Where to eat in Daet: Tippy Toppy

Tippy Toppy's cream puff, a burst of creamy delight inside your mouth

As soon as we arrived in Vinzons, I checked my phone for 3G signal and then googled "where to eat in Daet" right away. It gave me several options but decided to settle for the restaurant name with an easy mental recall - Tippy Toppy.

Our tricycle stopped in front of what seemed like a bare old structure. We even had to ask the driver again, "Tippy Toppy po?" And he was reassuring that we were at the right place so we went inside. To our surprise, the place didn't look like a restaurant. There was a window which looked like that of a sari-sari store but with no one to speak with. We rang the bell sitting on top of the table, rang it once, twice and this old lady came out dashing telling us to head directly to the back of the house.

It turned out, Tippy Toppy, the restaurant, is located at the back of the old house. It was a simple, open location with a very airy ambiance. It was Mother's Day when we went and the big tables were mostly occupied by families. The menu came and we ordered. And yes, food was great and CHEAP.

The combo that came with the star dish and now my favorite, tinomok (it's the green dish that looks like laing on far left).

I'd start with the star of the meal - the tinomok, which is a local Bicolano dish, and is now my favorite. Tinomok is a dish with coconut milk, small shrimps, gabi leaves, and a little bit of chili as primary ingredients. The shrimps are wrapped in gabi leaves and cooked in coconut milk. From what I've heard, you simmer all the ingredients until the natural oil from the coconut comes out. The coconut milk compliments the bit of saltiness from the shrimps and the spice from the chili. I got a combo meal which had my tinomok served in a portion, along with an equally yummy pork adobo. I should have ordered a whole plate! I'm confident enough that I'd finish one on my own and mind you - I don't eat vegetables.

Next in stardom to tinomok was the cream puff. The cream puffs were soft and not too sweet. I loved the burst of cream inside my mouth every time I'd take one. I even ordered a dozen to take back to Manila.

Ginumis; mango, pearls, shaved ice and ice cream

Fresh lumpia, for the win

Calaguas food, thanks to Melvic's team, was good enough but Tippy Toppy was just the right way to cap off the beach trip with a burp.