Quezon - Isabelito's Garden Resto

WARNING: Ang post na ito ay heavy on images pero may mapupulot naman kayong tips at mga masarap at hindi masarap na kainan/pagkain. Kaya maraming pictures ay dahil karamihan ay hindi ko maisulat ang address kaya sa itsura na lang ibase :p As always, click on the photos for a larger view

It's been a while since I last made an entry about a restaurant in Quezon. Come to think of it, I haven't made the effort to write about anything at all these past few months. I have been to a lot of good restaurants that I haven't written about since my last food post but this restaurant was so good that I felt the NEED to share this to the world! :)

Watch the video below to catch a glimpse of what's in store (from their Facebook Page)

The place is called Isabelito's Garden Resto. I must say that their location is not the easiest to find because it is hidden among the narrow streets of Lucban but it is so worth the trip. 

Situated inside Deveza Farm, the restaurant's surroundings has lots of flowers and greens; pair it with the cool breeze of Lucban, you have a winning ambiance! My wife and mother-in-law enjoyed walking around the area and took lots of pictures - a great way to kill time while waiting for your food (the wait can be very long depending on the volume of the customers so you better call and order in advance)

Here's their menu (click to enlarge)

We started off with their Native Nachos. A mix of taro and sweet potato crisps smothered in cheese. The chips were indeed crispy and the balance of taste between the sauce and chips was perfect! Nakaka-adik talaga (the good kind)! Highly-recommended :D

Next to arrive was their Papel De Liempo. Very thinly-sliced Liempo fried to perfection with the right level of crisp and tenderness that's smothered in barbecue sauce. If there's one dish that you shouldn't miss ordering in this place, this is it! If Bacon and Lechon Skin had a lovechild, this would be it! Yung tipong, malutong tapos pagkagat mo, nagigiba yung taba at karne sa loob ng bibig mo at bumubulusok ang umami na lasa... Ibang klase! I love you, PDL!

For the mains, the first to arrive was their Manok ni San Isidro. Not everything in their menu is outstanding - this one is among the so-so dishes. The waiter described this one as fried chicken chunks bathed in Salted Egg sauce but we weren't able to to taste the richness of the salted egg. It actually tasted like Camachile, a local biscuit, and we didn't like how it blended with the chicken and sauce. You can skip this one.

The Candida's Crispy Kare-kare followed and we were awestruck by the presentation...

We liked how they didn't pour the sauce all over the meat and veggies so you'll be able to see first how sexily they fried those thinly-sliced liempo and how fresh the veggies are. We are huge fans of kare-kare and this is one of the best takes of this classic dish that I've ever encountered! The meat was crispy and tender (a bit thicker than the PDL), the veggies were really fresh, the bagoong was not too salty, and the peanut sauce had the right amount of peanut taste and was not overpowering the taste of the other ingredients. Another highly-recommended dish!

We also ordered Gising Na! Gising Na!, their take on gising-gising which really tasted similar to Recipes' version. It was good and I would recommend it if your orders are not sauce-heavy. Yanung sarap kasi nung gata nito sa kanin, hehe!

There's four of us and we weren't able to finish all of the food. We agreed that if we hadn't ordered the chicken, the amount of food would've been just perfect for the four of us.

Of course, there's always room for dessert :D We ordered their Broas De Tiramisu and Camachile Blueberry Cheesecake. They are both highly-recommended! The Tiramisu was not too sweet and the broas had that perfect coffee taste :)

The cheesecake's texture was on point as well where it's not too hard, nor too soft. Pati tamis, tamang-tama lang! We actually couldn't decide which was better among the two! Nahirapan tuloy kami mamili alin ang pang-last bite, haha!

We've also heard great reviews of their Fely's Baloneyreta (Kaldereta),  Crunchy Bicol Express, and Stevie's Tenderloin Salpicao. We will definitely be back next time to try those and who knows, I might do a second entry for the next visit if they are as good as others say :)

Sa uulitin,

Chewy

Isabelito's Garden Resto

DEVEZA FARM C. Arellano corner Placencia St., Lucban, Quezon. Lucban 4328

(042) 540 4588

0917 891 2121

Fukuoka 2016 - Day 3 - Tenjin

WARNING: Ang series of posts na ito ay heavy on images pero may mapupulot naman kayong tips at mga masarap at hindi masarap na kainan/pagkain. Kaya maraming pictures ay dahil karamihan ay hindi ko maisulat ang address kaya sa itsura na lang ibase :p As always, click on the photos for a larger view

 

After one awesome night, maaga pa rin naman kami ni Blanca nagising and for the third straight day, tahimik pa rin ang lugar pag umaga :p

 Dahil last day namin at ito ang shopping day, ine-expect namin na mahaba ang aming lalakarin kaya heavy breakast kami. Nirekomenda sa amin ni Taro itong Tsukemen (ramen na sinasawsaw sa sabaw) place kung saan puro locals karamihan ang kumakain, ang "麺や兼虎 中央区赤坂". Search niyo na lang sa Google Maps para matagpuan

Ang pinili ni Blanca ay yung best-seller na tig 930 yen, tapos sa akin ay yung maanghang na version na tig-980 yen. Sabi ko siyempre, yung pinaka-maanghang na kaya nilang ibigay :D

 Karamihan ay mga matatanda ang nandoon at kami na ata ang pinakabata na kumakain

 Isa pang kuha ni Blanca, mas malapit para mas ma-appreciate :)) napaka-swerte kong ganito kaganda ang gumigising sa akin araw-araw :D

 Ganito talaga darating yung Tsukemen, Noodles lang siya

 Tapos naka-separate yung sabaw. Sobrang lakas ng lasa nung sabaw. Pwede mong higupin pero mas masarap pag pakonti-konti lang at isasawsaw lang yung noodles bago isubo :)

Heto yung kay Blanca, sobrang sarap! Grabe ito, highly-recommended! Ang kapal ng broth na tipong nags-stay sa bibig ang lasa pag hinigop!

 Heto yung sa akin, same sabaw naman sila pero sobrang anghang. Masarap siya for me normally kasi nga maanghang at malasa, pero mas masarap yung kay Blanca :D

 Malambot din yung karne niya kaya talagang nag-enjoy kami sa breakfast namin na ito.

 Busog na busog man kami, dahil last day namin at nirekomenda ni Taro, tumungo kami sa Pan Fritto, ang friendly neighborhood bakery nila dun

Umorder kami ng parang Fried Siopao na may laman na Custard at isang may laman na Salmon Paste.  Masarap naman siya, hindi lang namin na-enjoy dahil sa sobrang kabusugan :p

 Para makapaglibot kami ng maayos, naghanap muna kami ng coin locker kung saan puwede naming ihabilin ang gamit namin. Nakita namin ito sa loob ng gate na ito sa Tenjin station

 Between the entrance at bago itong pinto ng shopping mall...

 May makikita kayong blue sign na may arrow na nasa picture below

Sundan niyo lang yung direction at makikita niyo na ito

 For 800 yen, kasya na ang isang malaking maleta at hand-carry na maleta

 So ayun, after namin maihabilin mga gamit namin, naghiwalay na kami ni Blanca ng paglilibot. Siya, tumingin-tingin ng mga damit, habang ako, siyempre tumingin ako sa camera stores :))

 Yung isang place na napuntahan ko, grabe ang gaganda ng vintage cams at nagbebenta sila ng mga sirang cameras for 540 yen para sa mga gustong pag-aralan ang parts of a camera :) Hindi nakakahinayang himayin at baklasin

Ang bilis naubos ng oras ko kakalibot sa market dito

 Natuwa ako ng makita ko sa tips ni Liane itong Border Line records. Nagtitinda sila ng mga lumang Vinyl records at dahil birthday month ni Mama nung pumunta kami dito, binilhan ko siya ng paborito niyang Beatles na plaka :) Highly-recommended para sa mga fans ng "long playing" :D

 Nang matapos na maglibot si Blanca, nagtagpo kami dito sa Muji

 Bumili kami ng Matcha Dessert at Hot Matcha Latte. Parehong masarap, siyempre. Sana may ganito yung Muji dito sa atin :)

 Sinorpresa ko si Blanca ng kanyang advanced birthday gift. Bagay sa kanya ano? :)

 After namin sa Muji, bumili lang kami ng memory card at strap for her new toy at naglibot na kami para testingin ito

 Tumambay kami sa plaza sa harap ng Mitsukoshi para mag-obserba ng mga tao

 May mga sumisigaw na grupo na parang nagpro-protesta, may mga humihingi ng tulong para sa mga apektado ng nakaraang lindol

 Si Blanca naman, hinayaan ko lang maglibot at mag-kukuha ng litrato ng mga ginagawa ng tao dun sa plaza

 In fairness, nice shots! :D

 Nakakatuwa din ang mga tao, walang pakialam kung sino manuod sa kanila. Kanya-kanyang trip kumbaga :)

 Matapos ng aming pago-obserba, nagutom na kami at siyempre, doon kami sa highly-recommended ni Taro na Sushi place around Tenjin area, ang Hyotan Sushi. Search niyo ito sa Google Maps "ひょうたん寿司 本店" para matagpuan :)

 Aba ay mahaba ang pila at mga locals nga nandun, magandang senyales!

 Ang daming pagpipilian, so ang ginawa namin, nag Omakase na lang kami tapos umorder ako ng isang extra na Otoro :D

Nauna dumating yung Otoro, naghahalong pink at puti ang kulay. Siyempre, hindi ko muna kinain, ito yung panghuli ko, haha!

 Heto yung set nung Omakase meal namin

 Nakakatuwa lang, kasi yung free soup usually sa mga restaurants, seaweeds at tofu lang ang laman. Ito, may laman talaga ng isda at hindi yung tipong naligaw lang ha, serving talaga! Sulit na sulit!

Pagkatapos namin magpalitrato, ito munang mga ito ang inatake ko. Kumbaga sa pelikula, sila yung mga extra kaya sila dapat mauna :D

 Masarap naman sila pero itong tatlong natira, mga tipong best of the best. Inuna ko muna yung sweet shrimp, sinunod yung Uni, tapos siyempre, finale yung Otoro... Oishi!

 Pagkatapos ng napakasarap na early dinner... lungkutan time na dahil kelangan nang umuwi... 

TIP: Kung may kailangan kayong bilhin na pasalubong o mga Starbucks na mug, wag na ninyong asahan sa airport!

Once na nakasakay na kayo sa bus papunta sa International airport

 Heto na lang aabutan ninyo pag nasa loob na kayo ng departure area...

 May mga duty free shops naman na mabibilhan nitong masarap na pasalubong below, pero wala mismo dun sa hintayan sa departure. Wala ring mga restaurants

 Literal, mga ganito lang ang mga makakain ninyo

 Hindi masaya diba? :))

 Okay lang naman, as long as you have the best person with you, it doesn't matter kahit hindi masarap ang pagkain :D

Sa uulitin,

Chewy