You STOP - They TAKE OVER!
Pangasinan is synonymous to the Hundred Islands, Our Lady of Manaoag, Bolinao Falls and much more!
Being the richest province in the Ilocos Region, it is the major supplier of fish in Luzon and the major salt producer in the Philippines.
It has extensive fish ponds, mostly for "milkfish" or bangus, along the coasts of the Lingayen Gulf and the South China Sea. Pangasinan's aquaculture includes oyster, sea urchin farms and other seafood.
With this being said, restaurants offering "fresh catch" are way too many. But Matutina's IS Matutina's. From very humble beginnings, it has been coined as Pangasinan's No.1 go-to restaurant frequented by both locals and tourists alike for the longest time!
WHY? Please read through my first-hand experience in this dining institution which was named as such because the owner's voice resembled the high-pitched tone of Doña De Leila's helper Matutina in the infamous comedy sitcom John En Marsha.
AMBIANCE / CLEANLINESS :
There are five words which come to mind when I think of Matutina's ambiance. WARM. WELCOMING. HOMEY. COZY. CLASSY. It's like sneaking into Lola's "cucina" and feasting in her "comedor" when you get to visit the province during the annual town fiesta. Both interior and exterior speak Filipino. Their custom-made fountain was something you can't help but admire. Window grills with a seafood concept were awesome.
The airconditioned and al fresco dining area, the garden, function rooms, and even the restrooms were clean. Great!
FOOD :
First off, we had our refreshments. Fresh Buco Juice, Calamansi Juice and fresh Fruit Shakes. Both the Watermelon and Ripe Mango Shake have a natural sweetness in them but I find the Green Mango super sour.
For our soup, we were served one of their many unique dishes in the menu. SINIGANG na MALAGA. Malaga or Rabbit Fish is a fresh-water fish commonly known as Samaral. The fish was very fleshy and tasted really good. The broth had the right sourness to it and they obviously used fresh tamarind and not tamarind cubes.
We also had the Chili Crab, Grilled Pusit, Bangus Sisig, Buttered Oysters and Grilled Pork Liempo. There were two dishes though which stood out of them all. INIHAW NA DAGUPAN BANGUS and PAKBET.
I was told that their Bangus is grilled fresh bone-in to maintain the juiciness of the fish. I'm a certified milkfish lover and I prefer it boneless. But I surely had no regrets going for this. The flesh tasted a bit sweet and surprisingly creamy! Dip it in their signature Bagoong-Isda with Calamansi and Chillies. Perfect!
And last but definitely not the least was the PAKBET. There seemed to be some magic powder sprinkled into this vegetable dish! It was incredibly delicious and we were all in agreement that this for us was the best Pakbet we've had in our entire lives! The vegetables were cooked just right and the broth was very flavorful.
And to cap it off, we had their BUCO HALO-HALO. It's an awesome concoction of sweetened fruits and milky shaved ice served inside a fresh newly-opened coconut topped with Ube Ice Cream! OhBoy! Watta way to end our savory lunch!
But wait! They also had us try their complimentary Coconut Candies which tasted more like Macapuno Balls. A great treat for the sweet tooth lovies!
CUSTOMER SERVICE :
If there's such a rating higher than the outstanding 5, Matutina's staff and crew deserve it! Everybody was friendly and helpful. Accommodating and courteous. I may run out of adjectives but words were really not enough to describe my amazing customer service experience.
Considering the freshness and huge servings of most dishes, prices at Matutina's are surprisingly reasonable! Even the per kilo seafood was comparatively cheaper. I'd like to think that this is primarily because most if not all ingredients are sourced nearby.
WISHLIST :
I suggest the Sinigang or any of their soup dishes be served in claypots. Aside from presentation purposes, the broth will be kept hot longer.
Please provide heavy-duty crab leg crackers. What was given to us was somewhat unusable.
VERDICT :
There has to be a reason why up to now, despite existing competition, Matutina's is still Pangasinan's most-loved restaurant. Food tastes great and very affordable. Their people makes you feel like you're family.
If there's a statement which best describes it, I guess it will be "A trip to Pangasinan will not be complete without Matutina's." A HOME AWAY FROM HOME.
Thank you Matutina's for the one-of-a-kind and wonderful dining experience!
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