Savor Restaurant Rockwell Business Center in Pasig - Filipino Cuisine, Heirloom Recipes from the Philippines and My Taste Test Masterchef Moment in Ortigas

When you think of Rockwell, do you only think of the one in Makati? Well, let me confuse you haha. There is a Rockwell Business Center (RBC) in Ortigas, Pasig and there are restaurants there too (near Medical City). Thanks to Rockwell Land and Savor Filipino Cuisine for the reminder! Hehe. Now, I can add another location to my late-night food cravings that's very near Greenhills and Pasig. There are 2 Towers at RBC and they have around 12 restaurants (with convenience store). They're open at different times, some from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. while others from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.! We met up with Savor's founders Mel Dumlao, Raquel Estrella, Owen Gan and Executive Chef Trina Tiaoqui-Imperial one night and was given a crash course on Pinoy cuisine from all over the Philippines and an a la Masterchef to challenge to name the ingredients (by taste) of some of their dishes. Haha.

 

Savor was born out of the desire of the partners to bring out heirloom recipes from their families' baul and share the experience with the younger generation. What's nice about this partnership is that they come from different parts of the Philippines (north and south, more Ilonggo and Visayan food)! We found dishes that we've never heard about in the menu and it's so cool that many others can enjoy these food (na pinamana pa ng lola n'ya sa lolo ng lola nila) haha. Since some of the recipes are ancient, Savor has updated the dishes with what's available (ingredients) in the market today.

Partner Owen Gan describes the Savor (pronounced Sa-vor with a short "a") experience as "not Filipino fusion, but rather classic recipes personalized with our varied and unique experiences of how these dishes were prepared and enjoyed by each of us growing up - in the process of creating new menu traditions." I had my first Savor bite of this Crab & Shrimp Relleno and I was like "Hmm this tastes like.. but not quite." haha. Made me think of crab cakes.

Two of the partners are from Bacolod so they have this Boneless Chicken Inasal. Boneless is good haha. There's a citrus-y twist to this. I would have liked it juicier =)

This is Smoked Sardine Efuven. I think you can find this kind of noodles in Ilocos =) The sardine is not salty and I think I tasted prosciutto in there haha. I heard they make their own bagoong and smoked sardines.

This Krispy Pork Binagoongan is for super-salty-lovers. You need rice for this one.

Then I was transported to Pampanga with their Cowboy Sisig. Instead of pork, they used cow beef ;)

Ah, nostalgia! This next dish took me back to our visit to Atching Lillian Borromeo's kitchen in Pampanga when she told us about the Adobong Puti. I kept on eating this Sa Pula, Sa Puti dish!!! 

Clearly, I had found my favorite Savor dish. On one side, it's soft adobo cooked without using soy sauce.

On the other side, it's like adobo flakes but not quite (Jeff: pork floss) haha. Even the vinegar was addicting LOL.

Whenever I see Sago't Gulaman in the menu, I order it haha. This one is just normal. I'm looking for one with the strong arnibal taste or made with muscovado sugar like the one I used to drink as a child and I had in Kainan sa Dalampasigan.

Another fun part of the night was the game they let us play haha. Taste the dish then name the most ingredients. Right minus wrong though O_O

I've always wanted to do this! This is called KBL (kadios - beans, baboy and langka) Soup. Tasted like salty tausi hehehe.

3 dishes so 3 rounds! Feeling pro wahaha. I got the salts and peppers right and actually won hahaha.

Savor has merienda treats available. Choose an item from A and B for P69 or choose 2 items from A for P89.

For dessert, we had the Savor Maruya. I tasted it a bit and I really liked the crust in the banana. Too bad it was smothered in chocolate (allergic) =( I would tell them to separate it next time hehe.

So many desserts to choose from! I just saw these last so yeah, I'm gonna come back for some of 'em. Haha.

I saw a Barako Sansrival haha.

Finally, I asked about the Tocino del Cielo. The server said it translates to "melts in your mouth" and not the tocino I was thinking about. Haha.

Restaurant Details:

Savor Filipino Cuisine Pasig - Classic and New Traditions

Rockwell Business Center Tower 2, Level 1

Ortigas Avenue, Pasig
Open Mondays to Sundays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

584-6642

Savor Restaurant Facebook

Savor has same owners as Savor Park Cafe in Makati and Zarzuela in Mandaluyong.

This is a Boy-Kuripot Certified Raffle ;)

Giveaway Period: October 17, 2013 to November 14, 2013 12 a.m.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'd love to hear from you below: What is/are your favorite Pinoy dish/es from childhood? Where is it from? Or maybe you miss eating a Pinoy dish, what is it? =)