Gayuma ni Maria Restaurant along Maginhawa Street, Quezon City

Entrance to Gayuma ni Maria restaurant along Maginhawa Street of Quezon City

After spending the morning with an abundance of joy and fulfillment by participating in the Renovate to Educate (read more) program, we decided to go for a stop in Maginhawa's Gayuma ni Maria.

I heard that this place serves great food, so I awaited in a gleeful anticipation. When we reached our destination, that excitement even rose up especially seeing how nice the place seem.

A closer look at the entrance of Gayuma ni Maria

Just by its entrance, Gayuma ni Maria seemed to have a nice concept; however, just when I thought things were about to get better, it did not, as we needed to bear the extreme heat in the place. It was sheer rotten luck because the air-conditioning unit was broken. And even if I tried to shrug it off, I can't help but be bothered by the heat. This ultimately affected our perception of the dishes and of course our overall dining experience.

Emil Ong trying to act out what's on the painting

In as much as I wanted to deviate my attention away from the uneasiness brought by the heat, I was barely successful, but anyway, I won't delve into it, so let's proceed with some of the dishes we tried, and the first one to arrive was the chicken.

The home-like interior of Gayuma ni Maria in Maginhawa

'Coz I Care (Seafood Kare-Kare) || P235

Fresh bounty from the sea cooked in O.V.O. peanut sauce served with veggies and GAYUMA-tized bagoong

Gayuma ni Maria's Seafood Kare-Kare

Lacking a visually enticing appeal, the Kare-kare featured a peanut taste with an immense level of sweetness as opposed to the traditional ones. However, it didn't taste that refreshing because I sensed some "unnatural-ness" in it. Overall, it was nice but probably not that sulit.

Please Be Careful with My Heart (Citrus Chicken) || P255

Half a chicken seared then slowly roasted in a concoction of garlic, lemon, herbs, olive oil and garlic that's perfect for the breast. Best way to eat it is to smash the garlic into the chicken

Please be Careful with My Heart Dish of Gayuma ni Maria

The citrus taste of the chicken together with the garlic put emphasis on the goodness of the dish. It was almost ordinary but with right blend of citrus and the touch of garlic, it became interesting. Had the room temperature been nice, I could have appreciated this better.

Nilasing ni Eba si Adan (Roasted Pork Belly) || P275

Pork belly slow roasted by herbs and an apple and local beer sauce on the side (which they forgot to serve)

Nilasing ni Eba si Adan dish of Gayuma ni Maria

Visually appealing, the Ginayuma ni Eba si Adan seemed to have a lot of promising potential. Although it was not as tender as it could be,  I would say it was still a sulit dish. There was nothing too much to anticipate yet, but it was tasty with a touch of sweetness from the apples bits. Perhaps they could pair this dish with a complementary sauce, 'cuz that will be awesome!

Note: Upon re-reading again the description, I learned that there should be a sauce that should have gone with it. However, they seemed to have forgotten it.

A Not-So-Popular Kid (me), Roan, Emil and Shawn in Gayuma ni Maria

Basically, that sums everything up. I hope you found this blog post informative.

Gayuma ni Maria - Overall Ratings and Summary

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Note: Unshaded stars are equivalents of half-stars. The ratings apply solely to this dining experience.
Place ★★★☆
Taste  ★★☆
Service  ★★★☆
Value for Money ★★★☆
Budget: At least P235 each for about 3 dishes including a rice of your own (for a group of at least 4)

Overall, Gayuma ni Maria fell short of our initial expectation as the food ranged from normal to a little above normal, but I think the main factor here was the inconduciveness of the room temperature. It was a good thing that the staff were nice and satisfactorily accommodating. In short, medyo walang talab ang gayuma.

For a more exciting modern Filipino cuisine, you may go for Locavore Restaurant (read more).

What's your view on this? Let me hear you out! :)

How about you - do you recommend this place?

Gayuma ni Maria
Location: 123 V Luna Extension Near Maginhawa Street, Sikatuna Village, Quezon City

Contact No.: (02) 441 4872

Service Charge: None