A restaurant that needs to reassess their ideals and standards, as the "Lutong Bahay" experience…read morefeels mangled. I started with a hot dessert called the Sinigang na Baka sa Bayabas (438 PHP) a traditionally sour soup, that would ready your palate for a sumptuous meal ahead, but in this case it just ended my interest for the rest of the food, a "sour" start. The beef (Baka) was surprisingly also sweet, which is really weird. The Deep Fried Baby Squid (198 PHP) is an appetizer good for 2-3 people, actually the only item enjoyable during my visit. Crispy and pairs well with either the garlic vinegar sauce or the garlic Mayo Dip. Beef and Ox Stripe Kare Kare (463 PHP) Another dish that's good for sharing, ideal for 3. The meat was just right for the smooth and creamy homemade peanut sauce, which tasted bland. The bagoong (shrimp paste) didn't help either. Pinakbet sa Bagnet (312 PHP) Its veggie base managed to stay calm and is fairly decent with Bagnet adding a need flair to the dish. Service was horrible! Imagine having to ask for the most basic of things that should have been done automatically at a restaurant. Our food was served all at once, but our table wasn't setup during the wait, which we had to request multiple times. The waitress came back with a stack of plates and left it on the table, which is fine, but it lacked 2 plates for the size of our group and of course the utensils, which we had to request for again. I had to sit there watching my friends eat while I sat down waiting and constantly requesting for a plate and utensils. It's a small place, but why do they ignore the obvious needs of the customers by disappearing in to the kitchen.

Their Halo Halo and Palabok so delicious. Highly recommended place to go if you're craving for…read moresome refreshing merienda. Their Japanese Lumpia is to die for. I will definitely come to this place.

From the owner: Unique Kapampangan Halo Halo blend, collection of new old mirienda favorite and new fusion snacks.read more

Their food was okay, honestly forgettable. But their bagoong was really good. It made for a much…read morebetter meal because it went with everything. I could have eaten it with just white rice and been satisfied. I'd come back here for their bagoong alone. The fried rice tasted like MSG. Bagnet is basically 80% fat 20% meat. Almost everything on the menu has a bagnet so if those aren't your thing, don't come at all.

The menu is well suited for Filipinos who like their home cooking dishes. Such as fish, veggies &…read moremeat.

Tapsilog we're not bad, but nothing spectacular neither. We also ordered sliced green mangoes, the…read morebagoong was also neither good nor bad. Service was meh. AC were insufficient to cool the place. Restroom was decently clean, but nothing fancy.

I heard their halo-halo was good. So I picked this place for lunch and made sure I ordered…read morehalo-halo for dessert. It was good and different. With only 3 fillings compared to most halo-halos with at least 6 different fillings. Theirs had sweet plantains, coconut, and flan. I wish California had Razon's halo-halo amidst their California burritos and frozen yogurt. I also heard they were known for their palabok so I ordered their palabok listed as "Pancit Plus" but it wasn't as "plus" as the name suggested. It was saucey and good for being fast food palabok but it didn't have many toppings except chicharron, calamansi, and boiled egg. Palabok is usually topped with crispy fried crushed garlic, shrimp, and green onions too. They seem to have a common theme with their food having simplicity. It seems to work for the halo-halo but good palabok is far from being simple.

Every dish that Mandi's Grill Grub offers is grilled to perfection, be it pork, beef, chicken, and…read moreeven fish. For our appetizer, we tried the Sisig Surprise - a pleasant surprise! Each small serving is visually appealing already because of the very creamy mashed potatoes that envelope a wonderful surprise: LEAN and grilled sisig! Lean, as in it has no fat, so that's less guilt! The milky smoothness of the mashed potatoes complements the meaty goodness of the sisig. This appetizer is so good, it could very well be a main dish! If you want more meat, then go for their version of the American rib, which is a meaty slab that is at least half a foot long! It's almost like liempo, but much softer, making it a lot easier to slice and enjoy! No need for a knife! Each serving also comes with MGG's fried rice, coleslaw, and mashed potatoes. MGG is also not afraid to experiment, so they came up with a grilled version of the Filipino classic, pork adobo! I thought the pork slices were going to be dry, but no!!! The vinegar-soy sauce marinade very much permeated the meat, making it a highly flavorful dish! There is a separate container for the adobo sauce, but there's a good chance you won't need it for the meat anymore (mix it in your rice instead!). Moreover, the adobo meat is topped with freshly ground garlic (peelings and all) and chives, while the plain rice is topped with a sunny side up egg. Sarap! Another Filipino classic that MGG offers is tapsilog, with of course, grilled beef tapa. Like the adobo, the flavor of the beef is not compromised as it already has a vinegar-y taste that's perfect for tapa! Each beef piece strictly follows a precise measurement, allowing diners to easily eat the thinly sliced meat. This dish comes with scrambled egg, MGG's salsa, and fried rice. We also tried two blue marlin dishes: the pinaputok na blue marlin belly and grilled blue marlin. The former is wrapped in aluminum foil and upon popping it, you'll be greeted by a very delicious smell! It has a very generous amount of MGG's secret sauce, which can be a substitute for soup. I enjoyed eating the pinaputok even without rice, but for me, the real star is the grilled blue marlin. It's simply good. Nothing fancy about it, just a buttery glaze, crushed garlic, and chives. It's thick, huge, and good for sharing, but I know that I could eat an order all by myself haha! It's so delectable that I forgot to take a picture of it (even the pinaputok)! My stomach is growling as I type this - I want to go back to Mandi's ASAP! Oh, and it comes with chili-garlic sauce and calamansi for a spicier and tangier gastronomic experience! But my ultimate favorite at Mandi's is their CRISPY BABY BACK RIBS. They were a surprise to me because I never expected ribs to be coated in anything; di ba usually as is lang sila when cooked? Galing! The ribs are topped with bell peppers, nuts, and very rich, cheesy, and creamy Bechamel sauce (made from scratch!). Ugh, ang sarap - napakamay ako to make simot the ribs! :D On weekends, they have special dishes like ulang (huge frehswater shrimp), shrimp inasal, porkchops, etc. They have also been experimenting on some desserts and other savory treats, so diners can try something new from time to time! Mandi's Grill Grub is located at the ground floor of #73 Bent II (same building as Nail Cottage, Cupcake Bites, and Breakfast Brothers), Lilac St. SSS Village, Concepcion Dos, Marikina. It's a cozy place with American accent pieces like superhero tin signs, old school Kellogs tin cans, and vintage soda signage.

You need to must try their ribs! Their ribs have bechamel sauce that level up the usual meat.read more

Some time ago, we tried this new place in Marikina called Lula's House of Kare-Kare. It's a few…read moreminutes by car from Riverbanks Mall and SM Marikina. It was the garage of the Padilla home in the Industrial Valley Subdivision that was converted into a restaurant to showcase their beloved family recipe for Kare-Kare. In case you're wondering, yes, this is the Kare-Kare of the famous Padilla clan. There's parking for maybe 3-5 cars in front, and then some more if you park on the street. The casual restaurant is managed by the beautiful Rizza Padilla Singson, sister to actor / celebrity brothers Robin and BB. Why is it called Lula? Lula / lola is their term of affection, or nickname, for their mom, Eugenia Padilla, and it is her kare-kare recipe that has been a constant favorite, and the most requested dish, at family gatherings. Lula's House of Kare-Kare The restaurant is a small, casual place with some quirky, artsy decor. The food they serve includes some family favorites, but they are the most proud of their Kare-Kare. We started with some Mozzy Cheezey Popsies (P188) - these are cheese balls made with mozzarella and cheddar, served with a tomato/marinara sauce on the side. Omg, these were so addictive! Eat while warm. I highly recommend ordering this when you're there. We got to try their Bagnet ala Sisig (P188), which we really liked. It was very flavorful, but not too spicy, and much meatier than the usual pig ear sisig. The P188 price tag is also very reasonable for the meatiness you get. This was really, really good. If you love sisig, you must give this bagnet sisig a try! If I am in the area, I would go back for this. Perfect with some rice! Next we had the olive oil-based Garlicky Tinapa Pasta (P168) - I love tinapa (smoked fish) so I enjoyed this. This one had a lot of tinapa flakes. We also had their Original Vigan Longga Carbonara (P188) - this pasta has a very creamy sauce as a base, accented with the crumbled garlicky, salty, and flavorful Vigan longganisa. A definitely different, but good, twist on the usual carbonara. Finally, the famous Lula's All-Time Favorite Kare-Kare (P318) arrived. According to Rizza, the Kare-Kare is made from scratch. The sauce is thick. Indeed, the Kare-Kare is flavorful enough on its own - you could eat it even without adding some bagoong! We actually ate the kare-kare without the bagoong and we couldn't stop ourselves from getting another spoonful, and then another spoonful of the delicious kare-kare sauce. You can have their kare-kare with all veggies, all meat, or with bagnet, with different price points, but all still very affordable, and you could also add peanut butter for an extra P40. They cook their own bagoong for the kare-kare. To be honest, we found the paired bagoong a bit too salty. The bagoong needs a bit of work, but the Kare-Kare was actually delicious on its own and already seasoned - not bland like other kare-kares that need bagoong. Now I see why this has been most requested! We also had their Crispy Pata (P488), which was really very affordable for P488! It was a big serving of deep-fried pork knuckles, with crispy skin, tender meat, and melting, soft ligaments. Sulit! Very good, especially when flavored with a drizzle of their sauce. Next, we tried two versions of Beef Lengua (P288)! Be still my beating heart. Two lengua dishes! They have Beef Lengua in Red Sauce, which was like a caldereta, and Beef Lengua in White Sauce, which was actually a bit brownish, like a gravy. I liked the brown-sauced lengua more. Yum yum! Onions, mushrooms, crispy fried garlic, peppercorns, love! The lengua was of course, tender and delicious and melts in your mouth. If only Lula's wasn't so far away, I'd probably head over there every time I have a lengua craving, because the lengua is good, and only P288! Finally, for dessert, we had the Saba con Hielo. It was sweet and filling and a lovely way to end our meal. SUMMARY Rizza was very hands on with the restaurant - she is usually there, friendly and bubbly, talking to customers, making sure everything is okay. It is a small and casual neighborhood restaurant, so please don't expect anything fancy. However, as a neighborhood restaurant, it ticks all the boxes - delicious food, affordable prices, casual interiors. The food feels and tastes home-cooked, with the ingredients that you would expect a home cook to use. If you live around there and have a craving for bagnet, sisig, bagnet sisig, kare-kare and lengua, this is the place to scratch your itch without burning a hole in your pocket. I recommend the bagnet sisig, the kare-kare, and the lengua. And the mozzy balls!

I was craving for a kare-kare and i found this place. The food was great and the amount is good for…read moresharing. Steam rice is a bit pricey The place is not so good because upon entering the restaurant, you can already smell the broth.