A Modern Filipino Food
Living in China as an expat, I do miss Filipino food sometimes. Cooking a genuine Filipino food requires of course Filipino ingredients which
apparently can only be found in Philippines and sadly I forgot to pack. And due
to some visa issues, I was lucky to be in Manila
for a week after my holiday in Hongkong. I guess it was somewhat a meant of
fate. And this time, I made sure I packed everything.
Being in Manila
for a week was enough to get my Filipino buds back to shape. From our famous
Adobo to Halo-halo dessert, yes I certainly didn’t skip any of them despite my
self-proclaimed healthy gym freak. Anyway, it is just a week of Filipino heaven
delights.
Usually whenever I meet new friends in Shanghai, they would
ask me to explain what Filipino food
is like. And most of the time, I find it hard to explain. For me, it is a bit
more about experiencing it than just talking about it. But in any case, it
actually gave me an idea on writing an overview about Filipino food since many
people were asking about it. And who else would be better to write an article
about it but a person who comes from the country with 7,107 magnificent islands.
As I was in Manila, I decided to meet my best friends in a
Filipino restaurant called Romulo’s. Despite
my friends having Filipino food almost every day, they were very excited about
the idea of a get-together and my article about Filipino food.
Romulo’s was taken from the name
of the former eighth president of the Philippines, Carlos P. Romulo. The owner of the restaurant Sandie Squillantini is
the granddaughter of the late president and was inspired to put up a restaurant
focusing on Filipino comfort food.
The place was an old house renovated into a restaurant. The
exterior looks quite simple with lightings as their major accent. The interior
is very modern with black and white wall ensembles and furniture giving it a
sleek and sophisticated style. This modern type of restaurant seemed to be the
“in” thing in Manila right now. Menus are in Tagalog with an English
description and their servers can speak in both languages (quite normal in
Philippines) fluently.
The food was impressively good. Despite the fact that every
house in the city can have the same dishes, they made it quite special that
people keep coming back. A distinguished taste can be well identified on each
dish making you appreciate the food more. My personal favorite is the Lola
Virginia’s Chicken Relleno. I am in love with it, it is definitely a must-try!
Their servings are good for 3-4 people. Though the desserts are not so good, better
go to a dessert bar somewhere close.
Here are some of the foods we ordered.
Description: Roasted Chicken stuffed with ground pork, raisins, chorizo and peas
Price: 250PHP
Description: Milkfish belly served in banana leaves with special sauce
Price: 295PHP
Description: Vegetable with coconut milk and slices of dried fish
Price: 180PHP
Price: 180PHP
Price: 160PHP
The Verdict
Food: 4/5Service: 2/5
Ambience: 3/5
Overall experience: 3/5
Contact details
Address: 32 Scout Tuason corner Dr. Lazcano
Tomas Morato, Quezon City
Contact number: +632 332-7275
Website: http://romulocafe.com
Opening hours:
Monday - Sunday
Lunch - 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Dinner - 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm
When are you coming back? a lot of new restos just opened here in the streets of Timog & T. Morato. Can't wait to try it with you.
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