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
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