In this age, it is wise to take into account Instagramability when setting up a new restaurant – from architecture, table lighting and food presentation – and Chef Jun Salme of The Pig Out Bistro in Boracay knows that. In fact, he designed this hipster restaurant himself.
It was a rainy morning in October, off peak season in the island, yet customers come and go at the The Pig Out Bistro, a newly opened restaurant along Station 1 Balabag, just right beside Jony’s Boutique Hotel. This bistro is owned by the famous and the oldest fruitshake maker in Boracay – Jony’s Fruitshake.
“I was told someone posted The Pig Out Bistro on a site like Trip Advisor in South Korea, that is why you’ll see a lot of Koreans dining here,” explained the timid Chef Salme. At first he was unaware why there was a surge of Korean tourists, but they kept coming overtime so he got curious and decided to ask one of their customers. “They say, the food here are Instagrammable”, he added.
When they started serving the food to our table, I couldn’t agree more and so does my friend Jelito, a well-known Instagrammer and food and lifestyle photographer in the Philippines.
The dishes at the Pig out Bistro are well-presented and without a doubt Instagram-worthy. Some cuisines on the list are quite pricey, but for the humongous portions, your money is worth it. So why go to an upscale restaurant in Boracay when you can have a taste of opulent Western dishes and seafood at half the price here?
How about the taste? They’re impeccable and uber delicious! Apart from having delightful taste and portion, they have taken up Western dishes to a whole new level. It is by far my favorite restaurant in Boracay.
We had Paella negra (PHP 648), Spain’s favorite cuisine, which is a mash up of grilled gindara, aioli, mussels, prawn, clams, fish and squid ink. A dish in itself, The Pig Out Bistro’s version of this iconic fare is bursting in flavor with all the seafood and vegetables on top of it. The serving is huge and can be consumed by 2-3 people.
We were also served The Pig Out Burger (PHP 398), huge in size, two people can probably finish this. This burger is both big in size and taste. It is made up of US beef patty, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, brandy glazed, onion and aragula. The pale Pilsen caramelized onion enhanced the taste of the thick patty. If you are sucker for burgers, must-try is the US Bone Marrow Burger (PHP 398). They say this type of burger is the best in the world, and The Pig Out Bistro’s version did not disappoint. Great quality US beef patty, topped with cheddar cheese, tomato, pickles, lettuce, onion, chimichurri, plus a pint of bone marrow is pretty otherworldly.
The Steak and Fries (PHP 558) was splendid too. The dish consist of sous vide of US chuck eye beef which was lean yet tender enough, retaining its juice. It was cooked with au jus, béarnaise compound butter and mushroom mojo. It also goes well with thickly-cut, spiced pomme frites that are sautéed to a golden crisp to balance out the savory flavor of the steak.
I was also digging the seafood here, really fresh and the taste lingers in your tongue. They have paper thin salmon, as its name suggest, and they are thinly-sliced indeed!
The Mussel Croquettes (PHP 248) was made of local mussels with wine sauce, onion and tomato wrapped in nicely breaded outer skin that tears easily.
We also tried the Calamari (PHP 258) which was made of poteta breaded squid, arugula, saffron aioli, pickled onion and lemon vinaigrette.
And my favorite – oyster! I could devour a plate of oyster in a few minutes and luckily, at The Pig Out Bistro, they serve Oyster Mignonette (PHP 268), Oyster and Pearl (PHP 268) and Green Oyster (PHP 268)! A classic garnish to raw oysters is the mignonette sauce made with shallots, vinegar, and white pepper to balance out the brininess of the oyster. At The Pig Out, Chef Salme added sparkling wine on the mignonette sauce. We tried the Oyster and Pearl which is a pickled oyster with cucumber, egg roe and dill. My personal favorite was the Green Oyster, fresh oyster sourced from Aklan mixed with herbed compound butter.
For those dining in group, I highly recommend The Pig Out Bistro’s Seafood Platter (PHP 1,398) which consists of grilled prawns, grilled octopus, fish ceviche, grilled gindara, oyster mignonette, baked oyster, garlic-steamed clams and rustic bread.
THE PIG OUT BISTRO BORACAY
Station 1 Balabag, Boracay Island (Beside Jony’s Botique Hotel)
Facebook: The Pig Out Bistro
Instagram: @thepigoutbistroboracay
DISCLOSURE: The Pig Out Boracay hosted us in Boracay. All opinions here are my own. I accept travel, food and lifestyle-related sponsorship and partnerships so long as we have full editorial control.
*Cover photo by : The Pig Out Bistro Boracay.
