Subversive Filipino Cuisine at Restaurante Pia y Damaso

Three weeks ago, I was invited to experience a modern Filipino dining experience at Restaurante Pia y Damaso. I’ve seen this restaurant several times before whenever I frequented Greenbelt Mall but the one time I was able to visit the place was when I had a meeting with a client, and I only had coffee then.

So, of course, I said yes to the invitation. Together with other bloggers, I got to meet the owner and chef of Pia Y Damaso, Bambi Sy Gobio, who was very accommodating and entertained us with stories about how she came up with the concept of the restaurant and with the ideas for the menu.

Located at the second floor of Greenbelt 5 in Makati City, Restaurante Pia y Damaso was inspired by our country’s own hero, Jose Rizal’s novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Looking around  the restaurant, you’ll see that it has a modern Spanish feel to it. The inside can sit around 30 people only but there are some more tables outside as well.

The restaurant is known for its Subversive Filipino Cuisine. Being subversive means being rebellious or revolutionary and I feel like it’s truly the best way to describe the menu here. Chef Bambi took inspiration from everyday Filipino food and its many different cultural influences and took them to another level. Some dishes are even inspired by specific scenes in Jose Rizal’s novels.

Let me take you through our experience at Restaurante Pia y Damaso that day. I’ll try to describe each dish as best as I can but I assure you, looking at the photos alone will already make you drool.

 

Starters

Almond Stuffed Dates Wrapped In Bacon (Php 175)
sweet and salty bites of bacon

I love bacon so even before I tasted this I knew I was going to like it – and I did! It’s the just the right mix of sweet and salty, plus you get a chewy date and a crunchy almond inside, which is just a pleasing combo. I’d love to have more of this!

Filo Tarts with Pork Asado, Apple Relish (Php 220)
pan fried flaky filo cakes stuffed with salty sweet pork served with caramelized apples and vinegar

I didn’t think I’d like this because I’m not such a huge asado fan but it’s actually quite yummy. This is their version of asado rolls but with a twist. The cakes were really flaky. The addition of the caramelized apples were genius because it complements the pork quite well.

Spanish Style Sardines with Toasted Pandesal (Php 220)
warm sardines cooked with roasted garlic and confit of tomato in olive oil

I’m not a huge fan of Spanish sardines as well. This one was actually good though. It’s very light. My hubby would love this.

 

Salads

Soft Shell Crab with Mango Pepper Relish and Dalandan Vinaigrette (Php 450)

This wasn’t included in their regular menu. It was listed on the counter as a “special” so I’m not sure if they’re going to continue serving this in the future. I love crabs but I don’t think I’ve had them with mangoes before. I’d go back to taste this again.

Elias Salad (Php 450)
seared marinated crocodile from Davao, mixed greens, tomato, caramelized pineapple, crisp shallots and mango cilantro vinaigrette

This was my first time to try crocodile meat. Promise, it tastes like chicken! If I wasn’t aware they were serving crocodile meat I would have probably mistaken it for chicken. The restaurant gets their crocodile meat from a farm so that made it easy for my brain to accept that it’s “safe” to eat it. Haha! Some of us were hesitant to try it but I always say you have to try almost anything once. I’m glad I did. This is one of my favorite dishes.

Nga Nga Beef Salad (Php 250)
salty sweet chewy beef flakes, green mango pickle, red onions, haw flakes, cilantro, arugula and lettuce

This is like a deconstructed salad. Instead of mixing all the ingredients together though, you pile them on leaves and roll it up like a nga nga – betel nut chew. And yes they use Haw flakes in this dish, the same ones we used to love eating when we were kids. I loved this salad too. I like the process of piling and wrapping.

I just realized that I loved all the salads they served us that day. I’d love to go back and take my hubby next time. He’s into eating more salads lately so I’m sure he’s going to enjoy these and the other selections in Pia y Damaso’s salad menu.

 

Main Course

Kapitan Tiago’s Kare-Kare (Php 600)
a native stew with roasted rice, peanuts and garlic with beef tripe, tail, and meat served with bagoong shrimp paste

Of course, we can’t leave the place without trying the kare-kare. This is one of my favorite Filipino dishes and their version didn’t disappoint. They made everything from scratch, including the bagoong, and that just makes a whole lot of difference. Our entire family will love this.

Smoked Tapang Usa (Php 450)
salted deer meet from Nueva Ecija, green mango pickles, roasted pepper omelette on garlic rice

This wasn’t my first time to eat deer. This one tasted really good but the meat was a bit too hard for me to chew. I’m guessing this a play on the regular tapsilog because it was served with egg and garlic rice but it was a little bit too much for me.

Pork Belly with Chorizo and Chickpeas (Php 600)
seared pork belly, chorizo de bilbao, olive oil, garlic, paprika and garbanzos

I love pork belly. This wasn’t bad at all. It actually tasted good. I just prefer my pork belly grilled. Haha! I also don’t really like garbanzos.

Sisig ni Kabesang Tales(Php 300)
own version with pig’s ears, face, nape, belly and liver with garlic, onions, peppers, chili and egg

This dish was named after Kabesang Tales, former Cabeza de Baranggay turned bandit in Rizal’s novels. Chef Bambi says they use more meat than fat in this, which is good. Unfortunately for me, when this plate got passed to our side of the table, there weren’t a lot of meat left anymore. So, to me it’s just like your regular sisig. I better come back and try this again so I can form a better opinion.

Ode to Heidelberg (Php 1,500)
a German dish of boiled smoked pork hock, bacon, four kinds of sausages and potatoes

What’s a German dish doing in a Filipino restaurant, you ask. Well, Chef Bambi said that it’s actually a tribute to the place where Rizal finished writing the Noli Me Tangere. My hubby is going to love it because it has sausages too aside from the pork hock. This was good too although I prefer my pork to have crispy skin.

Roast Chicken with Sherry and Pimiento (Php 375)
roasted chicken quarter with garlic, sherry, spanish paprika, green olives, extra virgin oil, herbs and roasted peppers

You know how sometimes when you roast chicken the flavors don’t really get absorbed inside? It’s only the skin that’s tasty. But this dish was really tasty all throughout. I love the crispy skin and the sauce on this was great too.

Smoked Bbq Mango Pork (Php 500)
smoked barbecue pork with a mango marinade – served with a spinach, apple, raisin, pinenut and garlic rice with scrambled egg

I think this dish is a play on the tocino. I love tocino and this one’s pretty good. I love the rice but again it was the egg that kind of threw me off. I feel that there’s so much of it that looking at it already makes you feel full.

Ostrich Beef Steak with Guava Butter (Php 600)
a thick seared ostrich steak, marinated tagalog beef steak style with soya sauce, onions, native lemon (calamansi), black pepper, with fried saba bananas, sauteed cabbage and onions

I love ostrich and beef steak so this combo is great for me! The ostrich meat was tender. I love that it has bananas. It’s actually a pretty light dish. I’d go back for this too.

 

Desserts and Drinks

Pia y Damaso has a long list of desserts and drinks, most of them named after characters from Rizal’s novels too.

De Espadana Quezo de Bola Cheesecake (Php 220)
baked cheesecake with santol, prune and fig compote

I love cheesecake but I wasn’t looking forward to eating this one because I hate queso de bola. Surprisingly, however, this one was really, really good. The cheese didn’t taste too salty at all. I loved it and wanted more. I’d say this was the best dessert they served us that day.

Tsokolate Eh and Toasted Ensaimada Quezo de Bola (Php 150)

They used Belgian chocolate for this one, which was really rich and tasted amazing. I wasn’t able to taste the ensaimada though.

Bibingka Waffle (Php 150)
with Malagos’ goat’s cheese, quezo de bola, salted egg and coco jam

Obviously, this doesn’t look like your typical bibingka. I love how creative Chef Bambi is and how she recreates your usual dishes to make it her own. I love the waffle though I’m not a fan of queso de bola and coco jam.

Brazo ni Dona Vicki (Php 100)
chewy meringue roulade with fresh butter curd

This is their version of brazo de mercedes. I loved this! It’s probably one of the best brazo de mercedes cakes I’ve ever tasted.

Pepay the Dancer’s Halo-Halo (Php 220)
red monggo, langka, garbanzos, kaong, nata, jalea, goat’s milk leche flan, candied kamias, saba, guava, quezo de bola, fresh pastillas and ube “purple yam” ice cream

Who doesn’t love halo-halo? This was a winner too in my book. Prior to eating this, I had no idea of the ingredients Chef Bambi used to make this subversive. So I was really surprised with the use of quezo de bola, fresh pastillas and guava and kamias. You’d think it would taste weird but the combinations actually work.

Davao Malagos’ Goat’s Milk Leche Flan (Php 160)
baked caramelized goat’s milk flan with native lime “dayap” zest

I love leche flan and I super love this version! So creamy yet light. Not too sweet too. I just wish they had  a bigger serving!

Strawberry and Mint Smoothy, Ginger Calamansi Smoothy and Mango Smoothy

Pia y Damaso has a huge selection of drinks including shakes, smoothies, sodas, water, coffees, teas, chocolates, cocktails, wines, shots and other alcoholic beverages. I was only able to try the Strawberry and Mint Smoothy and I loved it! Will probably order it again when I go back.

If you want choices whenever you dine, you will not be disappointed with the Pia Y Damaso menu. There are a lot of selections to try. There are many more choices of starters, salads, meat (chicken, beef, pork, seafood and more) and desserts. They also offer soups and stews, pasta, and sandwiches.

I seriously plan on taking my family there. There are a lot more dishes that I want to try. I preferred some dishes better than the others but overall, it was a really enjoyable dining experience. It’s Filipino food at a whole other level. Chef Bambi has done such a great job at kicking it up several noches higher. The plating of the food is great. The portions of most dishes are big enough for sharing. Most importantly, you will enjoy every bite. I’m kicking myself for trying the restaurant just recently.

Do visit them soon! Learn more about Restaurante Pia Y Damaso by visiting them on Facebook.