Home again at last! it's been a long week and after the long vacation, the demands of work are once again calling and the the usual stresses slowly sinking back in.
Oh well it was a very productive week at work with a new food discovery to boot!
Yup, that's where I came from.
But what's important is what I discovered there.
HOUSE 48!!!
Tucked inside a quaint little village away from the noise and bustle of the main roads of Santiago City, lies a haven for the hungry and carnivorous.
A steak and pasta place that disguises itself as a house is further camouflaged by similar looking row of houses in Santiago Isabela's Baptista Village, I learned about House 48 from a colleague who lives there and who was very glad to accompany me in trying the place out.
We got there pretty early but with me being pressed for time, dinner at 5pm seemed like a great idea. Sitting down in a nice and cozy dining area we asked for the menu and got started. With House 48 being known for its steak, I ordered myself a porterhouse which I chose over the other steak cuts upon the kind waiter's recommendation.
And so our delightful dinner began.
Starting of with a lovely tomato soup that had me chasing after the rich flavor of tomato and spices with a sprinkling of mysterious crumbs that were just delicious.
Paired with slices of pleasingly chewy french bread and butter.
Want meat?This cut was huge even for me. I have to admit that I was surprised that P400 got me such a huge slab. I barely finished it.
It was cooked a bit too well for the medium well that I wanted but I don't mind.=) The meat was very tender although the flavor of course wasn't as rich and beefy as the much pricier imported steaks in Manila but given all the other positive factors, I wasn't disappointed at all. The meat was soft and quite tasty while the mushroom gravy and their home made steak sauce were good.
Dessert was a choice between vanilla and durian ice cream. Guess what I had?=)
House 48 gives a dining experience that is homey with a very country feel. It makes embraces you like a very welcome visitor and offers food that comforts after a tiring day served by people who are very accomodating and knowledgeable. Definitely one of the best places to eat in if ever your in the area.. =)
House 48 can be found in No. 48 Daisy St. Baptista Village Santiago City, Isabela.
Okay, now I've got to start cooking for dinner!
16 comments:
I have never been to Isabela..are there tourist spots to see there...I'm wondrin how does durian ice-cream tasted like...must be heavenly....
I have to say that Isabela in itself doesn't have too many tourist attractions. However, it's very close to the nice tourist spots of neighboring provinces such as the Aglipay Caves of Quirino Province, the Banawe Rice Terraces of Ifugao, Callao Caves and the old churches in Cagayan. Not to mention the mighty Cagayan river. All 1-2 hrs away from Santiago City which is the main city in Isabela.
The countryside and sprawling ricefields of Isabela are stunning though. Oh, and the beautiful Magat Dam which I've been told was once the biggest in Asia.
I was thinking of mentioning last time Cagayan rive, but im not sure if its really close to Isabela. A friend is always going there for rafting...maybe next time i'll come with him we will try to drop by to check Isabela..have a nice weekend :-)
from isabela ka pala.. that makes you ilocano then? diba there is a lot of great foodfinds there?
House 48 looks like a great dining place! kaso, so looong a drive naman for steaks. hehehe...
..hmmm, i hope you got the vanilla ice cream instead of the durian flavored... if you would try anything durian, it just has to be the real fruit para special moment. ;-)
Gita: Hi there! I just go there for work but I'm not really from Isabela. Manila lang.=)
I had the durian ice cream which I found quite flavorful. I have yet to try the real deal.
First and last time I was in Isabela was 1996 for a medical mission in Cauayan. I remember we were fed with a province specialty (parang bagnet) and brought to a restaurant which served good batchoy.
Hmm, batchoy.... Would that be Iloilo batchoy or the dinuguan-ish batchoy? There's a place that I know of there that sells the latter only it's called "Serkele" which I think was popularized in Bulacan. The owners are Bulakenyos.
I want to go to isabella one of these days!! thanks for sharing this. will put this in my list of blog restos to go to...
Anton: Thanks for dropping by! I just have to let you know that have inspired around 20 lbs of my body from all the restos your blog has mesmerized us into visiting.=) I'd be glad to help you with whatever tips I can share (hotels, restaurants or directions)when you do plan your trip to Isabela. I would recommend a road trip that would have you going up via Isabela and passing through Cagayan Province (Aparri, Claveria) then crossing over to Ilocos Norte (Pagudpud, Laoag), down to Vigan in Ilocos Sur then La Union or even Baguio.=) That should make a nice loooonggg post and experience as well. Perhaps when the baby's bigger.=)
Thank you so much again for dropping by!
This post is definitely v informative. thanks for the headsup about house48! saw some talk of iloilo batchoy here in your comments. if you and liv find yourselves in ilo2x Ted's la paz batchoy is a definite must-lamon!
have to say that i like my mom's version better syempre ;)but ted's is really good.
Memories! I remember visiting Isabela as a child. But I certainly don't remember the food. Look like things have moved forward in a few (uhm, maybe many!) years!
Surfergirl: "Must-lamon". I like the sound of that!=)We'll definitely look for Ted's if ever we get to visit Iloilo. Thanks for the tip!
Anthony: Haha, yup. At least there are a lot of okay places to eat in now (which to me is most important!) in Isabela.
There are a lot more and I will write about them soon.
Thanks for visiting!
hey ruy!
nice to know santiago's got a cozy steakhouse now ",) when i used to go there regulary in the late 1990s, the main menu item in most of the restaurants was...
ASOCENA. woof! woof!
o, reader mo na si Pareng Anton pala, dapat kasama kayo ni mrs. ruy sa Ultimate Pampanga food trip that we're planning for December!
Wahaha! Asocena! Did you eat that? Di ko ma take yun eh. Haha.
Madami na talaga food places in Isabela specially in Santiago. Thank God we're not limited to McDo or Jollibee or other exotic stuff anymore.
Si Anton pinagbigyan lang ako nun! Haha! But we're really honored.
Syempre game kami sa Pampanga if our sched permits. ULTIMATE na yun eh.=)
May details na ba?
hi, thanks for the nice post regarding 48 house. do you know that they make their own steak and hot sauces as well - aside from having A1 and tabasco (just in case...)?
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