Spanish-Filipino Cuisine in Restaurante Pia Y Damaso, Greenbelt 5, Makati

It has been a tradition, like most families do, to celebrate a family member's birthday, typically by dining out. For my father's big day, we've voted on to try Pia y Damaso in Greenbelt 5.

Story behind the Name
With the name itself, we were already given a clue on what type of cuisine this restaurant offers. As you may have remembered, Damaso is the infamous friar in Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Hence, to let the foodies know that this place serves Spanish dishes, they included the name of the friar for the restaurant, and to make things more interesting they added the name of the woman he had an affair with, Pia.

Haha! Actually I just made this up because the truth is I don't know the story behind the name. After all, there is no character in Noli or Fili named Pia, not unless it was one of those moments I fell asleep listening to the discussion.

Anyway, whether my insuniation behind the name is hit or miss, it is undeniably suggestive of a Spanish motif. This concept is further reinforced by the classy and somehow quaint interior of the restaurant. However, I noticed that the interior lacks enough space resulting to limited seats and cramped appearance. With this, we opted to just sit outside (non-airconditioned but fortunately non-smoking).

Ham and Chicken Croquettes || P160 

Eight (8) crisp breaded nuggets of ham, chicken, mushroom and cream

The amazing ham and chicken croquettes of Pia Y Damaso

Served hot and fresh, these croquettes were oozing with goodness. and despite the creamy meaty mushroom filling, it was not too salty and overwhelming. In fact, it was purely awesome!

Note: It may be because we were so hungry that our taste buds were heightened.

Albondigas || P175

Minced beef and pork with spicy paprika and garlic on tomato

The meat-ball like Albondigas of Restaunte Pia Y Damaso

With expectations raised up due to the first dish, this Almondigas appeared only nice and ordinary. However, it was still good to note that they were crunchy on the outside which added to its appeal.

Lengua Sevillana with Olives & Mushrooms || P450 

Braised ox tongue with olive oil, tomatoes, mushrooms, green olives

The immensely rich Spanish Lengua Sevillana

Going for some rebound was this Lengua which I believe was great with the authenticity of its flavor! The most buoyant flavors are the tomato and the spices used.

Paella Valenciana || P450

Sauteed organic rice in sofrito and olive oil with marinated chicken, pork, prawns, mussels, fish, chorizos and peas

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Coming in a small serving but with sufficiently generous seafood and meat content, the Paella Valenciana was considerably fine. It had this tolerable level of spiciness which blended well with the dish. Without the chorizo being the source of spark, this dish could have been one of "those paellas".