Bantagas Goto : It's Goto Without Rice

I spent three very relaxing nights in Batangas with my family last weekend and as always indulged myself in good and authentic Filipino food. Last saturday, Tito Lito took us to this place called Gotohan sa Barangay which is a 15 minute drive from our farm and very near Lipa Cathedral. 

As the name suggests, their specialty is the infamous Batangas Goto. Unlike the traditional goto arroz caldo that we are all familiar with, the Batangas version does not have glutinous rice. It is an interesting  mixture of of diced tripe, cow's skin, intestines, liver, tongue, blood and meat boiled and simmered to create a delightful and flavorful broth. It's a rather delicate process because you have to make sure that the innards used are properly and thoroughly cleaned to take out the pungent taste. Their menu includes the Original Goto, Goto Laman, Goto Bat and Balls (cow's sex organs, go figure!), Goto Litid and Goto Mien (with noodles and boiled egg).

While waiting for our order, we all prepared our dipping sauces by crushing pieces of chili (siling labuyo), a generous amount of calamansi (local version of lemon) and soy sauce. They also gave a small platter of diced native onions to be placed on top of the hot soup to add flavor.

I sampled their Goto Laman (lean meat) Php 45 while Joel was more adventurous and picked the Goto (innards) Php 40. It was served steaming hot with a rich aromatic and meaty aroma. The broth was very similar to Bulalo but just more peppery and pungent (I guess this is because of all the different parts of meat used to create this delicate soup). Adding the fresh red onions on top truly accentuated the taste. I ate each piece of meat and dipped it in my toyo-calamansi sauce and ate it with plain, sticky white rice. It  was the perfect merienda though heavy because it was with rice! Gulp! 

This was Pipo's Goto Mien (Goto with Noodles and Egg) Php 50. This looks a lot like Mami.

We finished our merienda with a small piece of heaven... a tiny butterscotch candy bar. It was just right to take out the umay from drinking the meaty soup and eating all that unwanted cholesterol and uric acid!  

Next time, I shall come back and try their Goto Bat and Balls...it's a great aphrodisiac they say, right Justin and Hip?