nothing pretentious

Have you ever been in a situation where your taste buds want to savor more food but the rest of your body tells you otherwise? This is what I felt when I first visited Balkan. A Yugoslavian restaurant in Makati. A colleague of mine told me about the place and so my adventure continues...

The place is fairly new, probably in existence for around 3 months. The place is clean, utensils are new and fairly quiet. The menu is generally influenced by the way of life in the Balkans, peasantry. Potatoes and beef are the common ingredients of the dishes.

Stuffed Pljeskavica - You have the option to have this with rice or chips. The surprise? Melted mozzarella stuffed in what looks like a burger patty. Best eaten warm.

Stuffed Batak - can be pork or chicken - topped with melted cheese (again). At this point, blood pressure should be monitored closely.

The house specialty, Jagnjetina Lamb. Really juicy and tender. Personally not a fan of lamb dishes but this is worth the try. A little expensive compared to the rest of the dishes though. 

Cevapcici - you can have this served in a platter or have the sausages take the place of the patty in a burger.

A piece of advice - these dishes come in large hearty servings. Best for sharing. I'm glad I was told by the waitress beforehand. And no, I did not have all these in just one visit.

If you love meat and would like to try something different, Balkan Yugoslavian Home Cooking is definitely worth a try. Nothing pretentious nor fancy about the food. Just honest to goodness Balkan dishes. They also serve wine and beer to go with your beefy meal.

Balkan's complete address is Ground Floor Maripola Building, 109 Perea Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City. Just beside Ton-ton's Massage.

Tel. No. (0917) 547-4188, 846-0744. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily