Romulo Cafe

Tucked in the residential area of Scout Tuason sits this modern, sleek, black and white former home of Carlos P. Romulo. I’ve driven by this place a few times and I’ve always been intrigued by what lies behind its green walls. When time came to choose a restaurant within the Tomas Morato area, this one immediately came to mind. 

The interior. Thanks to the Almario sisters, this once dated home now looks stylish enough to be on a magazine spread. One of the walls in the first floor is filled with pictures of world famous historical figures whom Mr. Romulo met throughout his tenure as our country’s top diplomat.  

Given that we had an early lunch break, we were the restaurant’s first customers so we had the place all to ourselves. But I hear it’s pretty full during dinner and weekends.

On to what we ordered.   

The good:

Crispy crablets (not pictured) – This I have to say was the best thing in our meal, which unfortunately we devoured before documenting. Ten plus baby crabs fried to a crisp in battered egg. Dipped in vinegar and chili sauce. 90 seconds to finish all. Yum! 

Boneless Crispy Pata Binagoongan (P625) – Another great thing in our meal. I liked how crispy the skin was. The meat was tender, not overcooked, and not too oily. I know there seems to be a lot of bagoong (salty shrimp paste) splattered on top along with onions and some chili, but it really did not taste that salty. I thought it made a good combination.

Sinigang na Hipon (P230) - Tasted just how sinigang should taste like: sour but warm and hearty. Takes every Filipino back home to his lola's kitchen.

Coolas Cucumber (P90) - A real treat. Don't bother getting the iced tea and get this one instead. This drink is a mocktail of cucumber, lime, and perrier.

The so-so: These weren't half bad but they were not enough to raise my loins either.

Baked Lemon Grass Chicken (P225)

Laing with adobo flakes

The bad:

Samaral na Pinangat sa Mangga (P295) – Although it looked tasty, I found the fish kind of bland. You can see that there’s some sauce on the dish so I tried in vain to spread some of it onto the fish to get a little more flavor, but to no avail. I won’t be getting that one again.

 

The verdict:

This is definitely not a bad place to take one’s foreign friends or balikbayans looking for authentic home-cooked Filipino food. I had some reservations before coming in as I thought there would be a lot of “fusion” vibe to it, given the swanky architectural design. But I didn’t find that to be so. However, I somehow find that this restaurant lacks something that will keep me coming back. The food was good but not really that great. Come to think of it, the architecture was more enticing than the food. I know there's been some buzz about Romulo for the past few years now, but if you have some other place in mind which you think is more exciting, then you aren't missing out on much.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Greetings!

Being a medical student at the University of Santo Tomas has its advantages. Great faculty, rigorous training... yada yada yada. But let's face it. Food in that campus SUCKS. Over here, we eat not because we choose to, but to fend off starvation. Our lunch hours (that is if we have lunch at all) at Sampaloc, Maynila are relegated to hole-in-the-wall establishments or worse, the Med Caf. This is precisely why, whenever we get a 2 or 3-plus hour break (or better yet a free cut), we bolt right out of campus in the blink of an eye. It doesn't matter if we have to drive an hour or so away. We will get out of UST.

This blog chronicles our lunch time escapades during those precious moments of (extended) free time.

P.S. Thanks to our friends at http://thatholeinthewall.tumblr.com/ for inspiring us to create this blog.