The Bagnet Experience

A trip to Ilocos is never complete without trying their famous bagnet—a slab of pork deep-fried to its crispy perfection and cut to bite-size pieces. Crunchy, crunchy, crunchy.

I am a self-confessed meat-lover. I could not survive a week without pork or beef. So you could just imagine my excitement when I heard of Bagnet 8065.

Tucked in a quaint street in Makati, Bagnet 8065 is a not your typical hole-in-the-wall restaurant. I first heard of the place from my officemates, they have been raving about it for quite some time. I have been wanting to go there for so long, and finally had my chance last week.

First, let me tell you a bit about the place. The interior is packed with a mish-mash of furniture and knick-knacks. You can tell by the décor that the owner of the place is a free-spirited artist, a book-lover, a traveler and a bagnet-lover all rolled into one.

I love it how the owners of the restaurant incorporated pieces of artworks and books in the decor of the place. Made the interior looked so homey.

Wall gallery beside the staircase leading to the second floor.

They even set-up some graffiti walls:

This graffiti wall spelled "bagnet" in graffiti writing but I realized it only on our way home.
Will try to take a photo of the whole wall next time. :)

Allow me now to tell you about the FOOD!

Bagnet 8065 has a simple (and very affordable!) menu. It has a selection of bagnet dishes cooked in every Filipino-way possible. They have vegetable and fish dishes as well.

We ordered two dishes--Original Bagnet and Bagnet Curry:

The Original Bagnet was served with pickled green mangoes, bagoong and atchara on the side. Every bite of bagnet was crunchy and absolutely delicious. It was not like your typical lechon kawali. Their bagnet was not oily on the palate.

Original Bagnet

When I first saw the Bagnet Curry in their menu, I was a bit apprehensive in ordering it. I love curry dishes, but I could not imagine how the curry taste would blend with the bagnet. And how the bagnet might not be crunchy anymore because of the sauce... But we ordered it anyway. My apprehensions proved me wrong!

Bagnet Curry

The first bite of Bagnet Curry was yummy! I love how they separately cooked the curry sauce and the bagnet. Then topped the crispy bagnet on the plate of curry sauce. The bagnet pieces remained crunchy till the last piece.

Bagnet 8065 is located at Estrella Street in San Antonio Village, Makati City. Parking may be a bit of a problem, though.

Hope you could try their dishes soon! :)