"Where do you want to eat?", my husband asked me minutes before the plane landed in Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban. I quickly browsed through the in-flight magazine and showed him a photo of the restaurant I have been stalking on social media since 2014.
I lost count of how many times I told him about Chew Love. He must have forgotten. Ed is not a big fan of restaurants like I am, but he would happily oblige to my dining out requests more often than not.
And yet again, he did! On our second day in Tacloban, he finally took me to the cutest restaurant I have ever laid my eyes on.
And yet again, he did! On our second day in Tacloban, he finally took me to the cutest restaurant I have ever laid my eyes on.
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With its fancy dollhouse-like facade and bespoke murals, nobody can miss Chew Love in Downtown Tacloban. It is stands out in P Gomez Street, just a few steps away from Sto. Nino Church. We went there for lunch, and I was not surprised to see it packed. We had to place our reservation and wait to be accommodated.
Waiting isn't much of a hassle at Chew Love though. The restaurant has a lovely courtyard decked with artsy and cute little details that kept us busy for a while. We spent time taking photos and hardly noticed the staff who was looking for us when our table was ready.
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| Chew Love in Tacloban |
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| I belong here! :) |
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| beautiful wall murals |
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| Chew Love's exterior is filled with cutesy wall art. |
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| It has a romantic nook too! <3 |
Inside, Chew Love is like a perfect Pinterest board that came to life! Mismatched tables and chairs, heartwarming quotes, seasonal decorations; I was amazed on how these things came together flawlessly. The wait staff donned vintage school-girl uniform that also matched the cute concept of the restaurant.
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| dainty vintage chairs |
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| ...love is all you need! |
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| Christmas vibe at the Chew Love's porch (Photo taken December 2016) |
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| And there are more cute and Christmassy stuff inside! |
The menu is just as cute and quirky. It couldn't help but say awwwwww and giggle like a teenage girl. Hahah! You can't blame me. The names of the dishes are crazy-romantic! At Chew Love, mushroom soup is called Shroomantic Soup, french fries is Fry Me To The Moon, beef burger steak is Steak To One, and there's a drink named Red-dy To Mingle! How witty!
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| Chew Love food menu |
With all the enticing words on the menu, I had a hard time choosing what to have for lunch! So, I opted to stick with the ones that captured my attention the most.
For drinks, we had Gingerly Yours because Ed loves anything with ginger and Pretty in Pink because as you can see, I love anything pink.
The pink lemonade may look too pretty for Instagram photos, but it is also too girly and too sweet. I must say, if you're at Chew Love with your guy and you decide to share a pitcher, please go for the Gingerly Yours! He will thank you for not jeopardizing his manliness. Hahah! Jokes aside, it is a healthy concoction of ginger, turnip, carrots, chayote and lemonade. It is light, refreshing and good for both of you! :)
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| Pretty in Pink lemonade |
For the main course, I had Love At Pork Sight. It is a pork liempo dish served with eggplant salad and heart-shaped rice! The moment I had a bite, I realized that despite the frilly name, Chew Love serves Filipino food in a straightforward and traditional way. I was actually hoping for a contemporary twist to the liempo, but I got a soulful smoky flavor instead. I can't complain!
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| Love at Pork Sight |
Ed had Cheeky Feeling - a complete meal of chicken barbecue, mushroom soup and Chew Love's signature heart-shaped rice. I had a portion and I loved it as well. The boneless chicken is tender and the sauce gave the dish just the right amount of zing.
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| Cheeky Feeling |
Here are the dishes that the rest of the family had:
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| Beef Mine: beef caldereta with rice and fried banana |
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| Cheesy Mac Love: macaroni pasta topped with tomato and cheese sauce |
For dessert, we shared a serving of My Churro Amour. It is a classic Churros con Chocolat; golden fried dough strips dipped in decadent native tsokolate.
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| Churros de Chewlove |
Of course, I couldn't leave Chew Love without having a taste of the halo-halo everyone has been talking about. It's the restaurant's best-seller, I heard. There is the Gold Digger, a special halo-halo with mango bits. And there's the Double Digger, a large version of the Gold Digger! Aaaand, there's the super sized Freaky Digger!
We thought it would be fun to share the largest and the freakiest halo-halo, so we went for the Freaky Digger. We were right! It gave a lively chaos to our table. It is a huge halo-halo topped with ice cream scoops, wafer sticks, oreo cookies and chocolate syrup. The eccentric presentation was a hit among the kids. The luscious concoction was perfect enough for the adults.
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| Freaky Digger |
Overall, Chew Love is the kind of restaurant I couldn't help but fall madly in love with. If I live in Tacloban, you'd probably find me there getting my comfort food fix every pay day! Hahah! But since I don't, Chew Love remains to be the cute little restaurant that I wouldn't mind revisiting over and over again.
Prices as of December 2016:
Love at Pork Sight: 165 PHP
Cheeky Feeling: 165 PHP
Cheesy Mac Love: 145 PHP
My Churro Amour: 80 PHP
Freaky Digger: 250 PHP
Drinks: 50 PHP single / 110 PHP Pitcher
Location Map:
Chew Love
P Gomez Street
Downtown, Tacloban City
Philippines
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