Crisostomo, Eastwood Mall

What’s In Here: Filipino Cuisine
How Much: P300 – P500 per person (food can be shared) with drinks
The Verdict: I’ll be back. Nice place to go to with a hungry group craving for something new, willing to spend a little bit more than the usual.

I’ve always said that I never want to go to a Filipino restaurant. If I’ll be eating out and paying, I’d rather eat food that I can’t get at home. I felt that Filipino dishes, however yummy they are, are not worth going to a restaurant for because I can get them at the comforts of my own home, for free, since my mom cooks really good food.

Yesterday, I had to go to Crisostomo’s in Eastwood. I usually just pass by this restaurant. But I was given a treat so I guess it was okay. Here’s a collage of what we tried:

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Top-left is the Malunggay Kalamansi drink. (P98 single serve, ~P150 bottomless)
It may sound and look weird but it tasted like calamansi iced tea. No hint of malunggay in the taste. It was quite a refreshing drink. I think it would taste a whole lot better if I had it served hot (not written in the menu but I’m sure the servers will be happy to accommodate).

Bottom-left is Monroy, the original and famous laing pizza. (~P380)
This is the yummiest laing I’ve ever tasted in my whole life! It’s not spicy, would have been better with a bit more kick, but the perfect taste is definitely mouth-watering! Every bite quenched all the cravings of my taste buds! There’s 8 generous slices making this pizza good for 3-4 people (with other orders if you’re hungry).

Upper-right is Legazpi, laing-wrapped prawns cooked tempura style with aligue sauce (~P450)
Hello cholesterol! Not from the oil – actually it wasn’t oily at all! But the prawns plus the aligue? Oh my! But it’s definitely worth a try! The combination of the prawns, laing, tempura batter, aligue, and tempura sauce just blows up in the mouth for a heavenly bite! I remember the cartoon character Ratatouille when he combined ingredients and he felt floating and fireworks came out. Ahhhhh. 🙂

Just a tip though, if you’re planning on ordering both Monroy and Legazpi, eat the Legazpi first because the Monroy can overpower Legazpi and give you a less than heavenly Legazpi bite.

Lower-right is the Binagoongan Rice w/ Adobo Flakes (~P300)
It was a pretty large serving, good for 3-4 pax with other orders. Nothing unique about this but the fresh ingredients make up for that. It’s binagoong rice topped with fresh slices of red onions, cucumber, tomatoes, green mango, salted egg, and adobo flakes.

Had no more room for dessert. 😦 We also had food wrapped to-go (half of all the food we ordered) because the servings were surprisingly large.

For an adventurous diner and picky eater like me who’s always looking for something new, this quite changes my take on Filipino restaurants. Everything on the menu looks interesting, and with my first experience here being tummy-filling and gastronomically satisfying, I bet I’ll come back for more. 🙂