These Southies finally managed to go on that long overdue road trip for a new thing we're doing: SOUTHIEscovery. Our first destination pick was Pagsanjan, Laguna.🚗🗺🛣 How WHOAsome it was that our fellow Southies really came through when we asked for suggestions on where to go and what to eat while we were there!🙌🏼

Our pit stop for lunch was the highly-recommended Calle Arco Restaurant. Boy! Was everyone right!🙌🏼👍🏼 The food was damn delicious and the place gave us that homey, quirky, sentimental vibe.😌😗👌🏼 Here are the dishes we ordered and what we thought about them:

The only thing explosive about this dish is the flavor: there was a great balance between the sweet and the sour, plus the fish tasted fresh.😋

If someone ever tells you that beef is only good for bulalo or nilaga, you can now tell them that's 'udder' nonsense, because this is one damn good sinigang na baka! That's honestly the kind of asim that's perfectly delicious; your face will still scrunch up but not in that ugly way. You know what I mean? LOL. Anyhoo, we all really enjoyed this, but one of us particularly enjoyed it so much that they said this was the most langka they've ever eaten in their life.😄

The 'pig'tures do not do this dish justice, because it was unanimous: this was one helluva pork binagoongan! This version also unique as they use lechon-style pork instead of the straightforward one. We all agreed that the saltiness level was spot on, plus it had a hint of sweetness and none of that 'langsa' taste... only pure 'lasa'!😝 

We all ate so much that by the time we got to dessert, we could only manage a few bites, but make no mistake about it: this camote dish is definitely a must try. It's sweet, but just right, and it was a great change from the usual cakes or pastries we'd have back in the metro.👌🏼

PRO-TIPs:
💡It was all our first time to experience a resto serving their food covered in cling wrap for sanitation purposes, and we think that is just GENIUS!🙌🏼
💡They have al fresco areas and the actual dining room is well-ventilated, so we were good with just fans when we dined. Guests can also request for the airconditioner to be turned on.
💡They strictly open at 10am; we arrived a few minutes early so we had to wait in the car.
💡They also highly recommend their Pinakbet and Garlic Chicken but we were still too full from breakfast and decided to try it the next time we're in the area.
💡Other than the delicious food, it sure was a real treat to experience their antique interiors. 

Suffice to say, our day started pretty well, and this only got better as we went on to our next pit stops in Pagsanjan... NEXT: breau.brew review coming SOON!

📍Calle Arco Restaurant, Pagsanjan, Laguna
  Calle Arco Restaurant on FB
  @callearcopagsanjan on IG

  Review by Southies Yani, Aisha, Eliza, and Donna
 Blog by Southie Donna