For food adventurers and explorers out there, a small street in Binondo called Carvajal Street is a…read moredestination that must not be overlooked if you happen to be in the area. I believe Binondo is best explored on foot so you can really take in all the sights, sounds and smells (both good, AND bad!). My boyfriend and I, after an hour or so of wandering around in search for fruits, finally ended up here. Since it's more line an alley than a street, it's easy to miss. Carvajal is lined up with eateries (a household name is Quick Snack) that have a LOT to offer, from classic Chinese cuisine, to traditional Filipino fares and other Asian cuisines. This street is also known for fresh produce! A huge variety of Asian fruits and vegetables are sold here in kiosks. Fresh tofu, tubs of fermented vegetables, some seafood and specialty food grocers can also be found here. Truly a foodie haven not only for those who love to eat, but for those who love to cook as well. Personally, I have not fully explored this small street thoroughly, but it's really worth mentioning. Take your time and see what each stall has to offer, and you'll never know what pleasant surprise awaits you.

Here's the thing about Carvajal Street: it's tiny as heck. I don't think it would even qualify as…read morean alley - an al fresco hallway, maybe. But this narrow street is where you can find some of the best restaurants in Chinatown. My personal favorite is Quick Snack, with their amazing fresh lumpia. A lot of people also come here for the fresh fruit stands, and the mom-and-pop groceries where you can get even the most obscure Chinese delicacies. Prepare to have your tastebuds invaded.

Cheap beers, cheap food and karaoke. Yup, the perfect Pinoy hits trifecta. If you're looking to…read morepass the time after a work day weekend then look no further. The "al fresco" set up provides a scenic view of the Ortigas traffic while you down that ice cold pale Pilsen. Beers are just P45 a pop and even cheaper if ordered by buckets. They even still sell the "tatay" old and stout version for only P35 if you're feeling a little cheap. As for the pulutan, I highly suggest the isaw and lechon. Both are surprisingly excellent, I kid you not. The isaw is a bit bigger than the average stick serving, and it is drowned with a delicious vinegar soy mixture that is highly addictive. The lechon, which is less than a hundred bucks, is crunchy althoughout. Perfect with the liver sauce it comes with. They also offer the standard calamares, sizzling hotdog and chicken wings. If you're adventurous palate or a bit short of cash than old man Mang Tonyo's can help you with those. If you drop more than P250 on this place then you're in a different league than most salary men.

Finally got to try some other dishes which includes the following that I liked quite a lot: beef…read moresalpicao, and tapsilog, glazed pares wings (though I definitely would recommend the sriracha mansi wings over this). I also got to try their sizzling tinola which was the only dish that I liked a bit less than the others probably due to the meat seemingly having the flavour of boiled chicken (isn't much), then breaded, fried and served with gravy. Ambience: Good, spacious and well lit. Designs were unique and brings character. Taste: Great, not your typical pares house for sure. Presentation: Great Value: Great, good bargain Service: Great, their wait staff are attentive. Overall: Great, will definitely visit again and try the other dishes that were sold out.

Been hearing a lot about this hole-in-the-wall restaurant that serves Filipino street foods like…read morefishballs, squidballs, and even pares. We often visit the place but found no place to park because of the always-filled Bugis across the street and the pub beside it. Tonight, I guess, is our lucky night. Rapsadoodle comes from two words: rapsa or sarap (delicious) spelled backwards, and doodle (a kind of art by writing scribbles), which is visibly displayed on one side of the wall. Most of the scribbles are pick-up lines and hugots that resonates the Filipino's way of love and comedy. OPMs are played in the restaurant which gives you a Filipino vibe. As for the food, they are neatly presented and clean, which kind of takes out one concern on food sanitation and safety as compaired eating it on the streets. Here are some of the things we ordered: - Beef Pares (Php85) - the classic street food rice meal of beef stew and rice. The meat is tender and the sauce is thick and sweet. A really good pairing with rice, which is unlimited. The sauce and rice is already considered a good meal. - Fried Chicken (Php150) - fried chicken quarter cooked like Max's and served with rice. I am not sure if it's just psychology that once rice is colored yellow, it implies that it is a kind of fried rice. Thus, I was looking for salt which I couldn't find. It was colored plain rice after all. The chicken is juicy but bland, but maybe dependent on the ketchup-vinegar-Jufran-like sauce. - Balls Platter (Php99) - unlimited option is available but I feared I would be too full to try anything else. The platter is composed of fishballs, squidballs, and kikiam, and served with an unli manong's sauce. The sauce is on the sweet side, but my favorite manong near my office still has a better sauce. As for the balls, I like the kikiam better because of the taste and texture. I can hardly taste the flavor of the fishball until I devoured the last few pieces. - Siomai (Php40/5 pcs) - they also have an unli version of this. Siomai is okay. Meaty, but most of its true flavors are covered in the sauce. - Bibingka Waffle - the best part of what we've ordered. I did not expect it to be this good. Soft and moist bibingka-like waffles served with a creamy ice-buko-style coconut ice cream and garnished with condensed milk, dessicated coconut, and brown sugar. An explosion in the mouth, this might be the one dish I will come back for. Overall, food is affordable and is great for students or people with a budget. It is clean so you can eat without worry. I was actually having a hard time deciding on what grade to give. For the taste alone, I would give it a 2.0. However, some factors were to be considered: how often can you eat pares and fishballs at an air-conditioned room? +.5. The bibingka waffle is really something special, +.5. With the rates of inflation and constant-rising of prices, this restaurant offers value for money dishes,

Great late night delivery option since they are open late. They don't quite have an overload…read moreoption, but the egg and lechon kiwali option comes close. Lugaw is thick and tasty. Definitely hits the spot during drunchies

We loved the food... ordered from grab and delivered to our hotel. Lugaw was still hot and…read moreeverything was nicely packed. Portions are small but the price is cheap so you can just order more if you're hungry.

Less than a Php100 ramen? Within the busy streets of Malate, you will find this gem. They have Shio…read more(Php50), Shoyu (Php50), Miso (Php80) and TanTanMen (Php80). To manage your expectations, do not expect high quality ramen. It's a carinderia style eatery and not the cleanest place to be. But, you'll see lots of foreigners and locals eating here! They also have another name for this place: Vest Ramen! Why? Because they are not only the "Best," they are the "Vest"! (LOL!) The broth is pretty good and the meat is tender. For the noodles, you can ask that they undercook the noodles. You can also add and egg! I recommend that you ask for a raw egg. Then,just drop it into the hot noodle soup! Have your ramen with a cold beer, perfection! The pork slice are tasty and tender but is also very tiny. So, add more for an additional Php20. Again, the place is not for neat freaks, you have to be a "cowboy" to eat here. One good point, they are open 24/7! A good, cheap place for your noodle cravings!

Cheap ramen. CHEAP RAMEN. After years of getting conditioned to believe that you need to pay…read moreP350++++ for good ramen, it's nice to find places like Erra's that serve knockout ramen for LESS THAN P100. I mean, are you kidding me?!? CHEAP RAMEN. Actually, Erra's is a skanky street bar that looks more like a vulcanizing shop than anything else. And the ramen actually comes from a stall just outside Erra's called (I shit you not) "The Vest Ramen in Town". I don't know about it being "The Vest" (Sorry, couldn't resist), but it is very, VERY good. And if you don't believe me, drop by to see the horde of foreigners hanging out there every day. Malate shop owners should seriously get a clue from this. CHEAP RAMEN.

Of all my "jollijeep" adventures, this is one of my favorite finds. To those who don't know what a…read morejollijeep is, these are temporary steel eateries along the streets of Makati. This hidden gem called Lirio's offers food that is fit for professional catering. In fact, they actually cater to small events if you ask them to. They have all the necessary equipment for it seeing as their food is often displayed in chaffing dishes in their jollijeep. I love their food! This is the only jollijeep you will find that offers French toast or prime beef tapa for breakfast, roast beef or fish fillet with tartar sauce (with side of buttered corn) for lunch, German potato salad or pastrami sandwich for lunch. And it isn't just the selection that is surprising, the taste and quality of their food is also top-notch. For instance, if you get an order of spaghetti with meatballs from them, they put parsley flakes and parmesan cheese on it. Really? It's a steel kiosk on the street! And I only pay between P80 to P90 per order! The food and the service are very similar to what you'd get from more expensive food trucks. It's no wonder you'll see well-dressed Makati businessfolk lining up for their food, they're often sold out for lunch by 1:30. Just goes to show, you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

GOURMET FOOD IN A JOLLIJEEP…read more Jollijeep is what we call those food stalls that line Makati streets. Open mostly on weekdays, these stalls make it possible for corporate slaves to get a filling meal without shelling out too much of their hard-earned money. Because of its cheap prices, Jollijeep food is considered low-quality, oftentimes seen as unhygienic or unsafe. Although that might be true for some, it is with great pleasure that I tell you about this quite unique jollijeep stall that stands in Palanca street (near the famous pork chops I told you about in a separate review). The stall is called Mang Lirio's and it is located right in front of the restobar Plantation. The usual price of a jollijeep meal is around 50 pesos, so one might consider Mang Lirio's to be quite pricey, at around 70 to 80 pesos for a full rice meal. (Still way cheaper and more sulit than eating in a restaurant or some fast food chains.) But the difference is worth it! The gourmet food you'll be getting is tasty, satisfying and the servings are generous. For breakfast, they have the usual tocino, tapa, longganisa, dilis, etc - all delicious choices which they rotate in a week. They also serve french toast and taho! For lunch they have selections such as pork binagoongan, roast beef with gravy, bicol express and lechon kawali to name a few. They also have california maki (wow right), siomai, and other food items such as sandwiches and even fruits. All arranged in a very neat and inviting display. Next time you're in the area, try this jollijeep that's quite a bit more 'upscale' above the rest. But still awesome, awesome value for money.

I fell in love with lobster rolls at the Quincy Market in Boston, so you can imagine my delight…read morewhen I found out that lobster rolls are now available in Manila by way of Bun Apetit. Popular among young foodies, Bun Apetit is a kiosk that sells their Shrimp (P295), Crab (P395), and Lobster (P495) Rolls every Saturday at the Salcedo Saturday Market in Makati. While that may feel almost like chasing a pop up shop every weekend, Bun Apetit also delivers. Just simply give them a call or visit their IG page @bun_apetit. I finally got a chance to try their lobster rolls and while it wasn't what I had in Boston, this one will help you appreciate seafood unlike ever before. Their buns are buttered and their seafood is lightly seasoned and doused with a little mayonaise--the way it should be without taking away too much from the flavor of the seafood. After all, its quality seafood so you don't have to do much with it. Also, don't forget to add Hong Kong Style Noodles (P100) and Cuban grilled corn (P100--holla at you, New York!) to your orders!

From the owner: The Grid Food Market, R2 Power Plant Mall | Saturdays at Salcedo Market 7am-2pm (or until supplies…read morelast) | Est. 2014 | #BunAppetit

One day, as a random thought, I wondered what commercial establishment I had been patronizing for…read morethe longest amount of time. At first I thought that it might be some sort of chain store, but I wasn't sure. This was during one of my Sunday bike rides around our village, and as I passed one street, our friendly neighborhood Taho-guy waddled with his taho cans across me. Then it hit me. I had been buying taho from him for the past 20 years. He used to ring our doorbell, play some hoops with me outside, and give me a discount on his taho when I was in elementary school. I see him near Mary the Queen Parish more often now, but he basically looks like he did 2 decades ago, and his taho still tastes like my childhood. Yes, my childhood tasted like soy curd.

Magic Siomai is only one of the countless siomai franchises scattered in almost every corner of the…read moremetro. In fact, if you don't look closely, it's easy to mistake their logo for Mister Siomai and Master Siomai, which are two other franchises dotting the LRT stations, bus terminals, malls, etc. I don't want to launch into a brand comparison, as my palate is too amateur to identify the nuances of one siomai from another. Suffice it to say that at Php 30 for four pieces of siomai, this is not a good deal to pass up, especially when you're hungry. Choose from Japanese Siomai, Pork Siomai, Neef Siomai, or Wanton. Sadly, they don't have tuna or chicken variants. Their gulaman is not as good as others I've tasted.