At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, eating out was taboo because everything was take-out or delivery. The search on the Internet for places to eat was a challenge too because many places closed and until lately, some eateries grouped themselves on social media for dining and orders. It took a couple of months before we discovered the location of Royse La Paz Batchoy and Steak House at the City Camp district.
Chef Roy, a come home overseas worker, who multi-tasks in the two-table affair that changed menu to unrival the neighborhood turo-turo or cooked food place. The name is a combination of his name and spouse, Rose, who are both in their 30s.
The pitch comes from the La Paz batchoy that is a noodle soup unique to the Visayan province, Iloilo. To one who knows a difference to look for, it is the pork liver bits in the soup. This has pork rind crumbled into the broth with the noodles and pork bits before serving. The only original ingredient is the guinamos or shrimp paste that comes in blocks to salt this dish. I must say this gets a nod for a closer version to those sampled in the Visayas.
The Malaysian-Thai fried rice was made with sauteed ground beef and some green chili slices. The secret salt base was not just the soy sauce but the tinge of shrimp sauce that is a Thai ingredient. The chili was toned down because of our preference. This serves three medium mealeaters. The spicy touch must be the Thai in it, which we reduced.
The Royce authentic and original dinuguan had silky blood sauce with the pork meat that seemed to have been cooked twice. This is perfect for those who do not like their dinuguan with a lot of vinegar. This is a little less oily because the fatty parts were reduced.
The Royce authentic and original pork sisig has smaller parts compared to the dish made popular in Pampanga.He claims that the pork cheek is the better source of meat for this dish and not the ear that has bonelets that are chewy. This was made in a soft edition with some crispy texture that is sweetened by the chopped onions.
The Royse authentic rib eye steak is not the steak that you will encounter in other places. Chef Roy has tenderized the meat by putting wedges into the meat. This was cooked in butter and was medium well and tender. He says that these meats for the steaks are imported and sourced from a friend in Manila. This was simply served in a plate with a knife for cutting.
What is striking is that this place had no garnishes and frills in the presentations.It was similar to Mother’s way back in the `80s when pork chops and chicken came with a cup of rice slathered with a spoonful of the used oil and soy saucefrom frying them. This could be the best place for night caps like the Korean tents where soju is served with simple meat dishes.
To the simple eaters who simply enjoy food and are more for the variety and taste, Royse could be you kind of place. As we forewarn the other sabaw hunters like us, this could be hard to find. But you will have fun engaging Chef Roy who has homegrown stories of the family recipes.
