The Wild Juan

Murillo

THELMA DUMPIT-MURILLO invited us last Sunday to the soft opening of The Wild Juan, the restaurant of her eldest son, chef Thomas  Murillo, on Km. 68, Nasugbu Highway, Tagaytay.

From the resto’s windows, you can see Taal Lake and feel Tagaytay’s gentle breeze. The ground floor can accommodate 60 guests, and its garden has 40 seats.  The lower ground has five rooms. Chef Tom’s sous chef is Marcial Balazo.

Because his parents operate a cashew farm with 2,000 trees in Bataan, Tom was able to experiment with cashew sauce for kare-kare. The gumbulalo, my favorite, owes its taste to an improvisation of Louisiana sauce containing spices, creole and crushed cashew nuts.

The sauce of shrimp pop has coconut milk with crab fat and crushed cashew. Juan Ensalada, with its homemade dressing and tawilis, is another standout. Kare-kare is garnished with sauce from cashew nuts and lemon squirts.

The restaurant has a special Valentine’s Dinner package. Check out the Facebook page of The Wild Juan. For reservations, call 0915 432-4196, or e-mail [email protected].

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Join our Amazing Batanes Photo Safari from February to April, the  Catanduanes Photo Safari on March 4-7 and the Moriones Festival Photo Safari in Marinduque on March 24-27. Call 896-3208, or e-mail [email protected].