I read from many food blogs and travel sites that 1st Colonial Grill was a must for anyone…read moretraveling to the Albay area. So, we had dinner at the 1st Colonial Grill in the Ayala Malls, conveniently located to much of the city center.
We were able to be seated immediately and though it's in a mall, it is a restaurant within, so you don't feel like you're eating in a food court. The place quickly filled up during dinner hour once we arrived.
We ordered the Tinapa Fried Rice, Bicol Express, Pork Sinigang, Half Grilled Chicken and ice cream samples of Tinutong Na Bigas, Pili and Ginger. Food came out as it was ready and for the savory, most of what we ordered was fantastic! The Tinapa Fried Rice is a dish I'd recommend trying, as it's a popular Filipino and Bicol dish that isn't on many menus. It's a fried rice that's cooked with leftover rice and tinapa fish, so you get a lot of that flavor throughout the scoops. It was also topped with tomato, shreds of mango and hard-boiled egg. It's a hearty fried rice dish and with the portion, it was more than enough for two of us. The Bicol Express was my favorite of the savory dishes. If you're traveling to the Albay province, it's a crime to not try Bicol Express! The coconut-curry like dish had tender cuts of pork and peppers and was spicy! For anyone who likes coconut curries then it's a dish to try, especially since it's a native dish from this area. Love the spiciness, too! Pork Sinignag was solid, with yummy tender pork pieces and eggplant throughout the soup. The broth could've been more sour, but it was good and the portion was more than enough for two of us. The Half Grilled Chicken was my least favorite and would not recommend ordering. The chicken was dry and though it had a sauce with, it could not help the taste of how dry and bland the meat was.
And we made sure to save room for ice cream, which is what 1st Colonial Grill is famous for. Specifically, the Sili ice cream flavor is made with red peppers and ranges in spice level, depending on how risky you feel. It's an eating competition, to try the sili ice cream at the highest spice level. We were wusses, so didn't try the sili, but saw the many sili ice creams pass by our table by everyone else getting this popular flavor! However, they do have an ice cream sampler which allows those to try three different, small scoops of ice cream of your choosing. We decided on the Tinutong Na Bigas, Pili and Ginger. Of all of the flavors, I loved the Tinuton Na Bigas, which is a rice-flavored ice cream that had a smokiness to it. It was like eating a rice pudding dish with coffee. It was really good! The Pili flavor was my boyfriend's favorite and I thought it was good, too. Pili is a nut based in the Philippines, so tasted like a lighter peanut flavor. The ginger ice cream was very distinct with lots of ginger flavor, which is probably why I didn't like it so much, since I'm not too keen on ginger. But I'd recommend it for anyone who likes ginger.
Overall, we had a great dining experience at 1st Colonial Grill! For as famous as it is, it's a casual eatery with friendly staff and lots of options for classic Bicolano food and ice cream worth trying! Even if you're not hungry, just got for the ice cream, which has made 1st Colonial Grill famous. It's a Bicol must!