F. Baylosis

One of the few good restaurants in Batangas City, F. Baylosis is known for its crispy pata and it offers Filipino food.  The closest I can compare it to is Gerry's Grill with a better ambiance.  The restaurant is located outside the main town, near SM Batangas City.  It has a spacious parking area and has space for events and parties. 

We were five in our family and we had a good sampling of their menu.  

Crab and Corn Soup - P65

Calamares - P230

Crispy Pata - P460

Pansit Pula - P150

Frankfurter - P210

Squid ala Pobre - P 210

The crispy pata was indeed good, but the rest was just okay.  Nothing special or unique about them.  Nevertheless, the place is still a good option for dining out or for treating out-of-town guests.  

Summary:
Taste - 3/5
Value for money - 4/5
Menu - 5/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 4/5

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F. Baylosis
G.C. Berberabe Subd.
Pallocan West, Batangas City
043-722-0690
043-706-2088

Casa Rap

I first heard of Cara Rap when it was still part of Viaje Del Sol.  Being from Batangas, I had mentally put it on my "places to eat" list, but I haven't had the chance to try it until last Sunday.  
Casa Rap is located along the highway between Batangas City and Lipa City.  It's in San Jose, to be exact.  Coming from Batangas City, it took us around 30-40 minutes to get there.

Prior reservations aren't necessary, but pre-ordering may be if you're in a hurry.  We had our food pre-ordered a day before and it came out fast.  We saw some other table's orders came out at least 30 minutes after they were taken.  

The place has this rustic, garden, homey feel to it.  The tables and chairs were not matching; trees and plants surround the area; and various curious artifacts were scattered around.

There was quite a number of people dining there, but most were just eating their halo-halo, which seems to be their specialty.  We were there for lunch so we were able to try some of their lunch menu.  They have lots of items on their menu.  Different varieties of pork, beef, chicken, and fish, much of your usual Filipino menu.  

Tawilis - P80

Lomi - P80

Beef Kaldereta - P400

Suman - P25

Halo-halo - P80

The food was good and cheap.  The food we ate were quite plenty for the two of us and we were quite full before we reached our desserts.  But since their halo-halo was a must-try, we just had to order one each.  

If it wasn't hyped as much, it would be good as is.  The halo-halo was refreshingly made out of only a few ingredients.  However, if you compare it to Razon's, Razon's would still win.  But I wouldn't mind eating it again.  

Overall, the food trip to Casa Rap was worth it.  It was nice to explore something different in Batangas.  We'll probably go back to try some of their other food items, or just simply for merienda of lomi and halo-halo.  

Summary:
Taste - 4/5
Value for money - 5/5
Menu - 5/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 2/5

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Casa Rap
Km 90, Barangay Banay-Banay
San Jose, Batangas

Marina

Marina (Oyster, Seafood, Grill) is a restaurant chain that has a branch in Batangas City.  It's actually not very popular and I haven't even tried it when I was in Manila.  Since it's here and quite near, we gave it a shot.  

Marina is conveniently located across the Parish of the Most Holy Trinity, right beside SM Batangas City.  It has a wide area for parking and spacious seating areas inside and outside.    However, amid all these plus factors, I wonder how it survives given that it's usually empty.  It's difficult to run a restaurant of seafood since the food can easily go to waste if not consumed right away.  Seafood won't also last long even inside freezers, and they definitely won't be fresh.  

The place has good lighting and clean tables.  It was properly staffed and it had some good variety of seafood, oysters, and grilled items. We just wanted to sample their food and not be overly committed to it since as I've mentioned, I'm not too keen on the freshness of their seafood.

The calamares were quite good.  Perfectly cooked and crunchy with good flavors. 

Calamares - P205

We also got their best-sellers of baked oysters.  One serving was about 10 of these rock oysters, baked with cheese and herbs.  They were actually pretty good as well.  Nice texture and taste.  No feeling or taste of rawness or seawater.   

Talabang Ilonggo (Baked Oysters) - P299

It was a good experience to try.  It's just unfortunate for the restaurant that it hasn't clicked to the Batanguenos yet.  I won't be surprised if it goes out of business soon. 

Summary:
Taste - 4/5
Value for money - 3/5
Menu - 4/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 4/5

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Marina
National Road, Pallocan West
Batangas City

Cafe de Lipa

In the place known for its barako coffee, Cafe de Lipa has shown that it can compete with the likes of Starbucks and CBTL.  With four branches in total, three of which are in Batangas, Cafe de Lipa is slowly growing.  

It was my first time to try Cafe de Lipa.  I've always been biased towards Starbucks.  But being in the land of kapeng barako, I just had to try its coffee.

I always order the Dark Mocha Frap when I'm in Starbucks, so I ordered something similar from Cafe de Lipa.  One thing that you'll notice right away is the price.  The drinks cost cheaper than Starbucks or your other favorite coffee shop chains.  As for the taste, it was comparable.  I'm not a coffee connoisseur, so I don't really notice these things.  The coffee beans were locally grown in Batangas though, so they're definitely barako.   

Celleto Dark Mocha Grande - P115

My only pet peeve was their lack of drink customization.  I was so pampered by Starbucks in having my drink my way.  I could opt for a nonfat milk and for an extra espresso shot to my drink. Not a major deal-breaker, but for those who like their coffee a certain way, Cafe de Lipa may not be that flexible.  

The place was good for hanging out and having a conversation over coffee.  There was enough space and parking was available in front.  Cafe de Lipa is definitely worth another visit, to try their other coffee drinks.  

Summary:
Taste - 4/5
Value for money - 3/5
Menu - 3/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 4/5

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Cafe de Lipa

32 San Carlos drive, Mataas na Lupa, Lipa City, Batangas
+63 43 757 4953
http://www.cafedelipa.ph
info@cafedelipa.ph

Lipa Grille

On a street connecting Batangas and Quezon provinces lies Lipa Grille.  The restaurant serves Filipino food and has good reviews on the Internet.  Since we went to Lipa last Saturday, we decided to give it a try and see what it had to offer.

The place has ample parking area and it has some seating areas outside the main restaurant in nipa huts.  Given it was a Saturday lunch, the place was packed.  Whenever a table opened up, it immediately got taken over by a new party.  

The place didn't impress me though.  It was unclean, with lots of flies and dirt and trash on the floors.  There were several air conditioning units, but they weren't effective.  It was actually uncomfortable since it was very humid.  Even the newly-cleaned tables weren't really clean.  It's a pity that they can't maintain the place properly.

Upon opening the menu, I immediately noticed that their prices weren't cheap.  In fact, they were quite expensive.  Not something I would expect from the looks of the restaurant.  The prices were comparable to Gerry's Grill, if not a bit more expensive. 

The food offering was plentiful and there were a lot to choose from.  We decided on the Beef Tenderlion Tips and the Lechon Kawali Royal, with some garlic rice and a fresh watermelon shake.

The Lechon Kawali Royal wasn't your usual lechon kawali.  The pork parts were different.  It contained the meat near the bones and not those near the skin with fat.  There were some crunchy skins scattered though.  The meat was very flavorful.

Lechon Kawali Royal - P285

The Beef Tenderlion Tips were soft and tender, and the sauce was tasty.  The dish came on a sizzling plate, but nothing was hot or sizzling.

Beef Tenderlion Tips - P275

Lipa Grille has another branch in Robinsons Lipa.  Not sure if there are other branches.  I'm not too keen to find out.  At their high prices, poor service, and dirty ambiance, I don't think I'll be going back there again.  Maybe if it was on the way and incidentally time to eat, we might go in again.  But not deliberately.

Summary:
Taste - 3/5
Value for money - 3/5
Menu - 5/5
Ambiance - 2/5
Service - 2/5

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Lipa Grille

P. Torres St., Antipolo del Norte,

Lipa City, Batangas

Casa Marikit

It's always nice to find something good and new, especially when it comes to food.  Batangas isn't known for its fine restaurant options, so it's always a challenge looking for a place to celebrate special occasions.  Such was our dilemma for yesterday's Valentine's Day.

We scoured the internet looking for nice dining options.  There's nothing much in Batangas City itself, so we expanded our search to Lipa City.  From there, it was easy to narrow it down to Casa Marikit.  A promise of authentic Italian steakhouse in Batangas was too good to pass up.

Since it was Valentine's Day, we were able to find Casa Marikit easily once we were on the right road.  All we had to do was look at the many cars parked near the area.  Casa Marikit sits beside a Japanese restaurant - Nori, and both restaurants share the same spacious parking area.

Upon entering the restaurant, seeing the many people, and  having seated at our reserved (A reservation was a must since it was indeed Valentine's Day) table, we felt like we were back in Manila, trying one of the good restaurants with nice ambiance and delicious food.  The place was very well designed, with fine interiors and a cool and spacious outdoor area.  

Yesterday being a special day, they had a special set menu for couples that costs 3,000.   Since they still served ala carte from their regular menu, we opted to order from there.  We got the Spinach And Ricotta Cannelloni and the Rib-eye Steak.  Since the place was packed, it took a while for our food to come.  The complimentary bread with pate and tomato-basil-garlic dip helped pass the time.  

Bread with Pate and Tomato-basil-garlic dip - Complimentary

The cannelloni came first.  It was so good.  The homemade pasta with cheese and spinach was richly delicious.  If all their pasta dishes were as good, we would definitely try them.

Spinach And Ricotta Cannelloni - P400

The rib-eye steak was certified Angus beef.  No steak sauce was necessary since the steak was perfectly grilled and tenderly juicy.  It came with baby potatoes and spinach on the side, both of which were also good.  

Rib-eye Steak - P1,350

Overall, it was a worthwhile trip from Batangas City.  It's a near-enough place to get good food that compares to, if not beats, those found in Manila.  The food was quite expensive though, and the prices on their menu don't include taxes and service charge yet.  It's still a good option though for those special occasions.

Casa Marikit is located just right across San Fernando Airbase.  It should have been easy to find had Google Maps not misled me.  Not a mistake I will have again.
Summary:
Taste - 5/5
Value for money - 3/5
Menu - 5/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 4/5

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Casa Marikit Ristorante Italiano
Banay-Banay, Concepcion, Lipa City, Batangas
Phone: (043) 312-0454
Mobile: (0917) 869-2354
Email: casamarikit@yahoo.com
Restaurant Hours: 11am-3pm and 6pm-10pm

Bel Piatto

One of the few nice places near SM Batangas City is Bel Piatto.  Acctually, it's just right across the mall's front entrance.  The place looks small from the street, but it's actually part of a bigger establishment with Euphoria Bar & Resto at the back.  Ample parking space (good for 100 slots according to a sign I saw there) can be found at the back.  

The cafe part itself was small, with only a few tables inside.  However, there are also seats outside if and when there are lots of customers.  I also saw one function room that can accommodate a long table for 10-15 people.  

We usually don't each much during dinners, so we just had a sampling of their bestsellers,  according to their menu.  

For our appetizer, we had the Bellisimo Cheese Sticks.  One serving contained 6 pieces with ketchup mayo. The cheese sticks had red and green bell pepper which balanced out the taste of the cheese.  Taste was okay, but it was just too oily.  

Bellissimo Cheese Sticks - P125

For our main dishes, we ordered the Half Baby Back Ribs and the Italian Tempura.  The ribs weren't the fall-off-the-bone kind.  It was  also just okay with its barbecue sauce.  The plating wasn't also appetizing as some excess barbecue sauce was just brushed across the plate.  It was bordering messy.

Half Baby Back Ribs - P165

Almost all of their set meals comes with these Italian Tempura (2 pcs), so we decided to order them too.  The taste and thickness of the batter overcame the shrimp.  We barely felt any shrimp's taste over the oiliness of the batter.  We felt distaste after a few bites.  The ketchup mayo sauce didn't help.  

Italian Tempura (6 pcs) - P250

The place was good to hang out since it has free wifi and some couch areas.  Probably for coffee and conversation.  It was also well lit and nicely decorated.  The doors even had these small red hearts with words of love to commemorate the upcoming Valentine's Day.

I've read online that a lot of people like this place.  I'm not saying I won't go back.  Probably I would, just to try out some of the other dishes and to give it another shot.  But it won't be anytime soon.

Summary:
Taste - 2/5
Value for money - 2/5
Menu - 4/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 3/5

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Bel Piatto Cafe & Bistro
Pallocan West, Batangas City
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bel-Piatto/121116034566342