I am a fan of Chef Antonio “Tony Boy” Escalante. Ever since
he took pity on us and fed us steak during our event, I loved him. And when I
heard that he has a new restaurant, I just have to visit.
Hello, Balay Dako!
The quaint ancestral looking
green house is the new restaurant of Chef Tony Boy. The place is so charming and
the view is beautiful.
The mosquito net ruins it a bit but you could always go
to the second floor’s al fresco area for the unobstructed view.
R’s family took the lead in
ordering and they ordered a lot! They ordered Laing na Gabi at Tokwa (PHP280),
Adobo (PHP435), Calamares Fritos (PHP350), Sizzling
Bulalo na Baka (PHP920), Grilled Chicken (PHP320, half), Prawn Salad, Sinuteng
Pusit (PHP535), and Turon con Tikoy at Ube (PHP160). I also ordered Sago’t Gulaman (PHP140). I’m sure I missed a few more orders.
The first dish that I tried
was calamares (no photo as it was attacked when I came back from the second
floor). It was cooked well as the squid was not gummy at all. You could also
tell that it was fresh with its slight sweet taste.
I missed trying the prawn
salad but it looked really good.
The laing was the second
dish I tasted and it was delicious! I loved the slightly rough texture from
the taro leaves and the sweet yet spicy taste of the sauce and coconut milk.
The adobo was a bit oily but
it was rich in flavor and it had a nice peppery taste. But it was nothing
special too.
The grilled chicken was so
dry that I just had a mouthful of it. It might be better with soup.
I loved the sinuteng pusit.
I might be biased though as I like dishes with garlic. But again, the squid
used was fresh and it was not gummy at all.
But perhaps the highlight
that lunch was the sizzling bulalo. The braised beef shank was tender and oh so
flavorful with mushroom sauce. It reminded me of Locavore’s Sizzling Sinigang.
(I’m now salivating!)
The turon was good
too though since it was served really hot; we had to wait for it to cool down. I liked the turon with ube more than the one with langka.
As for my drink, it was
sweet and refreshing. I enjoyed munching the tapioca balls.
Overall, it was a good
lunch. There were some dishes that were forgettable and not worth the price but
most were delicious. It would have been a great lunch if the pesky flies were
not around. I guess the net doesn’t work very well.
Balay Dako is located at Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City. Contact
them at +639 17 899 28 66 for inquiries or reservations.
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