BREAKFAST
To start your vacation in sunny Boracay, go to Traviesa and order the Country Fried Chicken Roulade for breakfast. Imagine fresh, tender chicken breast fillet marinated in milk, then rolled with a layer of water spinach and cheese, covered in crushed cornflake breading, fried until light golden brown, and served with a mashed potato.
The restaurant is easy to find. Just look for the Tourist Center near Boat Station 1, walk a few meters toward the beach and you’ll find Asya Boracay resort, where Traviesa is located. Open from 7:00am to 10:30pm, the restaurant offers al fresco dining under a stone and dark wood interior with Asian-inspired furniture and cool bossa nova tunes playing in the background.
Open since September 2006, Traviesa already boasts a loyal customer base that only craves for the best, which includes Pan Fried Snapper (served with grilled vegetables, mashed potato, and tomato’s vinaigrette) and Grilled Prawns (served with basil pesto, rice pilaf, and side salad). With food this sumptuous, it’s no wonder that elegant island-dining in Traviesa can cost about P1000/pax for a complete dinner course with wine. If you’re on a tight budget, the restaurant still offers affordable comfort food like the Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich, which only costs P140, and Arroz a la Cubana for P230.
LUNCH
If you think Dos Mestizos is a couples-only venue, think again. The restaurant recently opened for lunch last December so families can enjoy home-cooked Spanish cuisine together. The resto has even added paper tablecloths and crayons so their young customers can expend their creativity while waiting for the food.
Dos Mestizos was first put up in 2000. It was a small, romantic, “for dinner reservations only” eatery. The restaurant closed for a short while after Nieto passed on but then reopened in October 2006 in its new location to cater to the growing Boracay market. The tapas and paellas at Dos Mestizos will surely satisfy the Pinoy’s satiable appetite for ulam and rice. For tapas, there are the usual Salpicao de Vacas (stir-fried garlic beef), Callos con Garbanzos (slow-cooked tripe sauteed with tomato and chickpeas), and Aceitunas Verdes Alinadas (green olives marinated in olive oil).
For paellas, we highly recommend Paella Marinara. This dish is a joyous devotion to the abundance of fresh seafood on the island — crab, clams, shrimps, squid, and mussels — and the visual appeal of saffron-infused rice. The price points at Dos Mestizos don’t fall under the average probinsya rates, but we guarantee that the food and the hospitable service are world-class in quality.
Merienda
Just along the shore of Boat Station 1 are two perfect spots to lounge in and have merienda while seeking refuge from the fierce afternoon sun — Island Chicken Inasal and Hawaiian Bar-B-Que.
The most popular dish at Island Chicken Inasal aside from its authentic Bacolod grilled items, is Kansi. This specialty combines the flavors and ingredients of bulalo and sinigang. It uses a unique souring agent called batuan.
At first sight, you’d think Kansi is a type of spicy curry because of the creamy reddish-brown soup and the green siling pangsigang floating on top. But once you dip your spoon in and take a sip, you get both the kick and sweet tartness of sinigang and the succulent taste of beef broth. The beef shank is slow-cooked until extremely tender that the meat sheds easily off the bone.
At Hawaiian Bar-B-Que, a must-try is the Original Hawaiian Baby Back Ribs. The generous helping of grilled, tender meat doused in a sweet and tangy sauce a secret concretion will certainly keep you coming back for more. You should really visit this charming island nook in Boracay and enjoy its laid back Hawaiian vibe.
Everything from the interior to the service is reminiscent of Hawaii — tikis, surfboards, sand torches, grass skirts, floral shirts, luaus, and even a hula dance presented by the wait staff every 15 minutes.
Serving the best in meat dishes — grilled, roasted, even served in soup — husbands will surely love dining in these shoreline eateries. Just a warning: the flavorful chows are not for the faint of heart, so if you plan to drink ice cold beer with your merienda, make sure your cholesterol levels are running on low first
DINNER
When night falls, nothing spells romance better than a candlelit dinner at Aria’s beachfront outdoor location in Boracay. This small Italian eatery serves the only wood-fired oven pizzas on the island. We highly recommend the Aria Pizza with tomato and ham, and the Vegetariana with green bell peppers, tomato, and eggplant. Their crusts are soft and moist to the bite and oozing with creamy, melted mozzarella on top.
For appetizers, try Chef Gino Amado’s favorite: Carpaccio di Tonno, made with thin slices of tuna doused in a delicious lemon-herb marinade and topped with healthy strips of arugula. The Gran Mistro Salad, a vegetarian mix of tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, grilled bell peppers, eggplant mash, and deep fried zucchini, won’t disappoint, either. Pennette Al Ragu Di Salsiccia E Funghi is also enjoyable. It’s a red-sauce pasta with Italian sausage and mushrooms.