#KaonSerye: Lara Mia

Juna Subdivision has slowly developed into the city's prime food hub. Many new and familiar restaurants, bakeshops and cafés have emerged along its main avenues.

I can probably say that Lara Mia is one of the most popular restaurants in Juna Subdivision. The place is always almost full every time I go there. On some dates, you would not have a table if you haven't made a prior reservation. With the modern elegant ambience of the place and the delicious food and pastries they serve, it's no wonder why.

Keen and I have been going to Lara Mia for quite some time now and this review is quite overdue. Nonetheless, it is better late than never :)

Let's start off with their simple menu. There's not a lot of variety per category but believe me, it's just enough to keep you coming back for more. The prices are relatively affordable as well.

They also offer a small variety of wines that pair well with the pizza and pasta.

As I mentioned, the place tends to be really crowded at times since a lot of people come here. Sometimes, the service can be quite slow because of the quantity of customers and orders. But if you're early enough, you can have the place all by yourself.

At the counter, they offer a variety of lovely desserts for dine-in and take-out. Our must-try pasalubong fave is their Ube Halaya. Everyone who tasted it has definitely agreed that it is one, if not, the best Ube Halaya they have tasted so far.

For their food, we have a lot of dishes that we really like and order regularly. Here we have the Pear and Mesclun salad, Chorizo and Gambas pasta, Margherita pizza, and Porchetta.

The Pear and Mesclun salad has chunks of blue cheese  and candied walnuts. It's probably the only dish with blue cheese that Keen can tolerate eating. The beautiful blend of taste and textures is what makes this salad stand out among others, not only in Lara Mia's own menu, but in all the salads we've tried in Davao.

Chorizo and Gambas are two of our favorite individual food. Putting them together in an oil-based pasta with white wine makes this pasta extra special.

I personally love Margherita. Adding prosciutto to this would've made it more perfect. Nonetheless, all elements in Lara Mia's version of Margherita pizza are well balanced. I can easily eat the whole pizza myself.

Porchetta is James' personal favorite. The pumpkin puree compliments the meat very well. There was only this one time that the slices didn't seem fresh since the skin was not crispy anymore. But for all the other times we ordered it, every thin slice is definitely worth the price and fats.

We also recommend their Pumpkin soup, Truffle Cream pasta and Osso Bucco. And just recently, Keen discovered their Ube Milkshake which is totally heavenly.

Overall, Lara Mia is one of the local restaurants I would highly recommend to my friends. They offer great meals, desserts, and take-home pastries. They also have a small function hall a few houses away that can cater to small gatherings or parties.

The restaurant opens at 11AM and is closed on Mondays. They are located at University Avenue, Cor. Talisay Street, Juna Subdivision, Davao City.