Craving for a home-cooked pork binagoongan and a plateful of pancit malabon? How about a classic afternoon merienda of lugaw and lumpia? If you happen to pass by Quezon City, I have just the place for you. Neatly tucked in a quiet street, an eatery called Lola Idang’s Bahay Pancitan.

The place is not that big, with only about ten tables set on a 35-square meter eating space. The restaurant is so unassuming that you’ll hardly take a second look at it; plain white tiles flooring, simple decors, plastic Orocan chairs, and tables laid with generic plaid table clothes. What distinguishes this small diner from the throngs of eating places in Quezon City though is their food.

Staying in the town of Cabangan in Zambales means you’d have to eat there too. Most food places in the province really isn’t located there—it’s far from being the food capital of Zambales—still, there are a handful of unique places you can dine in when in Cabangan. And during the past years, as tourism started to bloom in town, the number of places to eat in Cabangan started to grow too.
   
Here are a few of the most interesting food places in Cabangan. These range from roadside stands and food shacks, to swanky cafes and full blown restaurants. These made the list because they’re somewhat unique, have good food, are institutions in Cabangan, or simply because I’ve personally tried them and found them to be worthy, naks.

“What’s your order?” My wife asked as we sat down on one of the wooden benches at Mami Madz in Cabangan. It was almost evening and we’ve just been to the San Isidro Beach—our clothes still wet from the sea.

“Uhm. I’ll have a bowl of mami and goto each, please.” I replied.

“What?! Are you sure?” My wife incredulously asked.

“Alright, two bowls of mami and one goto, then.”

I’ve always thought that the best bulalo in Tagaytay is located at one of the many fancy restaurants fronting the Taal Volcano. Boy, was I ever wrong! I’ve heard about the best bulalo being sold at one of Tagaytay’s many markets, but have no idea where it was. Little did I know that I’ve been passing through it countless of times, it was just at the Mahogany Market all along.

CARINDERIA STALLS AT TAGAYTAY'S MAHOGANY MARKET BULALOHAN

Half a day of walking around the drizzly pathways of Caleruega made some dents on our tummies, immediately turning our mini tour into a Tagaytay food trip. We immediately headed towards the bulalohan area along the Nasugbu Highway to replenish our batteries but were immediately turned off by their prices (PHP380.00 per bowl).

We packed up and boarded another jeepney, this time to Mahogany Market, there’s also a bulalohan strip there that’s much cheaper, although sans the view, my friend says to me.

If there’s one thing Bacolod City is well known for, it’s the multitude of food places that line its avenues. There are expensive cafés and posh restaurants of every kind out there, but there are also sidewalk carinderia eateries that shouldn’t be ignored. The most popular of these are the stalls that line Manokan Country, here the famous chicken inasal is king.

MASSKARA MASKS AT MANOKAN COUNTRY

Still groggy from our almost ‘til morning infinity pool drinking session at Melba’s Farm, we headed to Bacolod City’s Manokan Country for our breakfast grub. The plan for the day was to check out Mambukal’s seven waterfalls, we reckon we’ll need all the calories we could get for the trek ahead.

It was raining in Baguio City and we wanted a bowl of piping hot bulalo (beef shank soup). We know there are a lot of eateries hawking bulalo in the city so there really was no challenge in finding one. And staying at the Paragon Hotel & Suites near Burnham Park, we easily found one such eatery, what surprised us though, was that besides bulalo, they also have pigar-pigar, a Pangasinan dish, on their menu!

The name of the restaurant is St. Martin Breadhouse Bulaluhan. Alright, there’s really no bread in sight, but that was alright—we wanted our bulalo with a steaming cup of white rice. Apparently, their original branch is located at Umingan in Pangasinan, and they do have a bakery in that particular eatery. That explains the mystery name, and the pigar-pigar.

It has always been our custom to ride the midnight trip from the Victory Liner station in Caloocan City to the City of Pines. We’d sleep off the five-hour journey and arrive at Baguio City right before dawn. We’d take a quick CR break at the station, then walk along the city’s dark and empty streets with our jackets on, enjoying the pre-dawn chill, en route to our favorite first stop in Baguio, Goto BP.

OUR FAVORITE LUGAW IN BAGUIO

Located right below SM Baguio, at the city’s old bus terminal (which is still functioning, by the way), Goto BP has always been our go to place for our first breakfast in Baguio. It’s a simple open-aired lugawan right along the sidewalk of the terminal, complete with a white Formica bar and fixed wooden stools.

Without complimentary breakfast from Plaza Maria Luisa Suites Inn, the hotel we’re staying at in Dumaguete, we headed straight to the public market for one of the city’s traditional breakfast fare, budbud. The locals call the place painitan, which, I guess, literally means a place to warm up in.

A TYPICAL STALL AT THE PAINITAN IN DUMAGUETE

As we walked along the open-aired stalls along Dumaguete Market’s painitan area, we were immediately overwhelmed by vendors calling out to us to try their budbud. I have tried this unique delicacy before when I visited Dumaguete the previous years, but I have yet to sample it as a breakfast fare.

Indeed, this is a popular place, it was packed with locals having their early morning grub, luckily, we quickly found an empty seat right by the road. We joined the fray.

► DUMAGUETE TRAVEL GUIDE

We were at the tail-end of our whole-day Siquijor island tour. From the Beach Port of Siquijor, to Lugnason Falls, the famous Siquijor balete tree, Cambugahay Falls, Kagusuan Beach, and finally, Salagdoong Beach; we’ve been to places we’ve visited before and to new ones. And there’s definitely nothing more rewarding after such a journey than a relaxing coffee break (or beer, perhaps?) right by the beach as the sun sets far off into the horizon.

THE OLDEST HOUSE IN SIQUIJOR LOOKS READY TO FALL DOWN

Those thoughts were running on our mind as Dennis, our guide, revved his tricycle along the empty highways of Enrique Villanueva. After passing through the now crumbling Cang-isok House, the oldest of its kind in Siquijor, we asked him to slow down a bit, we knew exactly where to end our Siquijoran adventure.

Our tummies sent an sms to our brain telling us that we need to eat. Now. The problem was, we were already on a tricycle, en route to General Santos City’s airport. We came all the way from Sarangani, visiting two of its beaches, Sellona Beach and Gumasa Beach. And travel time from there up to Gensan took more than two hours. Our tummies’ need was very much justified.

We asked our driver if he knew of a place where we can have a late lunch. What we wanted was a steaming hot bowl of balbacua, a beef broth similar to nilaga. We heard it’s one of Gensan’s specialty dish which we, unfortunately, haven’t had a chance to try yet. And here we were, ready to take off from the city.

As we landed at Tacloban City the previous night, there was only one thing on our mind, lechon. Granted, Tacloban is no Cebu when it comes to this porky delight, but we were told that the city boasts of a good lechon culture all its own—the numerous lechon stalls along Real Street is a testament to that.

Do we eat now? That was the question on our mind as we navigated the highway en route to Lorenzo’s Way Bed & Breakfast. We were, however, told that we should probably wait until the morrow since most of the lechon being hawked right then were probably not that good anymore as most of these were cooked very early in the morning.

So we waited until lunch the next day.

► SEE: SAN JUANICO BRIDGE

One of the things that made its lasting mark on me during our Vietnam trip a few years back is banh mi; a bread snack hawked along the sidewalks of Ho Chi Minh. Imagine this; French bread sliced in half and filled with all sorts of veggies, meat, pâté, and cheese (Laughing Cow, at that), all for almost next to nothing. Never, in my wild imaginings that I would be mouth to mouth with this Vietnamese delight once again during our Pawikan Festival trip in Bataan.

► CHECK OUT: VIETNAM 3 WEEKS ITINERARY

LOLENG’S SIMPLE STREET FACADE

Loleng’s Hu Tieu-an is a humble non-descript eatery located on one of the narrow side streets of Barangay Binaritan in Morong. The place is not air-conditioned, the furnishing is very simple, and its floor—left unfinished. You’d hardly take a second look if not for its peculiar name and the number of people going in and out of its door.

Every morning, our measly complimentary breakfast meal at the Holiday Plaza Hotel Tuguegarao always left us wanting for more. So after finishing our breakfast off in a single minute, we’d head over to the nearby Dim’s Resto, a tapsihan near the hotel, to continue our meal.

SIMPLE INTERIORS AT DIM’S RESTO

One would think that finding a tapsilog place in a bustling city like Tuguegarao would be a piece of cake, well, we thought wrong. Here, panciterias rule. It took us quite a bit of hunting to find a place selling good old tapsilog. During our three-day stay, we only found a single eatery selling our favorite morning fare.

Dim’s Resto is a simple carinderia along Blumentritt Street. It has no air-conditioning and has a bare concrete floor complemented by colorful wood furniture. It seemed popular enough with the locals, so we instantly sat down to check their menu.

► CHECK: TUGUEGARAO TRAVEL GUIDE

I’ll take over that mic and sing once the sun sets, so says J as the song book was pushed into his hands. It was the last day of our Pangasinan trip and we were at a stilt-hut standing over a fishpond somewhere in Dagupan City. After checking out of Hotel Le Duc and enjoying the air-conditioning and coffee at Yellow Tree Café, we decided to end our journey by having a couple of beers and belting out songs away from the glimmering lights of the city and the curious ears of strangers.

We were quite particular on the hut we wanted to spend our last hours in Dagupan in. It has to be over a fishpond and it must look very local. We wanted nothing too polished and touristy.

After checking out a few of the restaurants situated at the ponds along Judge Jose de Venecia Highway, we were almost ready to give up. Good thing M remembered a place she bought some soft drinks on during the city festival a few months back that perfectly suited our requirements.

►CHECK FOR AFFORDABLE HOTELS IN DAGUPAN

What? Are you serious? Sizzling Balut? So went our collective gasps as Ate Vivian started laying out to us what we should order at her restaurant in Alaminos City. We just came from Tambobong Beach and stayed at the R Paradise Beach Resort, which is also owned by Ate V. She vehemently told us that we must drop by her bistro grill before proceeding to Dagupan City.

And so we did, we’d never turn down an invitation to dine especially since we didn’t have breakfast yet.

Ate V’s Bistro Grill & Eatery is located at San Jose Drive, one of the main thoroughfares of Alaminos City. It caters mostly to the employees working at the nearby hospital. But that doesn’t mean it’s one of your typical cafeterias serving the usual carinderia dishes.

The first thing that popped into my mind as the Tigerair plane I was boarding skidded into the tarmac of Iloilo International Airport was batchoy—that sinful noodle concoction native to the City of Love. The slightly sweet salty taste of its soup I once tasted right at this very airport triggered my mouth to salivate, making me forget about the pain in my ear, usually brought upon by riding airplanes.

Less than an hour later and we were passing through the darkened maze of La Paz Public Market, the place where batchoy originated from. That dish isn’t actually called La Paz Batchoy for nothing.

But we were not looking for just any batchoy, we were looking for a particular eatery claiming to be one of the original makers of that distinctive Iloilo noodle soup, Netong’s Original Special Batchoy.

►NEAR HERE: MADGE CAFE

The province of Antique is not really known for its cuisine. I haven’t seen that many restaurants during our Manggad Kang Antique Heritage Tour, our meals usually hosted by Flord Calawag of Tibiao Fish Spa. But we did get to eat on some of the local eateries in the province once in a while. Emphasis on the word eatery. This is quite understandable since Antique’s tourism is still in its relative state of infancy.

Here are some of the food places we got to try while in Antique.

►CHECK OUT: ANTIQUE TRAVEL GUIDE

I remember an office friend telling me to visit Pala-Pala Market, Bacolod’s version of dampa, during my first excursion to the City of Smiles. For some reason, I wasn’t able to check it out then. Then came my second and third visit, and I promptly forgot about it until this latest jaunt across Negros Occidental.

Tired of eating chicken inasals for two straight days, we looked for an alternative place for lunch; somewhere affordable but still something profoundly Bacolod. Then that conversation rushed back through my head. I know a place, I excitedly told my companions.

Maty’s Tapsilog is a favorite among those living in the southern part of the Metro. This 24-hour carinderia tapsihan joint in Don Galo, Parañaque has been the king of tapsilog in the area since time immemorial.

I first heard about this place from a good friend from Las Piñas some years back. I was on my way home and she told me we should check a place out somewhere along Don Galo for some good old tapsilog. Always ready for a plate of tapsi, I readily agreed. I have been a fan ever since. 

Maty’s has three branches; they’re all on the same strip and just a few meters from each other. The reason for such arrangement has been a mystery to me up to now. If anyone has any idea why, do let me know.

Tucked in one of the busiest street in Manila is a five-decade old lumpia house. Tagged as the best fresh Chinese spring roll in the metro, Globe Lumpia House’s small hole in the wall is swarmed every single day by faithful patrons looking for a quick bite after trudging the crowded streets of Quiapo, Raon and Recto.

The eatery is quite easy to miss if you’re just passing through Raon, but you’d definitely find it if you ask around, Globe is a household name along the area.
It was an early Tuesday afternoon when we dropped by the place, we were thinking since it’s a regular day, they’d have free seats available. We were wrong and we had to wait a few minutes before we got seated.
The store’s interior is pretty basic, white-tiled floors, stainless steel bar-type tables and Orocan plastic chairs. For decors, photographs of local celebrities that visited the store line the walls. The eating area is quite small and in my estimate can seat a maximum of fifteen persons only; past that number and you’d get really acquainted with your seatmate.
Globe Lumpia House needs no menu as they only serve two foods, Fresh lumpia and empanada. Well, three really if you count the Sarsi they sell that goes really well with their spring roll.

Once seated, we ordered a fresh lumpia each. At P16.00 this was definitely a steal.
It arrived in less than a minute, and was all eaten up in less than five.
 
There are two methods in eating fresh lumpia, the neat and the messy method.

I prefer the neat one; once the lumpiang sariwa arrives, I pour generous amount of garlic sauce and sprinkle it a bit with some hot sauce. I then slice it to bite-sized portions and add a few more sauce as needed. 

Others however, prefer the messy way. They slice the lumpia to a mess, pour the garlic and hot sauce over everything, mix the bits some more, and after the lumpia doesn’t resemble a lumpia anymore, that’s the time they chow down.
So what makes Globe Lumpia so special from others like it? Now that’s really tough to answer. I can really never put my finger as to what makes their dish tick, it seemed to be similar to other fresh spring rolls around, but it’s not. It just  taste so right, with 50 years of experience, they’d definitely had time to perfect this recipe. The flavors just burst into your mouth; sweet, garlicky, fresh, and spicy. It’s a symphony of flavor that just blends so well together.
I average three servings of their lumpiang sariwa on visits. But don’t take my word for it, next time you pass by the Quiapo area try looking for Globe’s Lumpia House, I’ll bet one serving won’t be enough to satisfy your palate. And as one of my officemates testified, you’d forget your name on first bite.

* U P D A T E   2 0 1 4 *

I revisted Globe Lumpia in Raon after some time and I was greeted by a queue of people outside the store. Well, this isn’t really extraordinary since the place is a really popular food joint in the area (especially during Quiapo day when the faithful visit Quiapo Church in throngs). But as I went in to line up, I noticed that there are no more tables inside the carinderia.

Apparently, Globe has now stopped serving lumpiang sariwa for dine-in customers. The once cramped eatery has closed the dining area and replaced it with a take-out counter. Which is quite sad, as I really wanted my lumpia right there and then with my unlimited chili and garlic sauce in supply.

Price is still affordable, even if they increased it from Php16.00 to Php18.00.

Well, beggars can’t be choosers, so we queued up and bought our lumpiang sariwa like the rest of the guys in line. There were not a few who were buying by the dozens so it took a bit before we got ours.

Globe’s lumpiang sariwa seems different when not eaten at the store. It’s not as fresh as when it’s served right after being made. To be honest, after some minutes into the packaging, it already felt soggy and doesn’t look appetizing. My wish is for Globe to bring back their dining area. It’s just better that way.

Globe Lumpia House
Address: 740 G. Puyat Street (Raon),
Corner Quezon Avenue, Manila
Contact Number: (632) 733-2918
Open Hours:

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GPS Coordinates: 14°36'01.8"N 120°59'03.3"E