Sometimes, it is when you do not make plans when things actually happen, or trips actually push through.
This is not often true with me, but it was during this particular weekend.
There I was at home with absolutely nothing to do on a late Friday afternoon. Rare as it might have been, but it was that proverbial exception to the rule. All work was done, finished. No deadlines to beat, not a single task pending. No gimmicks either, scheduled or unscheduled. It was as if my world just stopped, while the rest were still busy with anything and everything.
And so I grabbed my car keys, a backpack full of shirts and shorts, my wallet with some cash (enough for a weekend of pleasure without business), then just started to drive.
There was really not much of a choice. I could only go to somewhere that was just a couple of hours away, so I would still have time for dinner and drinks before I rest for the night.
Baguio was out of the question. Tagaytay was an option. Laguna and its hot springs or its outlet stores were not in my mood meter, though. So it was either Clark, or Subic. It was Subic. All too familiar, but this may have been the point. I did not like to feel lost, even if I had nothing else to do or nowhere else to go.
This, however, is only the short story of that unplanned, unscheduled, sojourn to Subic, restaurants edition. More details next time.
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Friday, Dinner
Meat Plus
Still the best, is all I can say. They have steaks of all shapes and sizes, but my favorite is their Barbecue Beef Short Ribs with a side dish of Mixed Vegetables and Java Rice. I replaced the Java Rice with Potato Skins (for a fee, but an insignificant one). I added a slice of rum cake for dessert.
Eating here is really worth the trip, and the wait (I arrived in Subic a little past 8pm already).
Note to everybody, their Oven-Roasted Beef Belly (my second favorite) is also good and their Meat Plus Burger (my third favorite) must be tasted at least once.
After dinner, I rushed to the Baguio Craft Brewery (yes, Baguio, not Subic) to cap my night, but this shall be narrated in detail in the next serving: watering holes edition.
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Saturday, Breakfast
Xtremely Xpresso
I woke up late. This meant I missed the included breakfast at my hotel. So off I went to my favorite coffee place that is really more than just a coffee place.
Hungry already, and very hungry at that, I decided to skip my usual order of Chicken Meat (yes, my favorite meal here has a very creative name) and went for the electric chair Filipino Breakfast (another imaginative name for a dish).
Now this huge plate (hence, my reference to an electric chair) has everything: Tapa, Tocino, Longganisa and the standard fried rice and fried egg (or eggs). I did not notice anymore if there was only one or if there were two. I was that starved. I could not remember too if it had Boneless Bangus or Spanish Sardines. My plate, though huge, was that full.
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Saturday, Lunch
Coco Lime
I almost did not want to eat lunch anymore. The breakfast was literally and figuratively heavy. But I had to munch on something before my dinner so I chose another local or homegrown restaurant (Meat Plus and Xtremely Xpresso are Subic-born), this time Coco Lime.
They have a lot of specialties, from rice (Bagoong Rice, Adobo Binalot Rice, Pineapple Fried Rice), to main courses (Pocherong Baka, Sizzling Bulalo Steak, Asian Style Ribs), to so many others to mention them all, but I will live and die with their Thai Barbeque Chicken with just plain, old, steamed rice. No need for any sauce, save for some atchara, which is not really needed to add more flavor. This chicken of theirs, with its magical marinade, is just all that you will look for to satisfy your senses. Nothing more. Nothing less.
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Saturday, Dinner
Texas Joe’s
“Authentic!”
This was what my American friend exclaimed when he first tried this Rib House. He is already a regular at this joint. Of course, regular means each time he finds his way to Subic, which I think is at least once or twice a month. It is like his home away from home. This place, then, is perennial in his itinerary, and sometimes even covered twice or more like it is the school cafeteria, depending on how long he stays in school (I mean, Subic).
As much as I would like to make the very same comment, I could not, simply because I am not American, but my Filipino taste buds scream “Panalo!” over and over again.
I always go for their Hickory Smoked Spare Ribs. “Panalo!” They pride their premium meats as being “untrimmed” – they do not look as pretty as those in other restaurants, but you get all those real, tender, juicy, delicious and amazing parts that made Southern USA Barbecue famous. “Panalo!”
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Sunday, Breakfast
Asian Spices
I made breakfast this time. Meaning, I woke up early enough to catch it, not that I cooked it myself (although I know how).
Now you know where I stayed over this weekend. This restaurant is the giveaway.
Anyway, breakfast was simple, but good enough. I chose their fried meatloaf, fried eggs and fried rice (yes, all fried, but so what?). The meatloaf did not appear to be homemade or anything close to that (again, so what?). It was good enough. A perfect meal, nothing over the top (the portion was kind of small), right before “dipping” at their pool (disclosure, I do not know how to swim).
In any case, this restaurant is great for lunch or dinner. Make sure to try their tom yum, pomelo salad, prawn rolls, pad thai, and (drums rolling) frozen brazo de mercedes.
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Sunday, Lunch
Sakura
There is nothing much to say about this restaurant, because it is just like any other traditional Japanese restaurant although this is local and homegrown, except that a rumor is being whispered around in Subic that the lovely owner (or just store manager, nobody really knows) handcarries fish (and other seafoods) from Japan to Subic. Yes, handcarry, not cargo. This is most probably false, or at least inaccurate, but this rumor is incorrigibly persistent, so it gets people to think, although not necessarily believe.
Moving on, I ordered a combination of maki, sushi and sashimi. I did not ask anymore if the fish (or other seafoods) were hand-carried or not. I will also no longer describe how they tasted because they all taste the same (or at least I cannot distinguish). However, make no mistake about it, food at this hidden treasure is delightful.
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Then, just like that, my hearty weekend in Subic is over. When will yours begin?