Over this mouth-watering and hot, hot, hot sizzling Bicol Express, I had my taste buds experienced what Streetside Bar and Grill has to offer. Located in a prime location in Smallville, the newly opened alfresco restaurant offers a wide variety of Filipino comfort food.
A blessing ceremony last Wednesday gave us a taste of what's to come as we didn't only have Pinoy dishes but also those that feature the fusion of many kinds, so to speak.
Like this appetizing sisig pasta, with its linguine-white sauce base topped with a crunchy sisig mix. Good thing I was one of the first to line up so I got a big portion of the sisig toppings.
Streetside also features an open barbecue grill (good thing, its al fresco) that created a delicious chicken barbecue that tickled our hungry stomachs with its appetizing aroma while on-the-grill.
We had also beef curry "stew", crispy noodles, and a host of other specialties during the blessing night.
One cannot also miss the big mural which features some prominent Iloilo landmarks like the restored International Hotel (top left) and Iloilo Capitol (centre) among others that includes churches, schools and other attractions of Iloilo.
On its opening day, I finally got to see the "paluto" corner with fresh fish, shrimps and other seafoods.
But we can't say no to this sizzling lechon kawali, that even if it wasn't sizzling, it was all too delicious - fresh of the kawali and I was pretty sure I still heard it "crackling".
We also had steak with mushroom gravy (above), chicken barbecue and deep fried squid heads (below) that still stuck in my taste memories until now that translate to this midnight craving I am having now.
So I'm pretty sure, I'll be going back to Streetside very soon not only for the crunchy squid heads (I don't know how will I react if it's unavailable then) but for the other fares on their menu.
Streetside Bar and Grill is at the corner of Diversion Road and Pison Avenue right at the entrance to Smallville. It's open daily around lunchtime to midnight. A 24/7 convenience store, Quix, is located beside the restaurant.