The Truth Behind Balay Dako
July 13, 2017
Tagaytay City is one of the most-visited provinces in the country. Aside from the beautiful view, cool weather and the short amount of travel time to access these (compared to a 5-6 hour drive to Baguio City), people flock here for the restaurants and the delicious food. There are a number of recommended restaurants here but one of my personal favorites is Balay Dako. (There have already been many posts and reviews about this restaurant, but I'm making my own anyway lol)
Owned by renowned Chef Tony Boy Escalante, Balay Dako means "big house" in Ilonggo/Negrenese. (Without looking it up, I knew this because my mom hails from the province of Ilo-ilo :P) And the place is literally is a big house -- with two floors for dinning, a small deli store, a mini bar area and venues for small occasions. It opened in 2015 and since then people have really been flooding the place, most especially on weekends. There have been many times when we could barely get a seat due to the amount of people on the wait list. Nevertheless, it was always worth it.
Today was a really gloomy day because it was raining all morning and afternoon in Tagaytay. Because of the weather, my mom was lazy to cook so we decided to go out for lunch. Now I haven't eaten in Balay Dako in a while, so I thought of eating there today, and my parents agreed. This will have been my fourth time to eat here, I think.
Luckily, we arrived a little past lunch rush, at around 1:30PM. So that meant there were barely any people. Also add the fact that today's a Thursday, and the restaurant is normally flooded with tourists on weekends. This was really nice because I was able to appreciate the restaurant this time because it was more quiet. We chose a table on the second floor because, again, less crowded, and because the view was nicer up there.
Basically if you're a tourist looking for the best taste of native Filipino food, or you're simply a Filipino craving for home-made local specialties, this is where you go. I know that at this point the restaurant has actually become a little overrated, but hey, I realized today that the reason behind this is because the food is really good. Like, people literally go here for the food. Of course, there's the view, and the fact that it's a little cheaper version of Antonio's, one of the best restaurants in the country. But let's stop pretending -- we all go here because of the food.
So today we ordered inihaw na liempo (grilled pork belly aka my absolute favorite food ever), halaan (clam) soup, and baby squid in olive oil. We also ordered some rice cakes like bibingka and maja blanca for dessert. There are still so many choices worthy of ordering, so try them next time! (Their menu is really long so you really won't run out of options lol) I also heard their halo-halo is great, but we didn't order it today because it was already cold enough.
Basically all I'm saying is if you haven't gone to Balay Dako yet, YOU SHOULD. I mean the view adds to the experience that makes you savor and enjoy your food even more. Totally worth the estimated two-hour trip from Manila.
♥, Murgaloo
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