Sarsa All Around Sarsa Kitchen + Bar

“As far as we remember, Filipinos have always loved putting all kinds of sauces and condiments on their food. This unique eating habit of Filipinos is what led to the creation of Sarsa Kitchen + Bar. We thought: why not combine the best local ingredients with a range of new signature sauces to create exciting but familiar taste?

Sarsa’s Kitchen + Bar features the best of traditional Filipino and Negrense dishes, done with a contemporary touch and using the best local ingredients. Bacolod-born chef JP Anglo has created a range of signature sauces to complement and provide a new take on these dish.”

So the paragraph I quoted from their menu says it all. What more can I say? “Your opinion about the place and their food” – answered by my seatmate today. But the point is that I feel that I have no right to comment on the creation of a Junior MasterChef Pinoy Edition judge. Alright, I have to leave my shame behind because my seatmate said that even chefs need reviews from their customers. But let me skip on assessing the place because the restaurant was quite full by the time we dine in and I can’t view the interiors properly. Let’s just proceed to their traditional Filipino and Negrense dishes and sarsas.

Isaw

This is the best Isaw I’ve ever tasted! Isaw is a famous street food in the Philippines, but for those who didn’t know, it is made from barbecued chicken intestines. Honestly, I don’t eat Isaw in any places except in Pinamalayan because I’m pretty sure that they are properly cleaned. However, Sarsa is another place where I eat it. And why is it the best? Well, aside from being compact and tasty, their isaws are cut until flat to release the stuff easily.

Ginamos Fried Rice

“So what rice do you recommend for us?” – we asked the waiter and I’m glad the he knows their most delish rice which is this Ginamos Fried Rice. It had the natural taste of shrimp paste that bursts its own flavor. This rice garnished with more ginamos, garlic, and spring onions also had the right amount of ginamos flavouring that made it pair fine with their other Filipino dishes. By the way, ginamos is the other term for bagoong, for your information.

Inasal

I think, my only critic here is its presentation. Can you see? It looks like the chicken is just tossed in the plate with calamansi after cooking. Nevertheless, the trio sarsa and the chicken itself saved the presentation. Its skin seems to be teasing its muncher, right? The beautiful part of it is not just the outside but also the inside, which is moist and tender. It was good that we can choose what part of the chicken – paa, pecho or pakpak. We picked the leg part

Twice Cooked Pork Belly

This dish is what I like the most in Sarsa! The pork belly was soft and flavorful on its own. What more if their yummy sarsa, Ginamos gata and chili sauce was added into it. Just mix the pork and the sauce and its ready to be devoured. This reminded me of the family’s favorite, Kare Kare. Overall, it was delightful. My mother also liked it because of the pechay on it. We will definitely keep coming back for Twice Cooked Pork Belly, apart from isaw.

Coco Jam-Marinated Liempo

We opted for another pork and the name of this one seems new and appealing. But I’m sorry say that I love all we ordered here except for this one. I can’t believe that it’s mostly pork fats! Most of us in the table, if not all, tasted only a piece and never tried again. Well, I’ve tried searching for meat but it’s really few, especially that their serving is small. Moreover, the coco jam brought nothing special. I still prefer the original-flavored liempo.

Sizzling Kansi

When I saw this in the menu, the first thing that came out from my mouth was “Bulalo na, sizzling pa.” When our Sizzling Kansi or Sizzling Bulalo was already served, that’s when I found out that a stewed beef marrow, at the same time, sizzled is so possible. And you have to believe me that it’s really good. In fact, this made me eat a lot of rice. I guess, it’s also because of the gravy that they used that increased its spectacular-being.

Crispy Buko Pie A La Mode

I ordered this dessert wondering what it will look like and what it will taste like. And uhmm, I don’t know what to say. Well, I love buko. I love ice cream. And I also love lumpia wrapper. But I think, I don’t like it when combined. But you don’t have to worry because I feel that it’s only me. I’m not really fond of eating hot food and cold food combined into a dish. You can try it for yourself.

Mango Melon

Mango plus Melon is equal to a perfect thirst quencher for this season and perfect for me. Mango and Melon are my favorite fruits so by the time I saw it in their menu, I didn’t think twice to order one. I admire how they combined the two fruits for it is not too sweet, yet not insipid and even it is blended, I can still recognize the mango flavor and the melon flavor. You should also try this and you will love it, too.