Hello, summer!

BINGGOY Remedios of Dos Mestizos

It’s that time of the year again when we can get away from it all, leave those Excel sheets in the office and escape to paradise. Lucky for us Filipinos, the best beach in the world is just in our backyard, 45 minutes away by plane from Metro Manila.

Boracay was named World’s Best Island in 2012 by Travel+Leisure and just recently was ranked the 7th best beach in the world by Tripadvisor.

Finca Verde

Locals, however, who fell in love with Boracay over 15 to 20 years ago and still live in the area today, have moved away from the beachfront, now that Boracay has become so crowded.

Binggoy Remedios, who founded Dos Mestizos, one of the most popular restaurants in Boracay, over 12 years ago, has created his own little paradise in a property just half an hour away from the island.

With Niña Bustamante, he put up Finca Verde in Brgy. Nabaoy, in Malay, the municipality to which Boracay Island belongs. It appears to be a private resort but Niña is quick to correct this impression. “It’s our home,” she says. “We open it to visitors but the place won’t be totally exclusive to them because we live here.”

It is, though, a home that you would want to visit not only because of the seclusion it provides, but also for Binggoy’s cooking.

Dos Mestizos

Dos Mestizos was born over 12 years ago but to this day remains to be one of the most popular restaurants on the island.

The idea came to Binggoy while he was living in Nevada and saw a restaurant called Two Boys from Italy. He thought to himself, “When I get back to the Philippines, I want to open a restaurant like this.” And he did with friend Jose Ramon Nieto.

They are the two mestizos.

In 2006, they moved to their current location on Calle Remedios in Station 2.

If Dos Mestizos were in Manila, it would be able to compete with the best Spanish restaurants in the metro.

On Saturday nights, it offers a filling tapas buffet with foie gras, tortilla mariscos, albondigas (beef meatballs), ceviche, and a long line of other succulent selections.

On a regular day, you can order from the menu. Make sure to try its seafood paella, packed with seafood on top.

“I tell my Spanish friends, our paella is different from yours because it was the rich Spaniards who came to the Philippines. That’s why our paella is filled with toppings,” Binggoy laughed.

If only they could Fedex this paella to Manila. Dos Mestizos is also known for its callos and beef salpicao.

Boracay Biz

That Dos Mestizos is still around and Binggoy is even expanding to other ventures is no small feat.

Building a restaurant in Boracay is not easy, and it was even harder 10 years ago. “Back in the day, we had to import everything. And prices were expensive. People think seafood here is cheap because Boracay is an island but it’s cheaper to buy fish at Farmer’s,” Binggoy explained.

Today, though, running a restaurant business in Boracay is easier because there are more suppliers who deliver the goods, whether they be wines or olive oil, right to your doorstep.

Cutting costs

Binggoy also found an even better way to cut costs: by growing your own ingredients! “I’ve cut my costs by half because now we have our own ducks and greens,” Binggoy shared. “I don’t sell. I just use these for the restaurant. Sometimes, I give to friends.”

Aside from the benefit of saving costs, the farm also allows Binggoy to live the life he has always wanted. His daughter, Chabeli, is also growing up in an ideal environment.

Chabeli, in fact, helps show guests around the farm.

“The farm is also her playground,” Niña shared, “So Chabeli will grow up well-acquainted with nature and produce.”

Be our guest

Today, Finca Verde has four separate huts, which can accommodate up to four persons each. But the first one, where guests are called for lunch and dinner, is actually their home.

It is here that you get a glimpse of Binggoy and Niña’s organic way of life: water with tarragon, homemade bread, fresh coconut juice and Binggoy’s cooking.

Later, if you care for a nightcap, no need to worry about making noise and waking the kid up—she’s used to it.

They have a stone “fireplace” where you can make a bonfire and enjoy whiskey as you make smores.

They are also building another hut that will serve as Chabeli’s “school,” as she will be home-schooled, possibly with other children in the Boracay community; and also where yoga sessions can be held.

Progress

“I moved to Boracay because I was after the lifestyle. That’s what I was after. Now, it’s work,” Binggoy explains, accepting the responsibilities of a restaurant owner on a happening island. “We had to evolve with the commercialization of the island. You have to or you will run out of business,” he added.

But the island continues to inspire him. He is now focused on developing Finca Verde, his pet project, which he has slowly been building, sometimes literally with his own hands, one hut at a time.

“It’s still about the lifestyle,” Binggoy explained. “It’s a lifestyle that is one with nature, one with the island. The pace is slow and steady; the food is fresh and organic; the scenery is divine. This is how we want to live. So we work on it.”

Where to eat

Finca Verde can be your first or last stop when you visit Boracay. But while you are by the beach, here are a few restaurants you might like to check out.

For breakfast or brunch, Sunny Side Cafe has the best—and biggest—pancakes. The locals recommend the red velvet pancake, smothered with cream cheese. Also try the grilled cheese sandwich which is no ordinary grilled cheese sandwich: the custom brioche bread sandwiches a thick slab of bacon, its porky saltiness complemented by mango jam. It is excellent!

For dinner, try Norbert Gandler’s Los Indios Bravos. Oysters arrive in the afternoon and you can appreciate this with its craft beer. If you are hungry, it is also known for shepherd’s pie. If not, just have the croquettas, which are filling on their own.

To take home: drop by Real Coffee for those famous calamansi muffins. It has moved to a two-story location, where you can enjoy your coffee as you people-watch on the beach front; or just grab the calamansi muffins from the bar on the ground floor.

But don’t leave Boracay without catching that famous Boracay sunset. Try to see it from the Boracay Terraces. If you climb the steps to the cross of the late Stevie Tajanlangit, the investor who built Boracay Terraces, you will have a view of the entire beach. Or you can just catch the sunset from the terrace, with a margarita in one hand and seafood barbecue on the other, as you dance to reggae.

Boracay is really an island paradise!

Finca Verde

By reservation only.

Brgy. Nabaoy, Malay, Aklan

+63998-5457279

beachadventurer@gmail.com

Boracay Terraces

Station 1, Boracay Island

+6336-2883722

Follow the author @margauxsalcedo on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Visit margauxlicious.com.

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