Calderon: Good Food to Share
We started the dinner with their best sellers, what else but PAELLA!
**Please allow 20 to 30 minutes waiting time for Paellas to be served.
Calderon: Paella Negra VS Paella Valenciana
If you would ask me, I loved the Paella Negra on top of everything! I loved how the taste of squid melted in my mouth with the perfectly cooked rice. It got better when I added some Aioli Sauce that came with the serving, which complimented so well with the Paella. The Paella Negra was really “negra” or black in color which only means that it was cooked full of fresh squid ink! Yum!
Calderon: Paella Negra 24″ at 500.00
As for the Paella Valenciana, the moist texture took advantage of the shrimp, mussels, ham, chorizo, peas and baguio beans that were mixed into the dish. The shrimps, specifically, had very strong flavor induced within the Paella rather than just shrimps that were topped onto it.
Calderon: Paella Valenciana 24″ at 700.00
Sopa de Ajo or Garlic Soup was served to us after.
Calderon’s Sopa De Ajo at 120.00
Tapas were served next! For those who are not familiar of what tapas are… Tapas are little spanish meals usually eaten in between big meals. They are usually served to encourage conversation between people on the table. We were served two of the best selling tapas of the restaurant–Callos Madrilena and Bacalao ala Vizcaina.
Calderon: Callos Madrilena VS Bacalao ala Vizcaina
Served with toasted bread on the side, both tapas were okay. I liked the Callos Madrilena over the Bacalao ala Vizcaina for the fact that I’m not a fish lover. For the Callos Madrilena, the beef tripes were cooked soft and it complemented with the overpowering taste of the garbanzos beans. The Bacalao ala Vizcaina, on the other hand, was a little oily for me, but the taste was not too strong that I wanted to grab a bite after again. As mentioned by Sir Monchet, this tapas is his favorite! So for those who are Bacalao lovers, you will surely like this!
Calderon’s Famous Tapas
Another proud specialty of Calderon is their Pollo Iberico which should be ordered at least one day in advance. According to Marmie, the chicken they order from their supplier is alive and killed just before they pick it up, maintaining freshness of the chicken. This dish is usually ordered by those who dine-in with their families.
A good dish to share, Pollo Iberico is slow baked to tenderness for 3-4 hours resulting to a soft, tender and tasty chicken. A proof to that was when Cholo tried picking the chicken leg and he was able to get it effortlessly. The slow cooking also allowed the marinade to slowly sip in and out of the meat to create an encompassing flavor. Better eaten with rice because of the tasty chicken marinade that served as sauce to the chicken. Chewing the chicken meat was very effortless, and the flavor comes out naturally.
Calderon’s Pollo Iberico at 800.00
A seasonal specialty of Calderon is the Cangrejos ala Calderon, which I also liked. Cooked with lots of garlic and olive oil, crab surely caught my taste! I got the top shell of the crab and it was full of crab fat, which I really liked! The crab meat was also tasty that the dish was easily finished.
Calderon’s Cangrejos ala Calderon at 1,000.00
A simple pasta dish that was inspired by making something using what was readily available in the kitchen, Chef Rafa was proud to introduce to us the Pasta de Chorizo. Topped with fried egg, cooked with fresh tomatoes and olive oil, Pasta de Chorizo surely got into kids’ heart.
Calderon’s Pasta de Chorizo at 220.00
for dessert, hit on the next page