One of the dishes Filipinos love to eat all year round is a bowl of goto. This type of rice porridge uses ox tripe to give flavor and it's a go-to comfort food of most Filipinos and many other Asian countries. It's simple and plain, but a bowl of it can give warmth to the coldest of nights, easily satisfy an empty stomach, and sometimes, even sober one up after an alcohol-filled night. Not so bad for a bowl of rice porridge, right?
Goto is an easy-to-cook dish that's usually made with glutinous rice, beef or ox tripe, and simmered in aromatic and flavorful spices. Anyone can easily make it at home or you can just go to one of the numerous 24/7 neighborhood
The eatery name is a wordplay on the 2002 film Got 2 Believe and David Pomeranz's song Got To Believe In Magic. It's a witty name for a place that peddles the humble rice porridge, but the same wit can be used to describe Sandra Santiago, the co-owner of Goto Believe.
Sandra Santiago's love affair with goto started way back when she was just a kid, and possibly destined, because her birthday falls on the same day as World Porridge Day, October 10. Around the months of June and July though, when the rain just seems to pour relentlessly, she would always find herself nursing her loneliness with a bowl of goto. Her love for goto intensified as the years went by. She shares, "Mas love ko pa
Goto Believe cooks their goto with an array of ingredients that make this comfort food sinfully delicious and addicting. The innards that they include are
You must be thinking: "Okay, but what's new with that?" Sandra believes it's their secret ingredients, namely: three innovative foodies, a giant wok, and a variety of
Vincent
When it comes to Filipino's infinite love for food and our
Goto Believe serves OMG (Oh My Goto!) Wet bowl (P319), which should be enough for two to three people, and is overflowing with ten types of perfectly grilled skewers:
It sounds absolutely delicious and heart-stopping, right? Well, according to Sandra, that wasn't always the case. When she decided to build this goto empire, a few friends questioned her passion for goto. She was in total disbelief when she found out that there are certain people that don't like the taste and feel of wet goto. Fortunately, Sandra felt determined and challenged, despite the sentiments of the non-goto believers. This is why they came up with the dry goto, which eventually serves as a gateway for skeptics to slowly appreciate the taste of goto.
Goto Believe's dry goto (P319) is similar to Singapore's signature Hainanese rice. The grains of
Part of the magic of Goto Believe is also about customizing each goto bowl with your preference of egg, toppings, and side dishes. There's nothing more satisfying than eating your way to the bottom of the bowl and piling a bundle of already-used barbecue sticks on the side. Even Sandra's 6-year-old son, Dakilang, learned to love goto as much as she does. His go-to goto is a half-and-half of the wet goto and the dry goto and topped with quail eggs. A customer of Goto Believe, which had the same idea as Dakilang, coined it as the chunky goto. Definitely a must-try for all goto fans!
As Sandra would say, "Bahala
Goto Believe is located at 640 San Rafael Street, Mandaluyong.
