(Daet, Camarines Norte, Philippines) – I have been to Calaguas five times already in the span of a year. Admittedly, it is quite an insane number but the place is breathtakingly beautiful so it is well worth the nth gaze. One of t
he entry points of Calaguas is Vinzons and majority of the buses going to the area have their terminals at the nearby town of Daet.
Daet is your typical Filipino town outside of Manila. It does not boast much of its uniqueness as it is quite like the others but it screams of its Bicolano roots – pili, its food and the usual souvenir items from Bicol’s hot tourist spots like Caramoan, Donsol, CWC and Mayon Volcano.
I have always seen K Sarap in the itineraries of my Bicol trips but somehow, never got a chance to pay it a visit. I got lucky on my fifth Calaguas trip.
The restaurant is near the town proper. If you love walking, feel free to do it but riding a trike is always something that you can do if the weather induces laziness. Oddly, it does not serve much of the Bicolano signature dishes like laing or Bicol express. But you can get those at right about any corner you go to in Bicol so I guess this is where K Sarap stands tall.
“More than a name, it is a guarantee.”
“Nothing fancy with monoblock tables and chairs.”
“Some parts of the restaurant have some sort of native look.”
“The food is cheap and the serving is definitely for sharing. Gotta love the province for making that scheme popular. Pancit molo.”
“Adobong Kangkong. This became the highlight of my meal. Doesn’t it look yummy?”
“It is a Filipino restaurant so expect lumpiang shanghai to give an appearance.”
“Calamares and soy sauce. Didn’t know that they are a good match.”
“Crispy sisig”
“I just could not resist trying out their pata kare-kare. And it did not disappoint at all.”
“They have a wide array of cold desserts to chose from. This is a strawberry-flavored sherbet-like deal sprinkled with multi-colored goodness. I ate it like a child.”
“Tiramisu sherbet. A dessert with brownies in it is just divine.”
“This is like a cross between a mango iced-candy that I used to enjoy as a child and home-made ice cream.”
K Sarap proves to be a restaurant worth visiting after an 8-hour drive from Manila. The food’s affordability is noteworthy and the taste is as authetic as most Filipino restaurant food can get. Make sure to pay it a visit when you go to Bicol.
“A special shoutout to the Thursday Club who adopted me momentarily for lunch.”