Story & photos by Mike Besa
I used to hate eating chicken wings as a kid. I absolutely hated the things. There wasn’t much meat on them, and there were way too many bones. But at table one day, noticing that I’d set the wings on my plate to the side as usual, my grandmother told me, “the tastiest meat is that on the bones. If you want something good, then you’re going to have to exert a bit of extra effort to get it.”
As it is with restaurants in Tagaytay. There are now hundreds of restaurants on the Tagaytay Ridge, but the most interesting ones are hidden away on one of the side roads, away from the beaten track. Sometimes the most reclusive restaurants are the most interesting. The latest of these hidden gems is gorgeous Thai restaurant called Lime and Basil.
The labor of love of Sigrid Sarmiento and Orvin Sayos, Lime and Basil is worth the drive. Sigrid grew up with Thai food; her parents own Chatuchak and Tamarind, so it was a matter of time before she opened her own restaurant. Her husband Orvin was a willing partner and, it turns out, he was quite gifted in the kitchen. So much so that he eventually took over operations from Sigrid, freeing her to take care of their first-born child.
The location is the family vacation home. When they started up, Sigrid and Orvin were serving patrons in their living room, but with the arrival of the baby, they bit the bullet and built a charming dining room across from the house. Today the restaurant is a lovely, airy dining room facing a serene garden setting in the soothing climate just off the Tagaytay ridge. It’s an ideal place for a romantic meal or raucous get-together with friends.
In spite of their experience with Thai cuisine, they are reluctant to call their food the real thing, as they are both Filipino. And it isn’t, but that isn’t a bad thing. It’s just the truth. But don’t let that turn you off; their food is good. The tom yum goong is as sumptous as any I’ve had. As was the catfish and green-mango salad. And the spring rolls. Really everything is good, but the food has a slightly different flavor profile from what you’d have in Bangkok. The crispy pata with curry sauce is their nod to fusing Thai and Filipino cuisines and it works. The crispy pata remains true to its heritage; the skin remains crisp and crunchy, while the meat is extremely tender and succulent. The curry sauce adds a nice twist to a very familiar dish.
The goodness of the food here has to all to do with the couple’s respect for the food. They use the best ingredients they can find and grow many of the herbs and vegetables themselves in what they call their “Songkran edible garden” just behind the restaurant. No short cuts were taken with any of the menu items. It is this respect that makes Lime and Basil so good.
It’s heartening to find two young chefs so passionate about the food they serve. Few like them have the fortune and wherewithal to turn their dreams into a brick-and-mortar establishment and fewer still take the road less traveled to making their dream a reality. Lime and Basil might be a bit off the beaten track, but it is a journey well worth taking.