The Pig Pen is the casual reataurant counterpart of The Black Pig located in Alabang. Chef Carlos Garcia, Tricia Villacorta-Macdonald and Berna Fajardo-Garriz, created its cafe concept and opened the pilot store at Solenad 3, Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, Laguna in December 2015. You may dine indoors or outdoors.
To date, they put up another branch at the Eton Tower in Ruffino Makati to cater to people craving for their popular European-inspired food.
This Laguna casual dining cafe boasts a variety of scrumptious dishes with popular twists prepared from natural, locally sourced ingredients. I've been to this restaurant in a previous zomato foodcrawl and The Pig Pen continues on to amaze me with its bestsellers!
European Salad came in first. It was a healthy assortment of green lettuce,with black olives, parmesan, red radish, cucumber, croutons, feta drizzled plus honey mustard sauce as dressing.
We had Beef Papadum Nachos to perk up the appetite. Papadum is that thin, crisp, disc-shaped Indian flatbread which they used as substitute for tortilla chips.
The extra crunchy papadum came in topped with parsley, beef, tomatoes, honey mustard and mayo! It tasted really good!
My next favorite was Crispy Pork Kimchi. This rice bowl looked so appetizing with a play on colors that complemented each ingredient. The crunchy, lean pork cuts was served with shredded crispy onion flakes and boiled egg. The tangy and sweet sauce similar to Sriracha further made the crunchy pork taste and smell like haven. All the flavors really do mix well.
Grilled Tamarind Chicken were perfectly-cooked chicken skewers that were so addicting! Each piece of meat was so succulent that you can really tell how good the meat used was.
Beef Shank, Mushroom and Bone marrow on the other hand, combines the rich flavor of the bone marrow, mushrooms and the prime beef cut. It was like sinking my teeth into a premium corned beef brand.
I found the Crispy Pork and Hoisin so interesting. In this delectable dish, the moist pork belly was wrapped in shoestring potatoes, which gave it an extra crispy texture. The pork belly inside the crust remained tender and juicy.
We also got to try out their chorizo all-day breakfast plate. The savory chorizo came in with dried dilis and sunny-side egg. I love the papaya-mango salad side dish that goes with it.
The Pig Pen Café also has a selection of pasta dishes and I got to try them all. Pulled pork Cannelloni was fresh take on creamy cylindrical pasta that is stuffed with pork. I so love the cheesy white, Carbonara sauce that goes with it.
Mushroom Truffle Pasta was served straight up with sliced mushrooms, and ham bits spread on top to complement flavors.
Bolognese was a true Italian classic spaghetti. Filipino kids would love to indulge in its subtle sweet tomato sauce.
The Pig Pen Café is a great hangout for those big appetites or those looking for new food discoveries. I recommend that you visit this restaurant when you are in Nuvali.