Bistro Pamana

Neria A

4.0

OHHMMMYYYYGGGGAAAAHHHDDDDD!!!No, I didn't accidentally press my keyboard. This was my actual reaction when I had my first bite of Crispy Baby Pusit in Black Ink from Bistro Pamana. It was sooo goo-ood! Before I dove into it, my website partner said it was the best squid dish she has ever had. To be honest I thought she was exaggerating, but when I tasted it, I felt like I was Anton Ego having a freeze moment when he first tasted the Ratatouille (I was barely done with this appetizer, but I was already mapping out in my head when my next visit will be). It was the first dish served but again, I saved a small piece on my plate until end of dinner so it'll be the last one to touch my palate.Then the other dishes came flying in. We ordered so much (good for a baranggay fiesta), but they served so quickly that we got overwhelmed and panicked as to which one to eat first: ▪Minais-Sang Nilagang Bulalo - Meat and broth is just pure PERFECTION! No need to drive 2hours to Tagaytay for this. It's just in our backyard. If I could only give one small comment, the corn was a tad overdone. But Hey! After that beefy punch, who am I to complain?▪3 Kinds Adobo - Good, good and good! Special shout out to the Adobo Flakes as I've probably eaten it all and forgot that I have company. LolAnd the list goes on.Okoy Bites, Lechon Manok, Bistek Salmon Belly and Lumpia Trio...I don't want to make this review novel-long so just to summarize, this is what I've learned: You can't go wrong with this restaurant! You can probably even close your eyes and point randomly in their menu and still end up with an amazing dish. Not only that, servings are generous and prices won't break the bank. That's how good they are that I want to kick myself for not knowing they existed only 3 blocks away from my office all this time. I missed half of my life so don't do the same mistake as I did. Ambiance and service? Golden. My only suggestion is that they can try to time the serving of dishes, from appetizers to mains and not serve them all at the same time so as to create a more elevated dining experience. But other than that, props to the whole Pamana staff!Think of Bistro Pamana for your next dinner plans. You seriously won't regret it.

Rauli Claudia Tobing

4.0

Lo and behold! My favorite resto in Tagaytay has a branch in Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati. About 5 minutes walk from my office. It's been there a while I've been told and I just recently learned about it. When some work mates invited me to have dinner there, I agreed without hesitation.This time around I got to try the following:Bulalong Corned Beef- I enjoyed this very much. Bulalo cut into shreds and cooked corned beef style. The type of corned beef with that nice 'canned good-like' taste that I know and love but freshly made. I thought at first it's a soup dish but it's not. But the beef is really tender with appetizing potato cubes. Goes perfectly well with lots of rice.3-Way Adobo - a mix of several versions of adobo in one dish. Flaked, sauced, twice cooked.Laing at Chicharon - This version is potent. Rightfully cooked yam leaves in creamy coconut milk. Made even tasty with mussels, pork chunks and crunchy bits of chicharon.Crispy Baby Squid - this one's a must try. Perfectly fried bite sized squids coated in crispy batter that's tinted with squid ink. Very tasty with bits of green pepper adding in tinges of spiciness. It's black apprearance make it quite interesting for the eyes as it is for the taste.Ensaladang Bagnet - irresistibly deep fried and crunchy bagnet disguised as a healthy dish presented along with fresh greens, onions and tomatoes. Quite good and sinful.This branch may have similarities with the Tagaytay branch when it comes to the look and feel. Bistro Pamana of course is targeted to the business executive niche. But still the cuisine that I have come to enjoy is quite the same. This fortunately gives me more opportunity to explore their menu more.

RoRo

4.0

One of the things that I rarely do is to spend my money to eat Filipino food at a Filipino restaurant. I believe that Pinoy food is best eaten when it is home cooked. To tell you the truth, I only eat a handful of Filipino dishes. Adobo and Kare Kare being my favorite dishes. Given my story, one would think why I tried Bistro Pamana in the first place, not once, but twice. My first visit at Bistro Pamana was due to the Birthday Celebration of My Boss. I was so happy that I don't need to pay anything and be able to try Filipino dishes with a twist. I do not have any expectations to begin with, but I was shocked I was able to enjoy the dishes served to us. Due to my good experience of dining here in Bistro Pamana, I did not think twice when my College friends told me that we will be having our annual dinner at Bistro Pamana. So what we ordered are the following: Lumpia Trio, Sinigang Tuna Belly, Crispy pata, Cebu Lechon Roll, Inasal, Tsokolate de Baterol and ensaymada, pansit etc. I highly recommend everything that we ordered except for the dessert. The dessert is okay for me but I cannot give my judgement on this since I am not really fond of desserts in general. I would leave the dessert review to the sweet tooth experts. If you want to boast good tasting Filipino food to the Balikbayans or to your Foreigner visitors and friends, I suggest that you head over to Bistro Pamana.