and the wait.

Vegetables

Eggplant Omelette (110 php)

The Eggplant Omelette or locally known in Ilocano as poqui-poqui is eggplant cooked with egg and tomatoes.  This is fairly good but we both agree that the one we had at Kusina Felicitas is better in terms of texture and taste.


Ilocano Dishes

♥ Insarabasab (160 php)

The Insarabasab is grilled pork and liver in papaitan sauce.  Although I've been to Ilocos countless of times, this dish is a first time for me too.  We all loved this!  The mild chewiness of the grilled pork and liver countered by the crunchiness of the onions makes this pleasurable to eat.  The sourness is also in an appetizing level.
 

♥ Crispy Dinardaraan (160 php)

The Crispy Dinardaraan is the Ilocano version of dinuguan with an added crispy twist.  This was perfectly executed!  We all enjoyed this.

♥ Chicken Pepian (160 php)

The Chicken Pepian is chicken kare-kare cooked in Ilocano style.  This was suggested by the server as their specialty dish so we took her advise.  I'm glad we did.  In fact, we ordered two of this because we loved it so much.
 

Sinanglao (165 php)

Their version of Sinanglao is not too sour and has a bit ginger and peppery taste.  The meat is tender enough.  Somehow, it was pale in comparison to Kusina Felicitas version.


Beverages

Bottomless Iced Tea (55 php)

We asked the server if the Bottomless Iced Tea is house blend.  He told us yes but it turned out to be Nestea.  We didn't mind though since all of us were so thirsty after our day activity under the sun.  We just wished calling for refill could have been easier.


Cakes & Desserts

♥ Carrot Cake (240 php/Whole Mini Cake)

When we asked for their signature cake, the waiter suggested the Carrot Cake.   However, he soon came back and informed us that no more slices for the Carrot Cake were available so we had no choice but to order the whole mini cake. It's a good thing we did because it was delicious!  It was served warm, soft and moist.  The texture and sweetness of the buttercream icing is just right too. 

Tiramisu (90 php/slice)

Another best-seller is their Tiramisu so we also had to try it.  The Tiramisu was a bit sweet with light coffee taste and a crunchy broas at the side.  It didn't stand out as much as the Carrot Cake for us. 


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
La Preciosa offers delicious Ilocano dishes with fine dining yet local and homey feel.  This is definitely an excellent choice when you're opting for authentic Ilocano food in Laoag.  Despite it being fine dining, the food is quite affordable.  Although Kurt is not usually adventurous in terms of food, I could safely declare that he enjoyed this one.  However, our experience would have been better if the service is a bit faster.  Although the servers are friendly, we could see them scrambling to accommodate the high demands of diners as well as those ordering for take out.   Oh, and don't worry about the attire because we managed to get in wearing shorts and sandy flip flops during our visit. 

During our day stroll at Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, we Tsinoy Foodies, were looking forward at an authentic Ilocano lunch. 

Among the suggested dining places of our Vigan City Tourism Pamplet is the Uno Grille.  However, it was too crowded so we were pointed by the staff to Cafe Uno which is on the opposite side.



Cafe Uno, Uno Grille and Kusina Felicistas have the same owner.  As we entered Cafe Uno, we were ushered to a small wooden round table for two.  The place was also packed so were so we felt lucky that we were accomodated.  We were given two sets of menu: one for Cafe Uno and one for Kusina Felicitas.


Cafe Uno has a cramped yet cozy ambiance.  It had painting hanged on its rustic walls. 

It also has a display of different cups and mugs.

Food
I wanted fellow Tsinoy Foodie Kurt to be acquainted with Ilocano dishes so I gave out some suggestions and he gave the final say.

Kusino Felicitas Menu

Mak-Makan ti Ilocos (The Food of Ilocos)

Okilas Dinardaraan (100 php)

The Okilas Dinardaraan is fried crispy pork cracking (chicharon) served with dinardaraan dip.  Their version of dinardaraan or pork blood stew is a bit wet so it's already similar to the Tagalog style of dinuguan.  The pork crackling were perfectly crunchy and the dinardaraan was quite tasty with a bit of a zing.  Although this is a sinful dish, both of us were delighted to munch on this.

♥ Poqui-poqui (100 php)

Kurt isn't a fan of vegetables so we had to compromise with the Poqui-poqui instead of the leafy ones. Its quite controversial because it names sounds quite vulgar in the Filipino language.  But, the Poqui-poqui is actually just the Ilocano's version of eggplant omelet (tortang talong in Tagalog).  This is delicious especially with its silky texture that Kurt devoured this as if it was his favorite meat dish.

♥ Sinanglao (190 php)

The Sinanglao has tender beef chunks with skin intact.  We enjoyed the rich flavor of the beef innards which gives a slightly bitterish taste that is countered by the sourness. 

Felicitas Fried Rice (110 php/ good for 3 persons)

Felicitas Fried Rice is a fried rice with longanisa, egg, carrots, cabbage and leeks.  It is quite tasty. 


Cafe Uno

♥ Frozen Rocha Mocha (90 php)

I'm a sucker for cute sweet treats like this so I was practically had this big smile on my face when the Frozen Rocha Mocha was served.  I was expecting this to be a bit sweet but surprisingly the blend is just right.  The cold coffee is thick, aromatic and delightful.  I loved it!

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Kusina Felicitas dishes are delicious and affordable.  The serving size are great for sharing.  It was beyond our expectation so our orders could hardly fit at our table.  Kusina Felicitas is a nice place to get acquainted with Ilocano dishes.  

The ambiance of Cafe Uno is warm and cozy.  It's the perfect place to relax and chill after a exploring the town of Vigan.  Availing yourself of their cool drinks is the perfect way to re-energize yourself against the hot weather outside.  Being a sentimental fool , I'll always remember our lunch here as one of the warmest and happiest among the meals I've spent in a foreign place.  And, although it may be simple but it's these rare moments that I look forward to in my life.