Boracay Eats: Caruso at The District

On our last night in Boracay, everyone was too full to eat (thanks to the calamansi muffins and the chori burger and whatever we could stuff our faces with, haha!).  But heck, it was Christmas day and no one wants to go home without having their Christmas dinner.  Besides, it IS the last night at the paradise.  We were offered free dinner at the Astoria, but we had to turn it down when we found out that we had to undergo a 90-minute seminar about their properties (they were selling time shares, I think).  At that time, my list of food and restaurant must trys have also run out so we didn't have a clue where to eat.  Dad suddenly remembered Caruso at The District, where we had a couple of drinks the night before.  He loved the ambiance and suggested we go there.  No one had a better idea, so we went with his.  And what good idea that was!  Here's what we had:



Filetto di maiale alla Piemontese



Pork fillet with mushroom pietmonte style.  Ahhh what tender pork!  I'm not one to usually order pork in restaurants because usually they overcook it and it becomes tough.  And yes, this was not my dish.  But we agreed to share everything (wrong move!  I loved it so much that I almost finished the dish on my own hahaha oops, sorry folks).



Rotolino di funghi porcini dell 'Ossola

Rolled crepe stuffed with porcini mushrooms from pietmonte region.  Crepe?  Porcini mushrooms?  Yes, yes, yes!  You can never go wrong with the combination of these two things (in my opinion, at least) and surely, Caruso did not disappoint.



Gnocchi Caruso



Home made potato pasta with cream, ham and cheese.  This was my order, and Mom said that mine was the least impressive that night.  It was delicious, but nothing compared to the two memorable dishes that night. 

Overall I'd give a whopping 5 out of 5 for Caruso.  It's sad that we didn't get to try more dishes that night but surely, I will be back (or can I just have the chef kidnapped and sent to me here in Manila?  LOL).  And this, ladies and gentlemen, concludes my Boracay Eats posts.  I hope you liked them! 

Caruso is at The District, Station 2, Barangay Balabag, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines.

Boracay Eats: Aria

A trip to Boracay is never complete without the food.  Being the foodie that I am, I made sure to make the proper research as to where the best restaurants are, so that I won't live in regret about not trying the restaurants that people are raving about.  The list was quite long; I wasn't even sure we could go through half of them, with just 3 days on the island.  But guess what?  I was able to cross everything off my list!  Thank you, dear family, for bearing with my food adventures.  And for bearing with me shooing you away when  you try to touch the food that I haven't photographed yet.  I love you guys :)

That being said, let's get to the first one on the list:  Aria.  For a long time now, Aria would be the first thing that people will say when you ask them for restaurant recommendations.  There was even some sort of a commotion among the food community when news spread that they were opening in Bonifacio High Street Central just over a year ago.  Those who tried the BHS Central branch were disappointed.  Some said it's nothing compared to the Boracay branch.  So I never did attempt to try for the fear of a letdown.  So when we got to Boracay on the first day, the first thing I did was bug everyone to have dinner in Aria.  They gave in!  How did it go?  Read on: 

Aria at night

What we had:

Insalata di uva, lattuga, acciuga e mozzarella (a salad of lettuce, grapes, anchovies and fresh mozzarella tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette dressing)

The salad was nice and crisp.  Though I'd like my balsamic vinaigrette a little sweeter, the mozzarella more than made up for it.  

Tagliatelle con tartufo, asparagi e prosciutto di parma (homemade tagliatelle with white truffle sauce, asparagus and parma ham)

I'm a sucker for anything with truffle/truffle oil, so this one is a no-brainer.  I love how strong the truffle smell is; that just means they didn't scrimp on the truffle oil!  This counts as one of the best truffle pasta I've ever tasted.  Two thumbs up!  

Spaghetti al gorgonzola (spaghetti with a gorgonzola cheese sauce)

The gorgonzola spaghetti is also delicious.  It was just right without the overpowering smell.  But my heart belonged to the truffle pasta the moment it entered my mouth.

Pollo alla cacciatora (bite sized chicken sauteed in an aromatic red wine sauce)

The only meat dish for the night.  The chicken itself was tender, but the taste was just ok, nothing fancy.  

Pizza al Metro (giant trio pizza, any three flavor combinations)

5 people vs. one humongous pizza.  And yes, the 5 people won.  Or is it 3?  Mom and Dad gave up after having a slice of each of the three flavors.  Brother, Hubby and I had to finish the whole thing by ourselves!  

Here are the three flavors we chose:

Mamma mia (tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, grilled eggplant, param ham and shaved parmesan)

Aria (tomato sauce, mozzarella, parma ham)

Salsiccia (Italian sausage tomato sauce, mozzarella)

I initially wanted to get the 4 cheese pizza, but Dad wasn't a fan of too much cheese, so we got these three.  The verdict?  I would've loved more toppings, but the crust itself is oh so delicious!

Overall Aria gets a 4 out of 5 stars.  The people have spoken; it truly is one of Boracay's gems. 

Aria is at D' Mall Station 2, Boracay.