At the heart of Ortigas lies Isla Una, a three-story food haven offering Filipino dishes that will answer your every craving. Thanks to Isla Una, you can now eat your favorite local dishes without having to leave the urban landscape! I mean, as much as we want to get away from the city, let’s face it, we can’t just up and leave every time we want to.
Isla Una offers a simple yet straightforward cuisine that lets you indulge in a wide variety of flavors from different regions across the Philippines. The dishes at Isla Una are prepared the old-fashioned way, from secret family recipes passed on through generations and perfected through the years.
Dining at Isla Una evokes a unique, familiar, and nostalgic experience, all at the same time. First, it is unique, because the interiors aren’t like your usual Filipino restaurant; it is hip and modern, appealing more to the younger generation, especially since it’s located at City Golf. Second, it is familiar, because Filipinos generally have close family ties, so meals are more often than not eaten together in a household. And finally, nostalgic, because eating here will remind you of all the salu-salo or get-togethers you’ve attended before – whether these be with family or with friends.
Isla Una offers a wide array of dishes, starting with the pampagana or appetizers. Their menu has numerous staples like the Chicharong Bulaklak, Sizzling Sisig, Tusok-Tusok, Ensaladang Mangga, and Pansit Canton Guisado.
Pansit Canton Guisado (P245)
stir-fried noodles with mixed seafood and vegetables
Their baboy or pork selections rank high on our list of must-try dishes.
The Lechon Kawali is a popular pork belly dish simmered until tender then deep-fried until golden and crispy, while the Crispy Pata is crunchy and flavorful on the outside and super moist and tender inside. Both are served with soy sauce and calamansi on the side.
Lechon Kawali (P360)
Crispy Pata (P650)
Another favorite is the Kare-Kare (P360).
Served in a huge bowl of ox shank, ox tripe, and various native vegetables in creamy ground peanut sauce, this Filipino favorite is best mixed with some sautéed shrimp paste to make it a more exciting and enjoyable dish. The Kare-Kare is usually eaten with plain rice to fully capture its flavors, but if you really want to match it with something, the Bagoong Rice (P65) is the way to go.
The Sizzling Bulalo (P490) is also a highly raved about dish at Isla Una. It is 400 grams of beef shank baked in the oven until fork-tender, finished off by braising in Filipino-style herbed mushroom gravy. It’s the kind of dish that will make you go “sauce pa lang, ulam na!”
Since the Philippines is a country surrounded by water, fresh seafood is abundant. It’s no surprise why Isla Una has a lot of them on the menu. Oysters, fish, shrimps, snails, mussels – they have it all! But probably their best-selling ones are the Bangus Ala Pobre (pan-fried boneless milkfish served with tomato salsa and special vinegar sauce), Prawn Aligue (prawns cooked in smothering and creamy aligue sauce), and Yamang Dagat (prawns, squid, and mussels cooked in a flavorful broth of garlic, ginger and coconut milk).
Bangus Ala Pobre (P330)
Bangus Ala Pobre (P330)
Prawns Aligue (P280)
Yamang Dagat (P410)
Finally, end your meal with the Yema Palitaw (P130). Instead of the plain sticky rice cake with coconut, they’ve added a yema filling to it. It is a delicious treat that will surely make you ask for more.
What a feast. Thank you, Isla Una!
Isla Una is located at City Golf Plaza, Julia Vargas Avenue, Ugong, Pasig City
For inquiries / reservations, contact Isla Una at (0915) 133-8091 or (02) 650-2153
