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Bawai, The Best Home Made Vietnamese I've Ever Tasted

Banh da Lon (P20). Vietnamese sapin sapin, made of pandan and monggo beans.

Vietnam is a hot tourist place these days because of its cultural sights, cheap shopping places and interesting Vietnamese cuisine. However, I've never tasted Vietnamese cuisine similar to the one you enjoy in Vietnam. I'm glad that Yong and Virgilio Tatlonghari decided to open their lovely home for weekend dining. Bawai is a 4 month old Tagaytay Vietnamese restaurant which serves close to authentic home cooked Vietnamese food. Yong, called Bawai (grandma in Vietnamese), is the person behind this refreshing new restaurant.

I would highly recommend the fresh spring roll and just about anything with the special sweet patis sauce. Also, they don't get a lot of guest lately so they will entertain you as their own guest. You need to reserve and order in advance since each meal is cooked by Bawai herself. I do hope it remains that way, and the food don't get commercialized like most Vietnamese restaurants in Manila. The secret to Bawai's food is authentic imported ingredients from Vietnam sent by Bawai's friends and relatives.

So next time you are in Tagaytay, be sure to check out this hidden Vietnamese treasure..

Cha Gio Vietnamese - Old Time Favorite

Manila has a lot of good restaurants and you need to discover them. I admit, it is sometimes easy to go to the many Jollibee and Mcdonald's out there, specially when these are the restaurants that have a good name recall from the kids. Cha Gio (pronounced as Cha-yo) vietnamese restaurant is one of those special quaint hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Malate. Cha Gio refers to the popular Vietnamese spring rolls. It opened in 2003, in its original store located near the Diamond hotel, along J. Quintos St. Carlos Celdran was the one who introduced me to its delicious pho-noodle dishes and I made a mental note to blog about Cha Gio.

They tried to project an aura that they are a cafe rather than the noodle house so the pho dishes assortment were toned down. But they cannot readily compete with the nice figaro cafe along that street, so I would have thought that they should market themselves as an authentic vietnamese noodle house instead. This is where you can try a vietnamese coffee called ca phe su which is a Vietnamese brewed coffee dripped from a perculator mixed with condensed milk. They carry a vietnamese brand of coffee called, Trung Nguyen. Have anyone tried this coffee?

I like restaurants that has a story and Cha Gio gives you a glimpse of Leilani Valido-Castillo's family life in Laos. In full blown sepia photos, you'll see what their home is like in Laos. Lani's family had to escape from the war and migrate to Manila in 1977. They are proud of their heritage and you can see the photos of Lani's mom, Ba Lan (vietnamese from Hanoi); Lani's dad, Pert Valido (Filipino who worked for the Philippine Navy); and Lani's grandma, Ba Thao who is the source of their vietnamese cooking skills.