Bagoong Club Resto Davao
From a twitter war on where Davao’s best bagoong
is, to an official Tuesdate with the squad to try the newest resto in the
metro, off we went to the Bagoong Club Resto. The resto just recently opened at
123 University Avenue corner Talisay Street, Juna Subdivision, Davao City and
is actually an old house remodelled into a restaurant with an ambience that is
welcoming, as if you’re just at home.
Service-wise, it’s satisfactory. The servers are
very friendly, pleasant and accommodating. It didn’t take too long for them to
serve our food. The price on the other hand is reasonable enough with a serving
ranging from P30 to P530 – and there are dishes that are enough for 3 to 5
persons already. Not bad at all.
Bagoong Club Resto Davao is a restaurant that
reinvents dishes and complements it with the Pinoy favorite “bagoong”. Bagoong
is a salted and fermented fish paste. On this first visit, we ordered
Poqui-poqui, Manggang Hilaw sa Bagoong, Chicharon Bulaklak, and Crispy Pork
Binagoongan. On top of that, they served us free appetizers, a plate of turnips
with two types of bagoong, the sweet and spicy bagoong. We paid almost P1,500
for everything, including service charge for 5 heads; drinks already included.
The food we ordered were good, but compared with
other restos, Bagoong Club Resto Davao is just average. It may be because I
expected too much or the food per se lacked a little punch, a stronger bagoong flavor perhaps.
The Crispy Pork Binagoongan was a bit bland for me.
The sauce was decent enough, but didn’t have any distinct taste and the bagoong
added to it was disappointingly weak. I wish there was a bagoong thump
lingering inside my mouth. In addition, the pork was no longer crispy, probably
because it’s been soaked in its sauce for too long (?) nonetheless the pork
meat remained juicy and tender.
Next up is Poqui-poqui, which is a native Ilocano
vegetable dish. This is actually my comfort food when I was still in GenSan
with my family as my Dad used to cook this every day and I didn’t have any
choice but to eat it since I know nothing about cooking then. Haha! Therefore,
I can say that my Dad’s dish was much better than Bagoong Club’s Poqui-poqui,
theirs was just fine, nothing exceptional.
Saving my night was the plateful of Chicharon
Bulaklak that was so crispy that you can literally hear the person across
enjoying each piece. My cardiologist will surely kill me for saying this, but
each piece was a bite of heaven and don’t we only live once? Haha!
Everyone’s favorite Manggang Hilaw sa Bagoong
doesn’t need any caption. Regardless of how you prepare it, it is always good
and mouth-watering for many. For every P120 serving, you’re free to choose your
type of bagoong. I’m just not sure if you can ask for a free refill. That I
forgot to ask.
Overall, it somehow did not meet my expectation, although
the experience was good, and I had fun dining at Bagoong Club Resto Davao with
my squad and will surely come back to try the other dishes on their menu. Not
bad for a first timer so I’ll see you again, Bagoong Club Resto, soon.
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