Last Saturday, I visited Balkan. One thing that immediately popped in my mind was tennis because my favorite players were born in war-torn Yugoslavia. They were Monica Seles, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. Let me take you to my Balkan gastronomic experience. Let’s say “ajde” which means come on in Serbian!
Did you know that on August 8, 2016, the Balkan branch on Perea Street in Legazpi Village, Makati had a re-opening as it was renovated?
Balkan was founded by brothers Marko and Martin Batricevic. They believe that Balkan will be a center of not just the best Yugoslavian cuisine but also an amazing gastronomic experience. I had the privilege to try several best sellers.
Here are my take on each dish:
Leblebije (Hummus) is made of chickpeas, garlic, tahini and olive oil. It is best served with hot pita bread. It’s an ACE for me.
This salad is made of arugula, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, fried feta cheese, apple, cucumber and toasted bread. It was fresh and lite. I would give it a HIT.
Goulash is a classic beef stew which roots back in 9th century. It was a common food for Hungarian shepherds. It’s an ACE for me.
Chicken Kebab was amazing! It was actually my favorite. It’s an ACE for me.
Stuffed Pljeskavica is the national dish of Serbia. The ground beef steak was stuffed with mozzarella cheese. It was so good and yummy. An ACE for me!
Overall, I’m really happy with my Balkan gastronomic experience. After the meals, I literally screamed “Idemo” which means let’s go in Serbian.
Balkan is located at Ground Floor, Maripola Building, 109 Perea Street, Legazpi Village, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines. They are open from 11 AM to 10 PM (Monday to Sunday). You may also contact them at +632-846-0744.
You may check their official social media accounts for any promos or updates:
Instagram: balkanmnl
Facebook: BalkanMNL
Twitter: BalkanMNL
Wow, it’s so cool that you have a Balkan restaurant in the Philippines. I have to say that hummus isn’t something you’d typically eat in the Balkans nowadays, it’s more of a Middle Eastern food. Goulash, as you say, is typically Hungarian, but it is common in the Balkans as well. Stuffed pljeskavica is definitely a typical Serbian food, eaten both in the streets and at restaurants. Mozzarella cheese, though, is more Italian, while in Serbia they typically stuff the meat with kackavalj cheese, I think, or some other harder cheese like gauda for example. The arugula salad doesn’t seem really Balkan to me, maybe it is common in some Mediterranean parts of the Balkans, but definitely not Serbia. I’m not an expert in food, but this is just my personal opinion as a person from Serbia.
I think the Balkan food in general is getting more popular in the Philippines. It’s really good and I hope more people will appreciate it. Thanks for your lovely insights as usual. Can’t wait to visit Serbia and try the authentic one.
Together with my girlfriend we are travelling around the world and learning to surf and exploring countries as well as exploring good food. So all these info are helpful. You can check also our social sites:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8YqHe_liBI
Cheers.
Hummus with pita bread and chicken kebab….yummy…thnx for sharing
Each one of those dishes look more than delicious for me you to try right away
Can’t wait to visit this one, thanks tennisfoodie.
Oh I love hummus but i’ve tried so many that were disappointing. This one that you ate looks promising though!!
This is great Tennis and Food are two of my favourite things. I live in Dunblane, Scotland where our local hero Andy Murray comes from. We don’t have any Balkan restaurants here yet but the food looks like it would be my thing.
Wow the good looks amazing. I love hummus, I️ bet it’s really good over there.
Oh wow, that food looks delicious! Would love to try similar dishes, I am always curious about other countries traditions!
I’ve had some of those dishes you listed but Ive never tried Goulash. Im interested in trying it now. Thanks for sharing your Yummy experience!
This looks and sounds delicious. Three of my girlfriends took a long weekend trip sampling goulash in three Danube countries: Austria, Hungary and Slovenia. That trip and the food thoroughly opened my mind to travel further into the Baltic countries.
The pita bread and hummus look wonderful! You don’t generally expect to find a balkan restaurant outside of Europe.
I haven’t really looked into Serbia’s food and culture but was surprised upon reading your post. I grew up eating hummus, goulash and kebab in the Middle East. So much similiarities!
This looks different and worth a try. Thanks for finding unique places to eat at.
I love finding unique and quirky places to eat! They tell so much about the owner and how much though went into the place! I haven’t eaten Serbian food before but I have had kebabs and hummus! YUM!
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Wow all the dish looks yummy and delicious.. Hope you enjoyed that yummy tasty food..
This is the first time I’ve heard about Balkan and I want to visit it soon. The food looks delicious! I am curious about the price range, will check it out.
This looks delish! I have never had yugoslavian food. I would love to try some after checking our your post!
These dishes look great and I ave tried a few. I love dishes like this.
I’ve yet to try Yugoslavian kitchen! All the plates look delicious! Pon appetite!
All of the meals look fantastic!! I wish we had a Balkan restaurant in my city. I could go for some chicken kabobs and hummus right now. Thanks for making me hungry haha!
Looks great I LOVE food blogs
THIS food looks so tasty! Not I’m hungry!
omg! where is this place? all the food looks delicious. I want to go or at least recommend to a friend who may be close to the restaurant.
That looks like quite the dining experience. I like that the hummus is served with pita bread.
I have this feeling I would need two separate vacations to Balkan. One will be dedicated just to my foodie adventures. It all sounds incredible.
These meals looks so tasty. I would love to rt these meals. I love chicken Kebab.