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Food trip in Boracay -2
Source: Inquirer
Author: Pam Pastor
Date: 2001-05-02
 
Calamares fever



Luis Martin, the restaurant’s owner, sat with us as we enjoyed the meal. We

praised his calamares fritos con aros de cebolla (P130) and even asked him

how he was able to make the squid that tender. The calamares, everyone

agreed, was the best we tasted. It was served with lime, the batter covering it

was very thin, almost translucent. It did not overpower the taste of the squid.

Instead, it enhanced it.



The mejillones al ajillo (mussels in olive oil and garlic--P128) was light and

delicately flavored. You may cap the meal at Dos Mestizos with homemade

ice cream they sell a few steps away. We recommend the pistachio flavor.



Garlicky, buttery rice



Next day’s lunch was at the Steakhouse (near "D Mall"), which was right

above Paulo Collection. It was another feast. Lettuce salad with mushrooms,

bacon and egg (P120), Swiss sausage salad with cheese (P150) and fish

carpaccio, smoked mascasugue (P220) started our meal. Maui and I decided

to share an order of beef tenderloin (P280). I wanted it well done and when

it arrived, the outside was still raw. We had it sent back to the kitchen. Pasta

servings were huge, the pan-fried potatoes (P60) tasty, but I would go back

to this restaurant for one reason--their garlic rice. It was buttery and flavorful.

The perfect complement to a steak.



True Indian food



This, which was also our last full meal there since the next day promised to be

really hectic, was my favorite Boracay meal. And to think I almost missed it.



That night, I had the option of staying in the hotel room to rest since my

accident occurred a few hours ago. Despite the fact I had been looking

forward to this meal my entire stay and people were saying you can’t leave

Boracay without trying True Food (Station 2), I was considering it since I

was still feeling sorry for myself. But Happy helped me snap out of my pity

party when she said, "You better go out. Let’s have fun. If you stay here,

you’ll just focus on the pain." I took off my pajamas as quick as I can. She

was right. And I’m thankful.



True Food, according to locals, is Boracay’s most popular restaurant. I am

not surprised. The meal was so good it should go down in history books.

Take off your shoes and settle down on the huge pillows scattered on the

floor. Only then would you be ready for the True Food experience.



Before ordering, Sir Mon gave us a crash course on Indian food. He is no

stranger to it, since he once lived in India for an entire month. He speaks of

Indian food passionately. "It was in India that I learned you really could

become vegetarian. They had so many spices and cooked vegetables in such

interesting ways it wouldn’t matter if you weren’t eating meat."



After tasting the somosa, I completely agreed. But I’m getting ahead of

myself. Indian food has always fascinated me, especially after reading about it

in my Asian Studies classes in college. Reading and actually tasting it are two

very different experiences.



We ordered the Crispy Papad (crispy Indian chips, P45). A big fan of crispy

food, we had to get another helping just to satisfy me. Yes, I liked it that

much. We had two kinds of bread, chapati (crisp, unleaven bread of

whole-wheat flour) and naan (leaven, white-flour bread cooked in tandoori

oven), which we ate with the motabhal (roasted eggplant and yoghurt dip).



They liked the mulliga twany (curried yellow lentil soup, P100), which was

okay for me, although I’m not really a soup person. We also had the lamb

rogan josh (tender lamb cooked in traditional spices, yoghurt and tomato

sauce, P325), maseha tare ko (fish filler in herb-flavored batter and

deep-fried, P255) and hummus (mildly spiced pureed garbanzo beans,

P115).



We ate everything with matar jeera pulao--a tasty fried rice with fresh peas,

caramelized onions, cumin and seeds. I enjoyed the whole meal, but my top

picks are the Tandoori Chicken (tender chicken in yoghurt, ginger, garlic and

chili paste cooked in tandoori oven) and vegetable somosa (deep-fried

dumplings stuffed with mixed vegetables and spices, P110). Now that I think

about it, I can’t wait to go back to True Food.



Unforgettable Boracay goodies



I asked the others about their unforgettable Boracay dish. They had different

answers.



Jason loved Waling Waling’s sizzling pusit, Maui and Jules both craved for

Dos Mestizos’ calamares. Jules also liked breakfast at Waling Waling.

Tammy was obsessed with Hey Jude’s Alla Romana Pizza. Happy was nuts

over Waling Waling’s Banana Peanut shake. I loved the Margherita Pizza at

Boracay Plaza. We all agreed on one thing--Waling Waling’s banana mango

shake was something to be crazy about.
 

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