The Bacolod food hunters visited three restaurants reputed to serve the BEST batchoy in Bacolod. We graded each bowl of batchoy according to 4 categories. For reference purposes and for standardization, we ordered the most expensive bowls of Batchoy in each place. Yup, that means all your super special batchoy with special ingredients.
Here are the 4 categories.. Maximum score is 5/5
1.) Number of Ingredients – Chicharon, liver, brain.. etc.
2.) Soup quality – How the soup tastes, portion size
3.) Extras – Refills, condiments, bread
4.) Cost – How much the bowl of soup costs.
1.) First up is Super Batchoy house! Super Batchoy house is located downtown (near Kit’s store and Centroplex).
Super Batchoy house has been in the business for about 35 years. This place is very popular among the locals for their bowls of Batchoy.
We got the Super Special Batchoy which came complete with a raw egg. It looked and smelled really good!
The Super Special Came with a free extra refill of soup and the option to add bread. Now Super Batchoy House bakes its own bread and the bread served here is FANTASTIC..
Super Batchoy House’s batchoy score
1.) Ingredients 5/5 : Really, this is too much! Your bowl is literally overflowing with extras. It is already a meal in itself!
2.) Soup 1/5: The taste of the soup is ok. What really kills the score is that the soup is usually served a little hot and not PIPING HOT as it should be. It’s disconcerting. The bowl of soup turns lukewarm rapidly. By the time your halfway done, it’s not hot anymore and you don’t want to finish the bowl at all.
3.) Extras 4/5 on the refill and the bread!
4.) Cost 5/5. A super special bowl, two loaves of bread and a soda is only 95 pesos.
The next place we tried is Pendy’s for their special Lechon Batchoy.
Pendy’s is one of the more expensive restaurants in Bacolod. They serve top quality food but sometimes some things on the menu get a bit expensive. We tried their Lechon Batchoy since the waiter recommended it to us.
The Batchoy is very interesting since it comes with lechon skin and bit of lechon meat. It still comes with lots of chicharon.
1. Ingredients 3/5: The lechon skin was soggy and not crispy. Not enough liver and other stuff. Toppings are mostly chicharon and lechon meat.
2. Soup 3/5: The soup came piping hot but it tasted bland and not very batchoy like.
3. Extras 1/5: Generic buttered toast was served. No free refill.
4. Cost 1/5: This bowl of soup cost 155php.
Verdict: Meh, not a fan of lechon and batchoy. The combination is too weird tasting. Some people may like it.
Next we have Bar 21’s batchoy! Their Batchoy is a popular merienda item.
1.) Ingredients 4/5: You get the typical batchoy stuff. Liver, some pork, chicharon.. etc. The amount is a bit on the skimpy side.
2.) Soup 5/5: OMG, the soup is so good! Served piping hot and served in a BIG ceramic bowl, it stays hot throughout the entire meal.
The soup is delicious and you will totally consume the entire bowl of soup.
3.) Extras 1/5: Ordinary buttered toast was served.
4.) Cost 5/5: The bowl was only 90 pesos!
VERDICT:
It’s a TIE for Super Batchoy house and Bar 21. Each Batchoy has their good and bad points and BOTH are worth trying. We recommend going to Super Batchoy house for their generous amounts of toppings and their bread (just ask the saleslady to ensure that the soup be hot!) and we also recommend Bar 21 for the best tasting soup and the quality of service.
UPDATE: Since so many of you disagree with the verdict and we’ve accomplished our task (to increase awareness of the quality of Bacolod batchoy.) We’ve decided to have a poll!!
The Bacolod Food Hunters 
It’s not a tie. Superbatchoy should win, even over Deco’s, Ted’s and the batchoyan near the public cemetery! Ceteris Peribus (ignoring the abmbience, etc.), Superbatchoy is a runaway winner because of its value for money and taste. Sometimes, bar21’s batchoy noodles are not as fresh as that of Superbatchoy’s. Until now, I am not sold out to why people like Bar 21’s batchoy. Ask the masa, they will point to Superbatchoy. Ask the … well, a representative of the not so masa, he/she will recommend Bar 21.
Good points.
Superbatchoy Haus FTW!
superbatchoy house serves the best batchoy:)
I’d say SUPERBATCHOY wins. BAR 21’s batchoy is overrated and it’s a restobar so surely if Juan craves for batchoy, Juan goes to a real deal BATCHOYAN and not to a place that was featured in a blog for its cheeseburger.
hahaha! 🙂
Why is bar21’s batchoy overrated? 🙂
Fo sure it ain’t underrated. 🙂
You might want to point out to your fellow readers why you think it’s over rated. We’ve started a poll and your insights might be of value to other readers. 🙂
Overrated according to the merriam Webster dictionary means : to rate, value, or estimate too highly.
If you could enumerate or cite several examples why bar21’s batchoy is “overrated” for you that would be great! 🙂
So far no one likes bar21 or has risen to its defense. Haha. Are there no bar21 batchoy fans out there? hahaha 🙂
Ya got it Sir! People give the batchoy at BAR 21 too much credit. Don’t get me wrong but I sincerely like the place but I what draws me there is the cheeseburger.. and the senhoritas who dig their cheeseburgers. 🙂
Do they really put brain in it?
brain or bone marrow
No brain, just “utok” but it’s really bone marrow. I am a big fan of batchoy, because it’s basically Ilonggo. Have tasted batchoy from El Ideal, Chinky’s, Tavie’s(closed) , Roli’s, Jollibee’s, from that corner gasoline station in Rizal street (closed)… even from the different carinderias. It is like an unconscious quest for the best batchoy. So far, still Superbatchoy…
Overrated, I guess because the rater has less exposure to other establishment which serves batchoy. The rater should suspend judgment/verdict unless he objectively account the sample.
Wow Tavie’s! I still miss that place.
Never tried the super batchoy house, but me and my family prefer Chinky’s Batchoy esp. in Mandalagan Branch, for us that’s the best tasting so far.
If I’m in the mall, I prefer Decos over Teds. Also never tasted Bar 21, but mom said it’s overrated too and not that good.. I wonder why some people do tell it’s good…
Nevertheless, I gotta taste super batchoy house soon…
Cat: secret ingredient to a great-tasting batchoy broth!
OVER RATED batchoy of 21 : My two cents
–the under privilege cannot give good ratings to a graded wagyu steak for an example in the same manner as the privilege cannot give good ratings to batchoy—-
PEOPLE EATING IN BAR 21 mostly has no BACKGROUND OF AN AUTHENTIC or traditional BATCHOY…. Nowadays batchoy in 21 is very commercial. gone are the days where it used to served batchoy that taste traditional ,the one’s you eat at the wet markets..
a li’l background…
Consider the basic ingridients of batchoy.. from the scraps of the well offs the commoners invented a culinary treat -the batchoy ( “utok”-pigs brain , “chicharon -made of pig skin, atay or the liver, a li’l servings of meat with your broth “caldo” off the bones of the scraps – which has marrow of course ” … People who gave good ratings for 21’s batchoy are “i guess” the same people who has no experience or never experienced batchoy the “poor style”….
mart… the closest is for me is tavies or el ideal … but if you wanna try the best ask the common tao… maybe it will lead you to banago or the wet markets of ilo ilo where it originated
I believe Bar 21 tops super batchoy house any day. IMO.
They’re both good. They’re both so good that all others brands efforts to even keep up with them are hopelessly futile. IMO.
The quality of their ingredients are probably the same. The quantity will probably favor super batchoy house more. Yes, you can buy lots of inexpensive bread and soft drinks to augment your meal at super batchoy house; and YES, there are globs of floating brain/bone marrow in their batchoy.
I still eat from BOTH places, and I THINK super batchoy’s broth is too SWEET. Like the article says, the broth at 21st is so much more satisfying.
Bar 21 started out as a carinderia, which served the typical merienda foods, with BATCHOY probably one of their more popular offerings.
Through the growing patronage of people who love their food (YES there are people who love their food… even from the earlier days before they added the fancy stuff) the establishment was able to upgrade/upscale in terms of:
– their quality (which is always top notch),
– their food presentation (some people say you eat with your EYES first before your mouth even gets a taste),
– their ambiance (which is romantic/relaxing/comfortable),
– their FACILITIES (air-conditioned, CLEAN and accessible REST ROOMS)
– their staff (polite and professional)
All these things factor in to deliver a great experience. The little extra that you pay doesn’t go to the food ONLY…
Despite these changes for the BETTER, the batchoy from 21st has stayed the same. Still serving the same comfort and satisfaction, that I’ve come to know and love. IMO A little more expensive… but definitely worth it.
Sure, you can berate 21’s Batchoy because its more expensive or sosyal or lacks the real taste of the wet market or less traditional, or that it seems to cater more to those with means. However, I don’t believe it’s fair to judge food in terms of who can pay for it.
In terms of the taste and the satisfaction, 21st batchoy delivers, and goes even more beyond that.
Batchoy is not just food, it’s an experience. It’s an experience I would be proud to boast of to the whole WORLD! 21st delivers that experience. If visitors come from other regions of the Philippines, I’d be happy knowing there’s a little corner along 21st St and Lacson St. that can deliver them Filipino hospitality and the world’s best batchoy (IMO). If we are so lucky to have curious and adventurous visitors from other countries in the world, I’d be really proud and happy knowing there is a WORLD-CLASS establshment that can serve them world-class Batchoy. 21st Batchoy makes the world a better place! ;P
Amen. For me it’s also bar 21 all the way
Went to Bar 21 yesterday in the hope to change my vote. Result: I can’t. Still not convinced. The broth was bland, although served hotter than Superbatchoy’s… Yes, batchoy is served better there in Bar 21, with all the ambience and the fancy stuff. Maybe I should take and eat my Superbatchoy’s batchoy in Bar 21’s territory… Anyway, I was alone there and the waiters and waitresses seem to prefer giving their attention to customers in two’s or in group. I end up feeling ignored, standing up to get the menu, retrieving the fish sauce at the condiments corner since I also ordered their palabok (better) due to the lukewarm gastronomic impact the batchoy gave me. (I enjoyed their ripe mango shake better)…
Thanks for the reviews! I’ve only tried Ted’s and Decos, so I look forward to trying…”real” batchoy establishments. What’s this I often hear about Bar 21’s batchoy no longer available around the early evening because of it being sold out? Is that true?
Well that depends on whether or not they have a busy day. Most days they aren’t busy so you can actually have a bowl.
Super Batchoy House= Bacolod’s Authentic Batchoy!