Laguna - Semantan

My comfort food. This is the only place I go whenever I miss Filipino food. Food is delicious and serving size is ok for price. Just don't sit near the speaker because it gets too noisy due to karaoke. If you're home sick, just go to this place and you will feel like home. Crispy pata and dinuguan are really good. Skip the leche flan.

I've been in Kuala Lumpur since July and I'm still in awe on why I just started googling for Filipino restaurants in the area. Oh well, my cravings was probably on high this weekend which led me at the door steps of Laguna Mabuhay restaurant. <br/ <br/ Let's get one thing straight, I'm a filipino and the place is a legit pinoy resto. Laguna is a name of a province in the Philippines located just a few hours away from Manila. It's where I grew up. So yeah, I'm happy they chose the name for the restaurant.<br/ <br/ The chairs are covered with cloth just like the wedding parties I attended in my province. The designs are eclectic with Filipino feel. From the chinese ornaments down to the artificial fruits on the walls. It felt home.<br/ <br/ Their menu consists of Western, Pasta and Philippine food. I got their pork kaldereta, embotido and orange juice. I know the dishes from A to Z as I also make them at home. <br/ <br/ Kaldereta is our version of stew. Aside from pork, people back home also uses goat, chicken and beef. Before ordering the dish, the waiter confirmed that their Kaldereta has liver pate. There was none. Even if there was, I can barely taste any of it. I can tell the pork was not marinated as the flavor lasts only on the outer part of the meat. Laguna's version plays the sweet-sour type. The spiciness was just right and the veggies were cooked well. <br/ <br/ Embotido is the Filipino style of meat loaf. Back home I eat it after steaming for almost an hour, fried or even cold. Laguna's take is fried with tomatoes and cucumber on the side. It was good but I've tasted better, there are definitely ingredients that they could have added to make it more savory. <br/ <br/ The orange juice was served fresh just like the any of restaurants in KL. I wanted some halo halo for dessert but my tummy was already full. <br/ <br/ Pricing is okay as the dishes I ordered can be shared by two. Paid 50 Ringgit plus for everything. All in all, it was just okay but I'm willing to try other dishes. <br/ <br/ Yes, there will be a next time.