Saturday, November 24, 2012

Discovering the Paradise of the South

E and I had a quick adventure going to Cavite. Even I'm from the south, I rarely go to Cavite by myself. And even if E's from Cavite, he's not that sure on how to go on our destination. Cavite welcomed us with an intense heat from the sun. An hour or two of being aware on the landmarks and places we passed by, luckily, we arrived at Paradiso Terrestre early enough before lunch. 
Paradiso Terrestre is an events venue in Bacoor, Cavite. You can either choose a closed or an open venue with a touch of an earthly environment because of the landscape. Aside from the events place, they also have a swimming pool and a couple of cottages and cabanas. The place wouldn't be complete without their restaurant, Via Romana.
Quite big land area, just right for big events and get togethers! On the right is the Via Romana restaurant.
Now, let's take a look on what Via Romana has to offer.
Spacious place with modern interiors and native furniture welcomed me as I entered the restaurant. The place is lit with yellow lights and is enclosed mostly with glass windows.
Simple and sophisticated Filipino-esque wall and ceiling accent that creates a relaxing ambiance... that made me realize how beautiful simple things can be.
This furniture got me! I really like this piece of art!
Breads and spreads to start off the lunch!
Shrimp Exotic Salad with Ripe Mango Balls ( P155.00 ) - Boiled shrimps with ripe mango balls on top of beds of organic Lolla Rossa lettuce and Iceberg lettuce dressed with french vinaigrette.
The lettuce were freshly picked greens from Paradiso Terrestre's own garden. Sweet-sour taste of the ripe mango combined with the softly boiled shrimps produced a great combination on the fresh greens. A good start for our lunch!
Feta Cheese & Aubergine in Filo Salad ( P190.00 ) - Broiled eggplant mixed with Feta cheese, black olives and cream cheese wrapped and baked in Filo pastry on top of a bed of tomato concasse and pesto sauce.
Aubergine is another term for eggplant. This dish intrigue most of us. But, as I taste this dish, my inner goddess start to dance even under the heat of the sun! It was so delicious, and has a very creamy texture! It has thin and crispy wrapper. The ingredients used were meant for each other! The unique flavor of this dish really got us oh-so-addicted! 
Pinakbet ( P185.00 ) - Mix of assorted vegetables, pork belly & shrimp with our own special shrimp paste sauce.
This dish has a good mixture of sweet and salty flavors. The vegetables were half-cooked and remained fresh and crunchy. What a great and healthy meal for us!
Pancit de Paradiso ( Solo - P135.00 / Platter - P205.00 ) - Pancit Canton/Bihon. Sauteed noodles in sesame oil with chicken, peeled shrimps & vegetables flavored with oyster sauce.
Loaded with a bunch of meat and vegetables, this pancit was bursting with flavor. The noodles were firmly cooked, as well as the vegetables. It will surely bring you to paradise the moment you took a bite on this dish!
Lengua Con Setas ( P310.00 ) - Braised Ox-tongue with Shitake mushroom with red wine brown sauce.
Good thing ox-tongue looks the same with the usual 'meat'. In general, I'm really not a fan of lengua, but who knows, this might enlighten me on the on what it has to offer. I tried a couple of bites and the meat was really tender and flavorful. I want to commend the sauce, because it tasted really good, the spices were mixed well. E loved this!
Paella ala Paradiso ( P450.00 ) - A classic Spanish rice dish topped with chicken chunks, squid, pork chunks, shrimps, chorizo, eggs and crab.
Most of us were unfamiliar on what Paella tastes like. The rice was moist and has a light flavor. According to Ben, it was not too zesty. Nevertheless, this dish was not bad for our taste buds!

Most of the Filipinos love Kare-Kare. In get together and family celebrations, this dish is one of the most-awaited one. It's hard to prepare and to create that just-right-sweet-salty-and-creamy flavor of dish. I'm really picky on what kare-kare has to offer, I only eat this dish when it has 'meat' (not the exotic parts like face, tail, etc.). Thank heavens, Via Romana offers not only one, but three kinds of Kare-Kare dishes.

Now, what do you want in a Kare-Kare? :)
Seafood Kare-Kare ( P300.00 ) - A combination of shrimps, squid, chunks of fish and vegetables in special peanut glutinous sauce, served with green mangoes and shrimp paste.
Seafood lovers will surely adore this kind of Kare-Kare! Freshly prepared treasures from the sea paired with garden-fresh vegetables.
Beef Kare-Kare ( P350.00 ) - A combination of braised Ox tail, Ox tripe, Ox face and vegetables in special peanut glutinous sauce, served with green mangoes and shrimp paste.
Classic Kare-Kare. I'm sure every Pinoy would love this kind of Kare-Kare! The meat was so tender and the vegetables were half-cooked retaining its sweet and fresh flavor.
Crispy Kare-Kare ( P450.00 ) - Deboned deep-fried pork leg served with vegetables in special peanut glutinous sauce, served with green mangoes and shrimp paste.
Wait, what? The all-time favorite Crispy Pata  matched with one of the Filipino's favorite Kare-Kare in one!
I'm drooling now! Creamy Kare-Kare sauce poured in a plate of Crispy Pata and boiled vegetables! 
Sided with slices of green mangoes and bagoong! Now, what more can I ask for? This was the star of the table, the most-awaited and most-talked about dish before, during, and after the meal! Everyone liked the crispiness and tenderness of the crispy pata, yet each one of us loved it even more when it was paired with the kare-kare sauce and bagoong! I'm so in love with this dish, swear!!
Our lunch wouldn't be that complete with Via Romana's refreshing Iced Tea. :)

But wait, there's more! How would anyone forget dessert? Even though we're so full with the delicious dishes served, I'm sure our tummies spared some space for this!
Turon de Paradiso ( P85.00 ) - Our own version of turon with banana slices, ube & sweetened jackfruit.
Tired of the usual turon? I bet you would like this one! Sweet and soft blends of banana slices, langka, and ube inside the lumpia wrapper! Put some ice cream, and I'm sure this dessert is a great meal-ender for you! :)

And, by the way, here are more pictures of the place!
Events place
Garden
Swimming pool


Via Romana Restaurant
National Road, Molino IV, 4102 Bacoor, Cavite
Contact Numbers: (046) 477-1097 ; (02) 584-4127 (Manila)
Facebook: Via Romana Restaurant
Website: www.theparadisoterrestre.com

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