Sarsa Kitchen + Bar

There are numerous restaurants setting up along Bonifacio Global City. Sarsa Kitchen + Bar is one of them, which is co-owned by Chef Jayps (celebrity chef and judge of MasterChef Philippine edition.) It was featured on KrisTV a few months ago and received good reviews from the hosts. So my buddies and I visited the place and tried their famous authentic Filipino dishes.

Information

Sarsa Kitchen + Bar is located at the Forum in Bonficatio Global City. It opens from 11 am until 11 pm.

Ambience

When we arrived at the location around 1 pm, a large group of people gathered outside because the restaurant  was fully occupied. We stayed on a comfy counter inside the restaurant and waited around half an hour for our turn. The interior is small and minimalist, yet relaxing.

Price

Sarsa offers unique and authentic Pinoy menu, mostly Ilonggo-inspired dishes. The prices range from Php 100 to 300.

Taste

For our starter, we ordered Crispy Dilis. This dish was simple yet very tasty. The sweetness of the chili pineapple glaze and saltiness of the Crispy Dilis were combined to perfection.

Crispy Dilis - Php 90

Ilonggo is famous for its La Paz Batchoy, so we tried Sarsa’s version of the soup. There’s nothing special about their Batchoy. The carinderia next to my apartment cooks Batchoy way better at a lower price.

Sarsa Batchoy - Php 170

I’m a fan of grilled sticks so we ordered Sarsa’s chicken tail and intestine. We got three sticks for each serving. The chicken intestine tasted like the chicken isaw available on the streets. I like chicken tail but was not expecting it to have a very strong and odd flavor.

Isaw (Chicken Intestine) - Php 145

Isol (Chicken Tail) - Php 170

We ordered their famous Lechon Kawali with Batwan Tsokolate and Pinakurat, but it was not available that time. So we ended up ordering their Thin-Cut Liempo with Native Coffee and Burong Vinegar. Again, there’s nothing special about this dish except for its strange vinegar dip.

Thin-Cut Liempo - Php 225

Sarsa’s Sizzling Kansi – Bulalo was the best dish we ordered that day. The beef shank was very tender and the Batwan Gravy enhanced the flavor of the dish. This is another way to eat Bulalo without ofcourse the beef shank soup, sweet corn, and native pechay. I highly recommend this dish.

Sizzling Kansi (Bulalo) - Php 335

We saw Gising Gising on Sarsa’s menu and thought it’s the same as the Gising Gising of ChicBoy, but it’s not. Ilonggo’s Gising Gising is actually small cuts of pork cooked in coconut milk and ginamos. I still prefer ChicBoy’s Gising Gising, but this dish was delicious.

Bugtaw-Bugtaw (Gising-Gising) - Php 145

We also tried Sarsa’s Ginamos Fried Rice. I was a bit hesitant since ginamos (fish bagoong) has a stronger flavor and smell compared to shrimp bagoong. But it turned out to be one of the best fried rice I have ever tasted. The saltiness from ginamos was perfectly balanced.

Ginamos Fried Rice - Php 55

Rating

We had a great time at Sarsa Bar + Kitchen. The foods were delicious and affordable. We also had an opportunity to meet Chef Jayps in person and have a kodak moment with him. My rating is 3 out of 5 stars.

Left to Right: Tyrone, Chef Jayps, Orio, Wealth