The Coconut House, Quezon City, Philippines

February 25, 2012 -- It was a happy coincidence that brought me to the Coconut House. I was chatting with a couple of dear friends over breakfast at the Saturday Salcedo Market (Makati--will blog on this shortly) about this book that I recently picked up on the facts about virgin coconut oil (VCO) and its numerous amazing uses including as an effective and natural (i.e., drug- & chemical-free) weapon against a vast number of illnesses. The next thing I knew, we were in their car, on our way to the Coconut House. As it turned out, the owner of the place, Jun Castillo, was their close friend. 
     What a revelation! The Coconut House has gone beyond just fresh buko juice or dishes cooked in gata (coconut milk) -- all their dishes use one or several components of the buko (young coconut) or niyog (mature coconut) in a truly ingenious and interesting way. They don't use additives or artificial flavorings, and all their ingredients are organic and locally sourced. So far, all the dishes I have tried were delicious, without exception!
    I can't get over the fact that this restaurant was not far from where I usually stay while in Manila, and I had never heard of it. This amazing restaurant truly deserves to be promoted and widely publicized!

The restaurant is located inside the Quezon Memorial Circle, near the Commonwealth Avenue entrance. 

Telephone: 392-4115; 

Email: coconuthouseph@gmail.com; 

Facebook: coconut house@live.com; 

Blog: coconuthousepinoy.blogspot.com.

The restaurant is not very large (I think the room holds 40 people), but it's very well-kept and has a homey feel about it. You find the menu on big boards above the service counter, with colorful and appetizing photos of the dishes on offer, which makes choosing your order a snap. Their prices are very reasonable, with only the main dishes going above Php100, so for not very much money, you can have a truly healthy meal. The owner, Jun, told me that the menu is only a small percentage of the range of coconut dishes that they can make because of the size of the kitchen and the restaurant, and eventually he hopes to be able to add more to the list.

[I returned to the Coconut House on March 7 with my Mom and siblings, who were bowled over by how good the food (and healthy to boot) was -- they had never had anything like it before (like me!), and am now updating this posting after having tasted more of the dishes.]
The Menu

For Almusal (Breakfast), there are the usual mainstays of a Filipino breakfast (tapa, tocino, longanisa), plus Coco Pancake, Scrambled Coco Tofu, Veggie Coco Omelet, Suman Latik (sweet sticky rice with syrup), and something called Cocolog, which I plan to try on my next visit.

Mga Tanghap [short for Tanghalian (Lunch) and Hapunan (Dinner):  Chicken Binakol, Gatadobo (adobo in coconut milk), Super Gulay (Vegetables) Sampler, Seafood Kalabasa (Squash) at Malunggay (a leaf veggie), Kalderetang Dagat sa Gata (seafood in coconut milk), Crispy Seafood Express, and Coco BBQ Fiesta.

Masustansyang Binalot (Nutritious Wraps), in which individual portions of the main dishes are served with organic brown rice in banana-leaf bowls, include Puso Hipon, Laing BBQ, Crispy Express, Gising-Gising Isda, and Gatadobo. Needless to say, I will try some of these on my future visits so I can describe them in detail.

Panghimagas (Desserts) include the house's signature Coconut Ice Cream, Macapuno con Leche, Buko Salad, Ube Macapuno Turon, Buko Sherbet, Coco Halo-Halo, and Coco Dessert Combo.

For drinks, nothing beats the refreshingly chilled and sparkling Coconut Nectar (collected from the stem of coconut flowers). There are also Buko Juice, Fresh Buko, Coffeenut, Coconut Tea, Buko Shake, Buko Pandan shake, among others. 

Here are the dishes that I've tried so far, and I have to say that all of them are must-try dishes, without exception!

The delicious Coco Okoy - usually appetizer or a snack, the typical okoy is a patty of shrimp and julienned vegetables dipped in batter and deep-fried. This okoy has strips of coconut added in, which provides an additional bite to the dish. It's crunchy on the outside and moist inside, and so delicious even eaten by itself and without the usual vinegar dip.

Pancit Buko - the traditional rice or egg noodles are replaced with long strips of coconut. I was amazed at the length (more than 12 inches) of the coconut strips, and we were told they use a special technique of scraping the coconut meat. This is listed on the menu as an appetizer, but it's also filling enough to be a main dish. Can be ordered as with shrimp (additional charge) or without.

Another appetizer or main dish (depending on how hungry you are), is the Lumpiang Ubod ng Sarap (Super-Delicious fresh vegetable roll), whose main ingredient is the ubod (heart of palm). We all loved it, including the delicious sauce (those bits sprinkled on top are coarsely ground or chopped peanuts).

Pork Sinigang in Buko Juice - this is a new take on one of the most-beloved traditional Filipino dishes, pork simmered in a broth flavored with tons of tomatoes (and sometimes onions and garlic) and soured with tamarind; it is finished with a variety of vegetables. Instead of water, the pork is simmered in the juice of the young coconut (buko), which lends its sweetish flavor to the broth. The other nice twist is the strips of young coconut added with the al dente vegetables. Delicious!




Chicken Binakol, the Visayans' version of chicken Tinola (chicken sautéed in ginger and patis (fish sauce), then simmered in a broth and finished with vegetables). In this dish, the chicken pieces are  simmered, like the Sinigang above, in the buko juice which, once again, lends its sweetish note to the dish. A very nice twist, indeed, and yummy too!

Gatadobo is chicken adobo cooked with gata (coconut milk), one of the numerous versions of the Filipino adobo. This is delicious eaten with the organic brown rice served in the restaurant (no white, refined rice here, just healthy brown rice) some Buko Achara (pickled buko & veggies).










Coco BBQ Fiesta -- the chicken and pork belly are gently simmered in coconut juice, then glazed with more coconut juice and grilled to perfection.

Seafood Kalabasa with Malunggay -- Shrimp, Squash, Long Beans, and Malunggay leaves cooked in gata (coconut milk), and topped with buko slices. The squash was perfectly cooked and the long beans were nicely al dente and not overcooked. The malunggay leaves were a nice healthy touch.

The Buko Achara -- strips of pickled buko meat, red and green bell peppers and carrots. I couldn't stop munching on them!

This Coco Nectar was the most refreshing drink I have had in a while -- the juice is collected from the flowers of the coconut tree using a special (and difficult!) technique (which includes climbing the tall coconut tree), then chilled and fizzed or aerated, so you have a super refreshing effervescent coconut nectar juice.

The Coffeenut or Coconut Tea is served with this delicious mini coconut cookies. (Buko juice is used in making the coffee and tea instead of water.) Those cute cookies are baked using coconut flour.

We had several desserts, but I forgot to take photos of them! The Banana Ube Turon was fantastic, as were the coconut ice cream, coco flan ice cream, and the halo-halo.

The Coconut House also stocks a good number of coconut products like Virgin Coconut Oil, Culinary Coconut Oil (for cooking), buko juice, coconut juice, coconut sugar (a good, natural sugar substitute for diabetics), moisturizers, lotion, shampoos, gugo, conditioners, and herbal/vegetable teas, to mention just a few.

A couple of photos of some friends and family on our visits to Coconut House, with the ever-obliging and gracious host/owner, Jun Castillo, who is a font of knowledge and information about this miracle fruit of the Philippines, the coconut.

[Note:  I will continue updating this blog after I have tasted more of this special place's coconut dishes.]