Friday, April 25, 2014

Calle Z: Tacloban's Homegrown Favorite

Calle Z Café

During my day-off, I tend to become unproductive. I'm that type of person who just stays inside, doing nothing but to eat and sleep all day. Since it's the last day of my day-off, I decided to break this sedentary lifestyle of mine and eat something from Jollibee. It's been weeks since the last time I ate Chicken Joy!

Uhhh, no. Truth is, I just want to get out of the control tower and explore a bit of downtown Tacloban.

After the 20-minute jeepney ride, I went inside and discovered that the lines were long. There were no seats available during that time. Of course. Lunch time. Add the fact that it's the only Jollibee branch in the whole city. What are you expecting, Renz? While waiting, the attendant asked for my orders. After that, she gave me a piece of paper and waited for my turn. Three minutes later, I went outside and ditched my original plan. I was like, "There's more to life than Jollibee's Chicken Joy!". I've been staying here in Tacloban for almost two months already yet the only restaurant I know here is Jollibee! Sucks to be me.

I suddenly remembered Glen's Facebook post about Calle Z. According to his post, the restaurant is famous for their Bulalo. Mmmm. So I asked kuya trike driver about the restaurant's location (Foursquare told me that it's somewhere near Real Street, but locals > app).

Me: (with my faux Waray accent) Mano, maupay na kulop. Hain ang Calle Z?

Manong: Huh? Calle Z?

Me: (Trying to construct a Waray sentence, but it seemed that my Waray skills had failed me this time) Uhm, sikat po sila sa kanilang Bulalo. Pwede po bang pahatid doon?

Manong: (Sensing that I'm just a poser) Ahhh! Calle Zaragoza! Nakikita mo ba yung dilaw na building? Doon yun. Tapos may traffic light sa intersection. Kaliwa ka lang. Nandoon lang yun! Malapit lang.

Me: Ah okay, salamat po!

I followed his instructions, hoping that he was right. I have yet to prove that locals > app.

Calle Z Café wasn't hard to find. In fact when I turned left, I immediately saw its signage. It's located right across the street.

The place looks like a typical café. You can dine inside their air-conditioned room, or be with nature and eat at their al fresco area. I was excited that time because finally, I could eat something new. So, I went to the counter and placed my order - Bulalo with rice. It's been like almost four months since the last time I ate Bulalo, and it was in Tagaytay.


Yummy!

To be honest, I wasn't expecting too much with the food. All I know was that it's one of Tacloban's famous homegrown restaurants. The order didn't take that long and I was ready to eat my lunch.

And for the verdict? Good Lord, their Bulalo was really delicious. I can see why most of my friends who have been to Tacloban recommended me to try their famous Bulalo. The meat was very soft and tender, and the soup was tasty. Did I mention that the bone marrow was oh-so good? It was so good that I almost fell off my chair. I got caught off guard by its sumptuous taste. Nomnomnom.

The Php 125 was all worth it!



Interior.



I went back to Calle Z today, and this time, with my colleagues. Since I got a bit stressed by my work, I ordered Baby Back Ribs and a small bottle of beer. What a great way to cap off the night! My colleagues ordered Beef Tapa and Fried Chicken. They were also satisfied with their orders. No wonder people keep on coming back to Calle Z. The secret lies in their delicious dishes.

I'd definitely go back to Calle Z and try other dishes: Sizzling Bangus Sisig, Crispy Tenga, Lechon Kawali, and other Filipino favorites. I do hope they'd add desserts on their menu soon.




Price: 4/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Food: 4.5/5

Hurray for new discoveries!

And yes, locals > app. Proven and tested. It doesn't hurt if you ask some locals!

4 comments:

  1. Uhhmmm...parang nomnomnom! Pero ha...
    Logo: 1/5. lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HAHAHAHA! Kabalo jud ko na mag react ka talaga sa logo nito ba. I didn't care after eating kay nabawi sa food.

      Delete
  2. Calle Z's bangus sisig is my favorite! :)

    ReplyDelete

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