Kare-Kareng Bagnet (photo by RUDY LIWANAG)

In Teacher’s Village, Quezon City, there’s a quaint restaurant serving fine Filipino food that is known only to a few people. The hole-in-the-wall Pino Resto Bar hides in plain sight, veiled by its modest façade, and located along an unassuming locale. Yet, it manages to fill one’s stomach and create a delectable gastronomic experience that lingers, not only on the palate but also in the memory.

The gastronomic evolution of Pino started when six friends decided to put up a food business on a small space inside the said village. It was a place where Quezon City folks, both students and professionals, can easily slip in and slow down away from the hustle and bustle of the typical gimikan.

The restaurant ran smoothly, until the original owners decided to forgo the business for various reasons and sold the establishment. Chef Edward Bugia, PJ Lanot, and Star Jose decided to take over the business. With the trio on the helm, Pino has elevated the term “tambayan” to a new level, and gave new meaning to the “fine” in fine dining.

The dining area may have limited seating capacity, but its artsy ambiance creates a cozy and intimate vibe. A wall-to-ceiling doodle art by WeeWillDoodle and several pastel-themed paintings make up its modest interiors. Although the restaurant is far from the usual fine dining places in the metro, the menu unconditionally makes up for what’s lacking.

Chef Bugia, who currently teaches at the Global Culinary and Hospitality Academy, transforms Filipino fare into fusion dishes, combining ingredients, flavors, and textures to create a surprise treat for their patrons.

Appetizers in Pino are actually favorite Pinoy starters, but with a different twist. Their tacos, for example, come in mini tortilla shells which are layered with sisig, lettuce, salsa, aioli, and cheese. Pino has its own version of tokwa’t baboy, which they call Bagnet and Tofu Stack-O. As the name implies, instead of ordinary pork pieces, they use bagnet.

Onion rings come in a new take. The rings are coated with a wasabi-tempura batter, deep-fried, and served with wasabi mayo dip. The ordinary cheese sticks become extraordinary as they wrap the buttermilk cheese in nori and wanton wrappers, best with the pesto and strawberry sauce.

For a main course, Chef Bugia pairs two favorite Filipino dishes to create one big gastronomic wonder.

Just imagine the sinful bagnet and the mouth-watering kare-kare in one dish! The crispy chunks of homemade bagnet on a bed of kare-kare sauce are just sheer euphoria. The peanut butter sauce gives a slight kick of sweetness, and has the right consistency - not too thin and not too thick. Instead of bagoong on the side, the dish is served with bagoong rice.

Diners will surely love the Crispy Hito, a whole catfish fried to a crisp and served with eggplant salsa and bagoong rice. Adventurous eaters would want to try the Dilis Rice, sweetened baby anchovies mixed with rice and spring onions, and topped with a sunny side-up egg.

If those aren’t reasons enough to visit Pino, try the Sisig Carbonara, simple spaghetti coupled with wicked sisig and topped with bacon bits and onion in a cheesy and creamy carbonara sauce. Or the Seafood Gambas Aligue Pasta which is linguini pasta topped with sautéed shrimps and squid in crab fat sauce. What more could you ask for?

But then again, there should always be room for dessert. Your regular turon takes on a different twist in Pino Choco Turon, sliced banana and Choc-nut in lumpia wrappers, deep-fried, and served with ice cream and chocolate syrup.

Their Chunky Choco Tempura definitely spells heaven. It is a chocolate wafer bar coated with tempura batter, deep-fried, and served with ice cream and chocolate/strawberry syrup. This dessert deserves the thumbs up with the richness of the silky and creamy chocolate and the crunchiness of the wafer bar.

Still not convinced? Bring your favorite chocolate bar and let chef Bugia do his magic and create that oh-so-sinful dessert you’ll definitely love.

Pino is located at 122 Maginhawa St., Teacher’s Village, Quezon City.