happy thoughts: Hawaiian Bar-B-Q Tagaytay (The Boutique experience)

I am a self-declared foodie. I like reading food reviews, watching TV shows about food, and recreating some of the recipes in my own kitchen. That’s why when I heard about Hawaiian Bar-B-Q in Tagaytay I told my husband that we MUST try it. I mean, who wouldn’t want to taste their baby back ribs when every blog you read says it is juicy, delicious, and worth every penny, right? So, after months of slobbering, we finally booked in The Boutique and promised to try their baby back ribs.

My husband and I had a staycation at The Boutique Bed and Breakfast. Since we were feeling lazy and wouldn’t want to go out of our room, we decided to request room service for dinner. I initially planned to eat at their restaurant but I just couldn’t find strength to get up from the bed. J Of course, we ordered their famous Original Hawaiian BBQ Baby Back Ribs (small Php380), Chicken Mango (Php380) and Plain Rice (Php50, good for 2). You may read my The Boutique experience here.

The Original Famous Hawaiian BBQ Baby Back Ribs with mashed potato sidings and barbecue sauce

The meat was tender, it does fall off the bone and the serving would be enough for two (depending on your appetite). I wasn’t that pleased with how it tasted maybe because I expected too much from all the feedback I’ve read. I thought it would be as good as the baby back ribs I had in Chili’s, T.G.I Fridays or The Racks. For me, the meat lacked of flavor. I didn’t like their barbecue sauce either. It seems like only the outside layer of the ribs absorbed the marinate and I had to dip it into their barbecue sauce otherwise some part would just taste bland. Though, I really liked their mashed potato but hubby didn’t like it as much as I did. I liked it because the consistency was sticky and the gravy was also good. Actually, I could eat the mashed potato even without the gravy because it was really flavorful. Mind you, I don’t usually order mashed potato. That is the least sidings I would order in a restaurant. I just didn’t like the other choices on the menu that’s why I ordered it with the ribs and I believe I made the right decision.

Look at this baby! And that mashed potato is simply irresistible.

Chicken Mango (with mango salsa)

This one I love! The chicken was cooked perfectly, the meat is also tender and it is very savory. The minced red onion, tomato and diced ripe mango goes perfectly well with the grilled chicken. These two complement each other. I would surely order this on my next visit. One order has two large pieces of chicken which I think could be shared by two to three person (again, it depends on how hungry you are).

Looking at this picture makes me hungry. :^,-

There is no way you will feel hungry when you stay at The Boutique because aside from breakfast, they also serve complimentary night snack. That night, they served three freshly baked soft cookies and hot native chocolate drinks. Hubby and I were still digesting our dinner when we heard a knock from the keeper and few seconds after, we were already munching cookies and sipping hot choco while slumping in bed.

The following morning, our breakfast was served in our room and we chose to eat in bed, again. This is part of our reservation at The Boutique Bed and Breakfast. We were given the breakfast menu upon check-in which we have to fill out and hang outside our room. We requested to have breakfast at 9am. The hotel staff are really attentive and punctual because our room service was right outside the door as soon as the clock struck nine in the morning. We chose Filipino and American (I think) breakfast. The Filipino Breakfast consisted of bulalo corned beef, 2 eggs (cooked according to our preference), garlic rice, 1 hot (choice of either coffee, tea, hot choco with marshmallow or native hot chocolate) and cold (freshly squeezed juices) drinks, bread, and fresh fruit for dessert. The inclusion is similar if you will order the American breakfast but instead of rice and corned beef, it comes with sausage, cereal and 5 golden-mini pancakes topped with fresh fruits.

golden-mini pancakes, scrambled egg, sausage, cereal, fresh orange juice, and hot chocolate with marshmallows

Bulalo corned beef, garlic rice, sunny-side up and scrambled egg, fresh dalandan juice, and native (tablea) hot chocolate

papaya with plain yogurt and pineapple (it's supposed to have cottage cheese toppings).

The Filipino Breakfast

I would order this over and over and over again. The bulalo corned beef is haunting me in my dreams. It’s calling my name and begging me to eat it with bucketful of rice. It insanely tastes like bulalo and corned beef and I love it! It is unjust to eat it without rice, that would be disrespectful. It is sooo mouthwatering that I wish I could buy this per kilo. I wouldn’t mind having this for breakfast everyday.

Isn't that appetizing?

The American Breakfast
This is surprisingly delicious. The pancake (for me) is better than iHop. Most restaurants mix the fruits with the batter that’s why sometimes the fruit becomes withered. I like it that they served it differently because fresh fruits goes really well with the pancake.