A Stunning View Hidden in Small Streets - A Review of Ormoc Herbs

(Reminder for the Adviser: I was busy making a video for another subject, plus I wanted to review the place a long time ago, and finally used this time as a task performance to do so! I'm sorry if 1. it's not the vlog you found from the others and 2. it's a little rushed due to my time constraints between working on projects and personal healing time due to my health anxiety!)

Last December 2020, Ormoc City loosened its restrictions on movement after active cases continued to be in control. With more people wanting to continue life (with a mask and shield, of course), and since my family hasn't travelled to a fancy place since last August 2020, my sister and her husband decided to treat us to somewhere like never before.

When being asked about where we are going, my mother told me we would go to an herbal plant named "Ormoc Herbs and Spices", and I was a little confused about her response. We head for the Tacloban road, ending up on the right road, by the Luna-Dolores-Milagro Road, which is around Brgy. San Juan. (A simpler and more understandable view of direction can be read here.)

Thereby heading on a right is a street, and at first, only shows homes but another right and left leads us closer to an eventual delight.

It was Ormoc Herbs.

Not my photo. CTTO. But looks similar to what I saw entering the place.

It was part greenery, part restaurant, and part viewing area: a perfect description for a hidden gem and a wonderful tourist destination (since statues and broken-down buildings are already covered in previous pieces anyways). Walking the pebble path, it feels like a small rainforest leading to a temporary fix of the modern lifestyle entering the glass door of the right part of the restaurant.

As we got our QR scanned and took our temperature check to see there weren't any oddities among us, we looked around and just feel in awe over the stunning view. More on that view later in this article.

Not my photo as well. CTTO. The menu is close to the menu given to my sister when ordering.

Appetizers were first and went with the Ormoc Herbs Salad. Actually, since we were six, they had to order two small dishes just to keep all of us prepared for what delicious goodness was coming up. While we wait, we just talk and talk and talk about what they usually talk about. Being a teen, I don't really focus a lot of conversations I don't have a lot of knowledge of, but at least it complemented well with the music playing.

I head by the edge of the restaurant and see how stunning the view was in more detail. Rivers flowing, birds flying, the wind was crisp, clouds flowing alongside the blue sky, and trees galore, you'd think you're seeing a live-action adaptation of Dr. Stone, just without some bright light flashing (since it was morning when I first saw it), but I just think it was divine.

My phone's eye view of the scenery. And yes, this is my photo.

To keep us safe from falling off the cliff garden (since there is a garden by the cliff and their sides), a porch was installed.

More of the view. Also my photo.

By the right wall are sets of potted plants hung alongside a set of wooden planks which form a criss-cross pattern. Kind of like an open bag woven from dried leaves or a woven basket but with bigger holes.

Not my photo, but this is the salad. Portions vary.

As I quickly head back to my chair, the appetizers arrived at the table, looking fresh, colorful (in the rustic side), and very palatable for all classes. The salad contains lot of both notable and unknown ingredients: blue flowers (yes, they are edible, and they look like pansies), sliced grapes, gingerbread (or maybe croutons since they did say they were croutons), dragonfruit, thin slices of purple cabbage, some fruits, leafy greens, nuts, and topped with some form of granules I don't know of. There is also a sauce in the middle (which I also don't know the name of) to dip the mix for some flavor and hydration.

The salad was a nice opener to our meal, taken its ingredients are fresh from the farm just a few steps away. I never knew that flowers can be edible in a way that fits alongside the whole palette of "flimbs and crumbs" (a phrase I use for something full of many things, but when I run out of fancy words in the vocabulary).

There were also two sets of shrimp sushi rolls lightly drizzled with a savory sauce, and being a fan of sushi, I didn't hesitate to take a few rolls onto my mouth (since the rolls were the size of a small maki).

My photo. Notice the left corner where the salad and sushi are actually consumed beforehand.

After wallowing and swallowing two appetizers, the entreé and main course arrived minutes apart from each other. The left is the sidekick here: a chicken dish covered with a savory porky sauce, and topped with some chives and some pink-purplish grates of what I think are shallots (or is that another vegetable?). The right is the hero: a whole pan of paella, cooked and baked rice with chunky chorizo bits, five prawns, and sprinkled with chives, dried out limes, and a lemon in the middle to balance out the dish's mostly savory flavor.

The chicken was honestly the most disappointing part of this ordeal. While it was tender, and I liked the juicy flavor alongside the sauce, it seemed inferior against home-made and even some fast-food version of chicken, whatever kind of cooking exists with it. It also had the most forgettable taste of the four-course meal.

On the opposite end, the paella was beyond stellar; it made me feel like I was in another country without bothering on a ticket. While the rice was VERY oily (and the oil was VERY heavy, like enough to clog), the flavor was just right. The chorizo were juicy and paired with the rice became like eating in an Eastern restaurant. I didn't try the shrimp, since I had a little allergy over them, but regardless the main course really exceeded my expectations.

There was also juice to wash down the whole meal: an orange juice soured with lemon, cucumber, including specks of chia seeds, all chilled and stirred quite well. While the juice ain't the most flavorful, it seemed to be the most natural of all the kinds of drinks I drank in my life so far.

Talking about other stuff, the staff were very friendly, very open, and always know how to deliver meals to customers in time and without hesitation. Before we left, there were other customers by the left side of the restaurant and were treated as fairly as we did, proving how well-trained the staff are. The surroundings were one of a kind, though my slight fear of heights would take a break after a while. The prices were the most surprising thing, being so afforable, even nearby families can afford a good deal with just a simple salary of a thousand pesos, and it's honestly more than grateful that these prices go alongside the high quality of the dishes that was served to us.

If I could visit again, I would try reserve ahead in case something goes wrong in the city proper, since cases are still present, but if I want to test my independence, then a lone visit could start things out. This was overall, a very satisfying experience.

Other websites who reviewed the place:

Vin Montilla's Wordpress

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