In the Pig Pen

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Looking for a good place for dinner (after canvassing for her future car), Mafel and I ended up in The Pig Pen. It felt cozy, homey, and familiar... with very warm staff who made me instantly feel at ease. As I read the menu's back cover, I learned that The Pig Pen is owned by my friends who also put up The Black Pig! No wonder! However, The Pig Pen is definitely not a copy cat of The Black Pig. The menu in The Pig Pen is more casual and rustic than in The Black Pig, being in line with the casual feel of Nuvali. Somehow, The Black Pig's menu is more sophisticated, more urban... very Alabang, in my opinion.

A photo posted by Rochie Cuevas (@rochiecuevas) on


The pulled pork cannelloni I had for dinner was so delicious! It was just the right-sized portion too. The edamame and the cherry tomatoes provided the right contrast to avoid the umay factor coming from the creamy sauce of the cannelloni. Meanwhile, I paired the pasta with Bundaberg's ginger beer. It's basically rootbeer, but with ginger. The sharp, sweet flavour and the fizzy texture of the ice-cold soda was really refreshing.

Berna, one of the owners, was manning the place. Hence, we weren't able to chat. It's still disconcerting to see her in a different resto... I knew her face was familiar but I couldn't associate her with anything. She turned out to have the same reaction when she saw me.

Next time I'm back in Nuvali, I now have a resto where the people know me, and I know them. Like a neighbourhood resto I can frequent.

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