Toyo Eatery

Last long weekend, I had dinner with my friends at Toyo Eatery. Guests are served many small courses during service, making it a haven for foodies who want to try many different dishes. It's a very expensive restaurant but I had been curious about this place for a while so when my friend asked if I wanted to have dinner there, I agreed. We were served 8 courses, although some courses had more than one item. The waiters explained each item to us in detail, including its history and the inspiration for making it. They don't provide a menu so I don't remember the details of everything we ate. The theme was seafood and vegetables, probably because of the Lenten season, but a few meat dishes were also served.

Toyo Eatery

First up were grilled mushrooms that were styled like street food. We were also served a very hearty and delicious vegetable soup.

This was followed by vegetarian dimsum and some Philippine-style sushi.

Next came Ilocos empanadas and baked oysters. I'm not normally a fan of oysters but I actually really liked this preparation.

We then had fish kinilaw. This might have been my second favorite dish of the night.

My favorite was the one that came next, a blue crab dish (I think it was blue crab). I'm not sure exactly how it was prepared - I do remember there were rice cakes in it - but it was really good and all I could think of after consuming it was that I wish I could have more of it.

We were then served a "Bahay Kubo salad". It is called that because apparently, it is made with all vegetables that are mentioned in the song Bahay Kubo.

Next up was some kind of fish wrap. I call it a wrap because you fold the leaf around the fish and try to eat it in one or two bites.

We then had their version of tortang talong, which comes with Toyo's own banana ketchup. As our waiter explained this to us, he asked us if we knew what Maria Orosa is known for and I did because it was a question during a trivia contest I previously participated in. The answer: Maria Orosa invented banana ketchup!

Before moving to the next dish, we had sorbet as a palate cleanser.

We were then served what I believe was the main course: black pig with vegetables, a very crispy bisugo, and pork fried rice. Everything we had prior to this dish could be eaten in 1-2 bites so this was far and away the biggest and heaviest set of food we got. I actually started to feel quite full after this.

Our meal was not over yet, though. Next up was dessert. Shockingly, we were served 5 dessert dishes! I honestly can't recall what the first one was, but it was the biggest dessert we got. Despite feeling a bit full, I still managed to eat the entire thing.

Our second dessert was what seemed to be their version of strawberries and cream.

The third dessert was salted caramel ice cream. What made this extra special was the salt it came with, called Asin Tibuok. This salt is very expensive because it takes a long time to produce. You can read more about it and how it's prepared here.

Our final two desserts were served together: cassava squares and chocolate truffles.

It was a really unique dining experience made even more memorable by the fact that the dishes we had deeply honor their ingredients as well as Philippine history and tradition. Case in point: before leaving, we were given "baon" - some Pinoy-style biscotti - because according to the waiter, it is customary in our country to take something home after a meal. Very cool! I will say though that I think I'm not the target market for Toyo Eatery. While some dishes were spectacular, some were just okay to me. Personally, I would have preferred to have more of the dishes that I really loved. I also realized that I don't particularly enjoy having a couple of bites to eat then waiting 10-15 minutes or so for the next one. That said, the dining experience was truly topnotch and the wait staff provided exceptional service. I am happy that I got to have dinner here. If you can afford the price tag, I do recommend you to try Toyo Eatery.

Toyo Eatery

https://toyoeatery.com/

Address: The Alley at Karrivin Plaza, Chino Roces Extension, Makati
Email: reservations@toyoeatery.com