STEAMED RICE molded into SIARGAO punctuated with two coco palms on a bed of pancit framed by steamed lobsters, shrimps and mussels, grilled fish (mahi-mahi?) and squid, pork liempo, salted eggs, kinilaw na tuna, calamares, with sliced pineapples, mangoes and watermelons on the side.
The quintessential fare in island boodle fights celebrated in just about every social media post of just about everyone who has gone Siargao. Scrumptious as it is, it makes but one serving, so to speak, in the surfing capital’s cornucopia of gustatory delights.
Aye, as much the food as the ambiance makes a restaurant crawl truly splendid in Siargao, even if instanced in just these four:
LAMARI
Easy to miss but for its small signboard tacked beside as small a gap in a living lush green wall, opening to a virtual glade where rises an architectural masterpiece in bamboo, wood, steel, and concrete that is the al fresco Lamari Bar and Restaurant, a small pool on one side enhancing further the tropical forest feel.
Anything but tropical though, with everything international in the appetizers and entrees: It can’t get any more Spanish than gambas al ajillo, bacalao, and callos; Italian with spaghetti ai gamberi; Mediterranean with vegetable or beef moussaka; Arabian with chicken machboos; that Indian-British fusion of tikka masala; and truly global with steak – from Salisbury to grilled tuna. And that is but a sampling.
Arguably, the Lamari Bar holds the widest selection of wines, spirits, or liquors. This teetotaler unknowing of the differences but literate enough to get intoxicated with marvel at the long list of cocktails, liqueurs and vermouth, cognac, mezcal, tequila, vodka, rum, gin, whiskey, and local artisan brews.
BRAVO
Veritably an open-air bahay-kubo of bamboo posts and curvilinear beams topped by a thatched roof, the resto-bar is on spot at a beachfront, in the refreshing embrace of the sea breeze.
The menu is a fusion of all-Asian and international – leaning on the Iberian, tastes (at least to this gastronomic uninitiate who simply lapped up all the servings of patatas bravas, croquetas de hongos, falafel salad, slow cooked coconut curry, chicken teriyaki, and some other dishes with unremembered names but unforgotten flavors).
The chefs trained in Spain, so we were told. So, the food more than convinced.
Con buena comida, Bravo goes bravissimo.
BAYANI AT HARANA
Yet another open-air thatch-roofed bahay-kubo rendition but with posts and beams of wood instead of bamboo, Bayani at Harana keeps to the island vibe as it prides itself as home to authentic Filipino cuisine, serving the choicest dishes of the three principal islands: Luzon’s culinary treasures of pork sisig (topped with egg which is anathema to its Kapampangan roots), bangus sisig, and chicken joy; Visayas’ island delights of kinilaw, ensaladang talong, and adobong pusit; Mindanao’s flavors of the southern frontier of tiyula itum and pyanggang manok, principally of Tausug provenance, and beef kulma, a curry-like dish from Maranao. A northerner, this tripper found all the southern dishes delectably exotic; the cauliflower kare-kare, almost ambrosiac.
TROGON’S PERCH
Sitting on a low promontory north of Siargao, the restaurant is named most aptly as it offers a low-flying bird’s-eye view of the Pacific Ocean – trogon being an avian species found in the area.
A modern design in concrete and glass complemented by an infinity pool, the free-folding floor-to-ceiling windows open to a wide vista of the ocean; enter thence the symphony of the sea – the woosh of the waves, the rustling of palm trees swaying to the wind, some bird chirping, another trilling – for a truly sensory finer-than-fine dining experience.
Oh, the food? Lobster paella, prawn croquettes, truffle carbonara pasta, and tuna tataki top the charts.
A DISCOVERY: Seeing Siargao solely from the perspective of a surfboard is most myopic. While Cloud 9 made the island a surfing heaven, the islanders’ culinary refinement is fast turning it into a gastronomic haven.
(Philippine Airlines flies Clark-Siargao-Clark every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday)
