Hubby and I were back in an old neighborhood at a new restaurant at an old house that goes way back to the 1950’s in Araullo Street in Davao City. The house has since then been renovated and looks like new yet still retains the original wooden arcs which used to be the living room. The grills in the house visible outside and the second floor hardwood are all part of the old house. The details of the craftsmanship of these parts of the house reminds us of the old era making it more homey for me as diners will enjoy more the comfort gourmet Filipino dishes that will delight you when you dine in this new resto.
ArtisAna Comfort Gourmet restaurant recently opened and we passed by this resto a couple of times before. The modern Filipino themed resto is owned by Chef Annie Cacho Garcia and Raffy Garcia. Familiar names that makes me think of Spirale and Pastanni, their two other restaurants.
The ArtisAna resto is being filled with artworks as you would see around the place hanging on the walls as you try to take a quick tour perhaps while waiting for your food to be served. They are also open to art exhibits and pieces of your art to be displayed on their walls. ArtisAna connotes a living space where art and good food are celebrated and appreciated together with your family and good friends’ company.
Their signature dishes are mostly traditional Filipino cuisine that have been tweaked as they say to offer a taste that makes you experience another level yet still have the basic Filipino elements of Chef Annie’s personal recipes as they open their resto doors to you and your family.
Here are the dishes we have tried and mostly enjoyed during our first visit at the resto:
SALAD ARTISANA mixes the Pinoy staple kangkong (watercress) and camote tops with lettuce, seedless grapes and Malagos chevre cheese topped with mangosteen pineapple dressing.
BALUT AL AJILLO cooked like the common street food kwek kwek, the balut (duck egg) is enhanced with plenty of garlic.
KBL (KADIOS, BABOY, LANGKA) salutes the famous Ilonggo delicacy with slowly simmered lechon and pork meat.
CRISPY PATA LIKE NO OTHER is a hefty serving of two way pata where the hock is fried to crispy juicy perfection and the knuckle is braised in the Chinese pata tim sauce.
DUCK ADOBADO is shredded crispy duck meat cooked in a home made adobo sauce.
PAELLA MARIANO is an heirloom recipe passed down from the Cacho side and named after Annie’s father. This is the localized Spanish mixed rice paella using the Ilocano Bagnet as the topping.
ROAST PORCHETTA BINAGOONGAN uses the crispy lechon roll cooked with a home made Bagoong shrimp paste.
CHIPIRONES ADOBO EN SU TINTA uses the ink mixed into a home made adobo sauce.
BEEF PARES is a trio dish of beef, rice and soup inspired by the Binondo Chinese practice of rice topping with a clear broth.
BIHOD LINGUINE is an interesting mix of salted egg and fermented black bean based sauce mixed into rice vermicelli and topped with Bihod or Tuna fish roe.
