No, my Boyfriend didn't take me to Lola Idang's for Valentines. But our meal here did remind us of all the good things we love about Filipino cuisine.
Palabok (60) Sooo Pinoy aims to better our love for Filipino food by helping us find the best places to try different dishes. And when talking about palabok, I don't think you can find a better one in Manila compared to Lola Idang's. It has the usual rice noodles (that are perfectly chewy), crispy pork cracklings, boiled egg and steamed shrimp. Their savory shrimp sauce with hints of squid ink has incredible flavor, and you really can't find palabok that good anywhere else in the city.
Lumpiang Shanghai with Rice (50), Kare-kare with Rice (90) Lola Idang's also offer great meal choices that aren't only delicious, but affordable as well. The lumpiang shanghai pieces were a bit small but are packed in flavor. The kare-kare, on the other hand, is a little on the sweet side, which we loved. It had a nice nuttiness that went well with the salty bagoong and slices of tender tripe and ox tail.
Tokwa't Baboy (40), Fresh Lumpiang Ubod (38) Of course, they also have the usual merienda fare that never fails to excite me. Tokwa't baboy is one of those simple dishes that I love, whether it be with lugaw, rice, or just by its lonesome. As long as the outer part of the tofu is crispy, I'm sold. The lumpia is also great. One slice and you can see a mound of hearts of palm slices bursting out of the delicate wrapper. It is topped generously with a slightly sweet peanut sauce and bits of actual peanuts. Everything was so good that we didn't even bother having dessert, or maybe that was due to that fact that we may have ordered food good enough for four.
The experience of eating is like finding the perfect boyfriend, and Filipino food is just like the bestfriend that we've been taking for granted all these years. Yes, every now and then we would have a French, Japanese, Italian or Mexican phase - but at the end of the day, it's still the comfort of Filipino food that we love coming home to. And at a certain point, we'll realize, it's the cuisine that we can't spend the rest of our lives without. But unlike with people, it'll never be too late. Good Filipino food will always be there for us, to comfort us in our darkest hours.
Lola Idang's Original Pansit Malabon has branches in BF Homes, Better Living, Pasig, West Triangle and Katipunan Extension. (*This serves as my official entry for Round 2 of Sooo Pinoy's Search for the Ultimate Food Blogger.)
