Balesin Series – Authentic Food From Around the World (What to eat when in Balesin)

Touring the different themed-villages of Balesin is like touring the countries themselves.

The interior design, architecture and cuisines will definitely tell you where you are exactly.

On our first day, we toured the island shortly after we arrived a little after 1 pm. Our original flight is supposed to leave Manila at 930am but due to unforeseen events that I will blog about next time, we got to the island a little later than planned.

We made it a point to look at the menu of every village’s sala to check out which appeals to us the most. We became hungry while we were at Costa Del Sol (Spain) and took our early dinner there at around 5pm.

Their paella is good for 3-4 or 4-5 (the waiter said it depends on the appetite), so we ordered it (their bestseller) plus 2 others: Albondigas En Salsa (Meatballs in Parsley Sauce) and Setas Al Ajillo (Mushrooms with wine).

We were also lured into ordering their famous Sangria, a concoction of wine, cherries, apples and a small amount of brandy.

It was filling, we didn’t even have to order the 2 other plates because the Paella lived up to its reputation. You have to try it if you go there, it is a blockbuster!

Total bill? PhP 2,450 or PhP 490 per person (just average).

We went home after that, went for a swim at the Bali pool (there’s kiddie at 2ft and there’s adult at 5ft). It was all to ourselves.

The following morning we took some pictures of Bali because the day we arrived it was drizzling. This time the sun was up and the sea and the pool glistened under it.

We then went to the Balesin Clubhouse as we waited for our host and her family for our breakfast buffet, which lasts until 11am. At PhP 750 per person, it was all worth it. Especially if you stay there for hours!

To burn all the calories we took in, we went around the villages to choose our next villa for the 2nd night. One consideration we took was the size of the villa and the bed, since we are 1 person more than the regular (please check the next blog for the other villages).

We also dropped by the sports center and guess what, we played pretty much all the sport activities you can find there (except martial arts and archery). For more pictures of the activities we did in that center, please click here.

After a very tiring but fun-filled day, we then agreed to dine at St. Tropez’ Le Neptune, a private dining room overlooking the pool, the beach, and a moon to boot.

Here, while waiting for the food, we were serenaded by 3 comic and very talented singers collectively known as the Island Trio.

They played songs of different genres, OPM, Michael Buble (Spanish version of Sway), even One Direction, and yielded to requested songs: La Bamba, Hotel California and Pusong Bato.

For our drinks (pictures not available), I chose lemonade at PhP 170 per glass and they chose Smoking Loon Merlot at PhP 320 per glass.

Total Bill for the 5 of us: PhP 8,300 or PhP 1,660 per person (the most pricey so far).

Like Anya Steve said, we had good food, heard good songs to cap the night. He even advised us to swim the meat off. Well, the guys had their own version, relaxing at our villa’s own jacuzzi.

The following day, since our flight is slated at 430pm, we did some activities first (kayaking, biking, beach bumming) before we ate our brunch at the Phuket sala.

Costa del Sol and St. Tropez served a basket of bread, and butter, prior to serving the main entrees, but Phuket did not. But don’t look now, the food was sumptuous, a bit close to Filipino taste and yet, still a bit different.

2 extra rice please (PhP 35 per serving)! Burp!

Gai Bai Toey (Chicken in Pandan Leaves) is also a blockbuster on its own, we were almost tempted to order one more. It is very tasty, but bitin because it only had 4 pieces but there’s 5 of us!

Total Bill: PhP 1,905 or PhP 381 per person (the most affordable so far).

While you are there, it is true that you can bring in food without corkage, but hey! Live it. Eat it. Breathe it. The true Balesin experience involves the immersion of the guests to the culture of the said themed villages. So, go on and have a bite!

On the next blog: How do St. Tropez (San Tropey), Mykonos, Costa del Sol (where Anya and family stayed) and Balesin look like inside the villas and their sala? How authentic is their architecture and interior design? Up next!