Pizza Heaven In An Island Paradise

Metro Manila: the heart of the Philippine economy. A place where everything is updated and everyone is a “foodie” with food stalls and restaurants in every corner and in every mall! Here, there are thousands of restaurants to choose from. There are also thousands of pizza places, hundreds claiming to be “authentic”, tens of them are and most of them are mind-blowingly expensive!

Puerto Galera: a tiny tiny town of the tip of the province of Oriental Mindoro. A place where tourists come to see a cheaper Boracay and the place is pretty much outdated. Your regular undeveloped town in a province, in other words. Here, there are around a hundred or so food places and, from my experience, only a handful would pass my picky palate and fewer would get positive reactions from me. For an undeveloped province whose main lifeblood is tourism, a place teeming with retired Europeans and other nationalities, it is a wonder why there aren’t a lot of good establishments to eat at the said town.

I’ve become a local to the town since my dad built his business there. In Manila, my family is an adventurous group of eaters. We religiously try new restaurants and put establishments on our list that we would become regulars to. In Puerto Galera (PG), we did the same. We’ve eaten in Sabang and White Beach, places that have the most visitors and we couldn’t find a restaurant that suited our family’s taste…

Until Casa Italia.

Our first encounter with Casa Italia was back in 2010, at the left most tip of White Beach. Back then it was known as “Ciao Italy!” It was a cliff side restaurant with a garish, horrid looking signboard.  In my mind it was, “Not again. Pffft.” I saw the menu and I was quite iffy about its contents. So we ordered a Margherita Pizza, a Greek Salad and a Puttanesca – extremely safe dishes. These safe dishes then became our regular items (minus the Greek Salad. It was also pretty good, don’t worry). Jessica, the wife of the owner and chef, came up to us since she recognize that  we were on the same boat going to PG and this was where our relationship with them started. She then introduced us to her husband, the Italian Mauro (my dad thinks looks like Steve Martin). What makes an authentic Italian restaurant? An full born Italian manning the kitchen of course! We came back within the week and that established us as regulars and we’ve been eating there every time we go to PG (which is almost every month)

Mauro

Casa Italia can now be found at the PG’s town proper, near the town market. This time, the kitchen is manned by another Italian, Ricky, who is also the manager (Mauro oversees another restaurant he owns in the Sabang area, but he comes to visit and cook once in a while). And they still serve the best pizza ever! Leaving the White Beach area allowed it to be more than just a restaurant; it expanded to be a delicatessen offering an array of European cheeses, steaks, sausages and other high quality Italian products. It also offers a range of wines which includes the Italian, Chilean and Australian wines among others. The humble set up is more homey compared to their previous location, although it isn’t very spacious. But I guess that is what you get when a store and a restaurant is cramped into a tiny place in a plaza building. Their serving staff are really accommodating too.

The menu is Italian all the way. From pizzas to pastas, to second dishes (as they call their meat and fish dishes) to paninis, they have items that are available readily on the island and uses ingredients that are shipped from Italy and Manila to maintain their authenticity. Casa Italia may not have the traditional Osso Bucco, but my family just comes here for 2 things: Pizza and Pasta and the occasional Tiramisu.

Their pizza dough is homemade. And that homemade pizza dough is what makes this restaurant the best ever. As a former culinary student, I learned that dough should rise for a couple of hours but what Chef Mauro does is that he allows the dough to rise for 24 hours. The result can be tasted on the crust and that tender bread underneath that heaping pile of cheese. Our pizza is just made with mozarella and parmesan cheeses, tomatoes and oregano, but these 2 Italian guys have magic in their hands. There was a time when a Filipina cooked it for us and it was a bit different, not bad but not as good as Mauro’s or Ricky’s. The balance in the flavors is just amazing. If you want your pizza a little spicier, do not grab the hot sauce bottle! Ask for their home made spiced olive oil. It’s such an insane combination in your mouth. And, AND this 14″ pizza is just at P300+! Their more expensive variety reaches around 400+ but they use genuine Italian parma ham and Italian cheeses as well, not just some store bought stuff, so the price is well worth it and cheap!

Margherita Piza with Pineapple and Mushrooms

That divine concoction of an oil!

As for our pasta, I didn’t actually get a chance to take a picture of it since everyone just dug in! It has everything that a puttanesca requires: tomatoes, olives. capers and anchovies. I am not into sweet pasta so this one was a winner for me. Saltiness, tartness and spice – everything is spot on! And even if they are Italians, they are also concerned for the Filipino palate which dislikes al dente pasta (some say that it’s raw) so they ask upon ordering if you want your pasta al dente or well cooked (NEVER GO FOR WELL COOKED, I’m begging you). It is served with a side of homemade bread too! The size is for sharing if you’re ordering this with pizza, but a single hungry person can definitely finish one plate.

What I recommend you to try is the pizza (duh!) and other pastas like the lasagna and other cream based sauces. For the coffee addicts out there, you must try their tiramisu!

I have yet to find a pizzeria in Manila or anywhere in the Philippines that can stump this joint. So if you’re going for a short vacation in Puerto Galera, dine at Casa Italia. IT. IS. A. MUST!