From being so exposed to Bicolano dishes, at first it would feel like, I was just experimenting…read more After contant orders and dining in experiences in their Katipunan branch, it has become a part of our weekend routine to dine and have a fill of their Specialty, Bagnet, and a take-home empanada all the time! Ilocos Empanada has unquestionable reputation in preparing meat (pork). It is always a rewarding experience to try on something new. Go now!

The place is ok. They have a wide range of food options but not every item is available. We tried…read morethe regular empanada and the all meat flavored one. You must try the all meat empanada. They are in huge sizes so you can pick just one and have it for sharing. I am not a fan of their noodles and the bagnet. They are too oily and not so good in taste.

While Mang Larry's is the more popular isaw stand, the one that's usually two stands away is what I…read moreprefer. Their isaw is orange, which is prettier to look at (heheh), and they don't overcook the isaw like Mang Larry's often does. My street food of choice is isaw manok, and I haven't found another isawan that serves anything as good as what they have here. The stall directly next to it sells fishballs and kwek-kwek, so hanging out on that lawn with a mere fifty pesos will get you very far. Pair your street food with some refreshing buko juice, and you'll understand why this is a UP student's standard meal. It's not just cheap; it's actually really good! The stalls moved from the empty lot right across Law to the one next to it. The old location is now a parking lot, and while the new one allows several cars to park as well, the ground is much more uneven and rocky. Girls, leave your heels at home!

Hindi ko alam kung bakit si Mang Larry yung sikat na isawan sa UP, dahil yung katabi niyang isaw na…read moreorange naman ang masarap. Medyo mapakla at lasang abo kasi yung kay Mang Larry kaya hindi ko tipo, itong isaw na orange sa tabi niya mas may lasa, siguro dahil may marinade na ketchup at suka kaya naging orange. Pero hindi ko alam, palagay ko lang naman yun. Mas masarap bumili sa isawan na to dahil bukod sa mas masarap ay mas kaunti ang pila, hindi ka masyadong maghihintay ng matagal para makuha ang order mo. Maliliit lang serving sa stick ng isaw nila kaga damihan mo na rin ang orderdahil kapag nabitin ka, hassle nang maghintay uli. Isaw baboy at manok ang lagi kong binibili dito tapos ay isasawsaw sa maanghang na suka. Mmm! Ang sarap nito iulam sa kanin! Minsan ginagawa ko talaga yun, nagbabaon ako ng kanin tapos bumibili ako ng isaw dito pang hapunan.

What it has going for it is its brand and name recognition. Mang Larry's has been an institution at…read moreUP for quite a while now. The order placement system is also very organized. The food order is properly itemized and priced in the printed order slip. It gets full very quickly nearing meal times. We had to wait a short while after placing our order at around 5:45 PM. Students, office workers, and tourists are the present diners when we ate there. What I did not like was the setting and service. It did come a long way now that it has a dedicated seating area and a covered roof compared to yesteryears when it was only a stand-up kiosk. It would have been nice if they went all the way and cemented the flooring and have chosen more presentable table and chairs. Durint the time we were present dining, we also overheard another customer having their order wrong. He ordered something around 20 sticks, but what came in the take-out bag was only around 16 sticks. It was a few sticks short. Lastly, do not expect to get good value when eating here. The small portions of food on the sticks are a little pricey and can add up quicky with just a few sticks ordered.

There is a reason why Mang Larry's is one of the most famous stalls in the UP Diliman Campus. It is…read morea small and humble cart near the Internatonal Center and the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice, yet it manages to drawn in hordes and hordes of students and faculty. It serves a variety of innards and offal, which I think shows the ingenuity and the resourcefulness of our street food eating habits -nothing goes to waste. On the menu are different kinds of isaw or pig and chicken intestines, and other adventurous stuff such as pig ears, tripe, gizzards and liver. People would actually line up and end up smelling like the smoke from the outdoor grill, which goes to show how good the isaw is. I personally don't like isaw very much, and I have already shifted to my veg diet when I came to UP, but my friends swear by the quality of the isaw sold by Mang Larry's. A friend remarked that he wouldn't even touch any other isaw, unless he is sure that utter care was taken by the vendor in cleaning the innards. They say that the stuff sold by Mang Larry's taste fresh and clean, and free from that undesirable taste of chicken poop that any amateur isaw vendor wouldn't think of cleaning out thoroughly. Anyway, I heard Mang Larry was able to send his kids to college because of his trade, to which I say, well done! Excellent job, hardworking and charismatic Mang Larry!

Here's a place that's good for everything. Snack, dessert, lunch (well, in my opinion it works for…read morelunch), craving for imported soda... it works! Crepeman tastes like those long afternoons in Miriam College's cafeteria where all I lived on were their tuna crepes and nothing else. What can I say, I was cheap and on a forced diet. Good to see some things never change. Crepeman still has some pretty good (and pretty indulgent) crepes. Having had enough of their savory crepes, I usually go back for the sweet crepes I missed out on. The chaos is a personal favorite. Good when you need that sugary kick and can't decide what exactly you want off their menu. What can I say? I like my fruit. Also, don't be afraid of pork floss. It's probably one of the best things ever and having it in a crepe? Even better.

We first had food from Crepeman during the pandemonium of the name Maginhawa Food Fest. This was…read morelast October 2014. The crowd was intense and there were queues everywhere even in places you would not expect. We were lucky enough to be living in the vicinity since we had accessible parking space and a resting area when we got tired of walking around. By dinner time, it was almost impossible to get anything to eat without an hour of wait time. A lot of the restaurants and kiosks have run out of food as well. My brother was there to save our stomachs by falling in line for about 3,572.21 hours and getting us some dinner crepes. PROS: They offer both savory and sweet crepes. I find the savory ones better and more interesting as crepes in the area are usually dessert fare; Cheap prices relative to most crepe places. CONS: The blueberry crepe had too much whipped crème and too little cream cheese; The place is a little cramped which is a good thing for the business but a little ugh for me. This is not just during the food fest but even on regular days. TL;DR: Your wallet-friendly crepe fix in a convenient location.

What is it about Quezon City and the fear of starving? This city probably has the most number of…read morerestaurants/eateries in any given square kilometer, and the addition of a new food park in Maginhawa street will just make this crowded scene even more so. Maginhawa 150 Food Place is the THIRD food park to pop up in UP Village (After The Zone and Maginhawa StrEat). A quick glance at its concessionaires reveals a very Pork-heavy lineup, with one or two stalls breaking away from that. All the stalls look fashionable and competent enough. Although I honestly did not taste anything that knocked my socks off, Maginhawa 150 ultimately has a very good lineup of restos. If my memory serves me correctly, Maginhawa 150 has a steak place, a vietnamese joint, a canadian outlet, a Bagnet joint, a comfort food place, and an ice cream place, among others. Not a bad lineup at all.

Howdy Yelpers. How's everybody doing this evening? Nasty Nathanial here and it's time for another…read more"Nasty" review. This one is of an interesting place called The Z Compound. As my friend would say, "it's a new concept." Alrighty. The Z Compound is a really local spot located within' Teachers Village in Quezon City. It is a combination of small restaurants/food stands located inside of this compound. I was first introduced to this place when a friend of mine in Philcoa took me there. The atmosphere is really laid back and purely local. I am all about visiting local grind spots when I am away from home. Especially when I am in a foreign country like the Philippines. I never can understand these foreigners who come here and only want to dine at these trendy restaurants in Makati. Shaking my head. If you want to get the real experience of the land your in you gotta mingle with the locals. Anyways, lets get to the food. Although it is sometimes difficult to choose what to grind on when I come here, my favorite is the Z BBQ. Oh yeah. When I'm hungry this place totally hits the spot. I will order my usual which is the BBQ chicken with rice and sisig. I highly recommend their sisig. There are a lot of good places to get sisig here in Metro Manila, but Z BBQ is the best. Just thinking about it is making me drool. Another groovey thing about The Z Compound is you can order booz to go along with your food. Hey, hey. Now I dig that. There is a spot that sells bottled beer and even a full bar where you can order cocktails. And like every place inside of Z Compound, it's not overpriced like what you'd find in snobby Makati. Good food and booz that is not over priced. How much better can it get? The people that work at these places inside of Z Compound are friendly. And I don't mean the kind of friendly where they are on your rear for a tip. They just make you feel welcome. Hey, that is the way it should be. So if you folks want to go get some good food in a place with a groovey atmosphere and prices that won't bust up your wallet, then I highly recommend that you give The Z Compound a try. I really should start doing commercials. Until next time, may the force be with you. Happy trails. NASTY NATHANIAL

While Maginhawa Street has been known as the top destination for food in Quezon City, the lesser…read moreknown Malingap also has its awesome offerings of restaurants and dining choices that could rival the Maginhawa restaurants that have long made it to plenty of blog articles and food reviews. One of the most remarkable additions to Malingap's food row is The Z Compound, home of the now popular names such as Samu Eats, Meshwe and Me Love You Long Time. The Z Compound was put up by proprietor and restaurateur Eric Cadavillo to serve as an "open foodcourt" for startups and small food businesses that are local to the neighborhood. Here, young entrepreneurs and food enthusiasts can put up their businesses and try their hands in establishing startups. The atmosphere of the place is very friendly to students and young people, and the place doesn't only serve food for the hungry hordes, but it also occasionally has fun and hip activities such as poetry readings, bazaars or garage sales, live music performances and other related events. The compound has a bit of a rebellious and anti-establishment vibe, and everything is pretty affordable, even for "starving" college kids. If you are looking for a place to relax in in the heart of Quezon City, The Z compound is a fun and bustling place where you and your friends can pick a table and order from all the stalls and kiosks within the compound. The friendly staff from the stalls will gladly bring your food to where you are seated. Most of the seating is al fresco, and the owners of the compound have recently reblocked the courtyard portion of the place to keep it from flooding during heavy rains. The place is easily accessible from PHILCOA station. Just take a trike to the compound. Most of the stalls close on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Arki Vickie's siomai is just one of the gems that you will discover after hanging around the UP…read moreDiliman Campus. When I started doing my graduate studies in the UP, I also started eating my way through the iconic campus favorites that students and faculty alike enjoy. Fishball and squid ball stands are commonplace everywhere in the campus, and there is alway something to eat or snack on in every turn. What sets Arki Vickie's food stall apart from the others is its offering of siomai with a quail egg inside. That seems like a simple enough idea. Nothing special, right? But it is actually quite delicious and much better than I thought it would be. A friend introduced the "arki siomai" to me, and he said that it would be much better when enjoyed with the signature Pantea that they also offer. Though obviously named as a pun to women's undergarments, Pantea is actually short for pandan tea, which is a milky and sweet accompaniment to the siomai. I would drown my siomai in toyo-mansi sauce and pour copious amounts of the chili garlic condiment, and would quell the fire and the spicy aftertaste with the tea. I am not a big fan of instant pancit canton, but I would find myself ordering it to go with the special quail egg siomai. The manang that sells the siomai is adorable. She remembers you by face or name and would also remember your pancit canton order (spicy, classic, toyo-mansi).

When it comes to siomai, most Diliman Iskos point at Arki Vickie's as the best around the…read moreuniversity. I completely disagree though, not because I dislike Arki Vickie. It's that the siomai at School of Economics is much, much better. Still, Arki Vickie's is still one of UP Diliman's pride and joys. The quail egg hidden inside the siomai is a nice surprise for those first timers. It gives the siomai more flair, for lack of a better term, I guess. Aside from the siomai, the pantea is also a must-buy. It's amusing how people just blatantly say, "Isang pantea po" ("One pantea please") to the vendors, and the vendors reply with "Anong size?" ("What size?") Now, I do agree with the others when they say that the pantea is the real deal. I just love the unique, refreshing taste! Too bad Arki's too far from my college, otherwise I wouldn't hesitate to purchase panteas all the time.

Mang Narry's isn't just another one of the dozens of food kiosks dotted all over campus. What sets…read morethis particular stall apart is their famous mango-graham shake. At P35 a cup, there's no better way to chill out and treat yourself to something sweet in between classes or after school. The shakes don't take too long to prepare either, so you can grab one even if your break is only 30 minutes. If you've got more time, you can try one of their many budget meals featuring any combination of fishballs, lumpia, pancit, or a variety of sandwiches. But it's really the cool, sweetly comforting blend of mango, graham, milk, and shaved ice that draws students, alumni, and outsiders here again and again.

When I was researching for my thesis in UP Diliman, my choice of merienda place was Mang Narry's…read morekiosk. What made me approach this kiosk was Mang Narry's welcoming demeanor. You see, I am not from UP. So when I had to eat somewhere near the buildings where I go for research, I picked the store in which the owner/vendor looked amicable. One of Mang Narry's staple meals was my childhood favorite instant pansit canton. I would usually get two servings of pansit canton; either sweet and spicy or original. Sometimes, when I felt really hungry, I would order pansit canton and burger. The food here were very affordable. Even when I eat a lot and order so many things, the cost would still be cheap. For my drink, I usually ordered mango-graham shake which was unique and refreshing. I was to learn later that this shake is close to becoming a star in UP Diliman. For those comforting, affordable and filling meals (and not to forget the welcoming smile), thank you, Mang Narry's!

By far, best korean chicken wings I have ever eaten no matter what country I have eaten it at. From…read moreNYC, Bangkok and Manila, the taste has remain consistent. In the Philippines, no matter if you order via app or online, the food is delivered hot, juicy and on time. My favorite so far is the soy and garlic flavour. Crispy on the outside and soft white meat in the inside. The meat is not dry when Deep frying the wings. And to quench your thirst, I recommend getting pineapple juice. Fresh juice over ice. Korean fever has definitely hit the Philippines and Bonchon is at the top of the list. Eumsig mas-issda. Translation, the food is freaking delicious!!

Manila got hit with Korean fever and we never really recovered. From hairstyles and dance moves, to…read morekorenovelas and whole pockets of the city converted to Koreatowns, the Korean craze is not just a phase. When you have their fast food chains gaining strong foothold in the Filipino market, you know it's more than just a fad. Korean culture, and its fast food equivalent Bonchon Chicken, is here to stay. PROS: For P155.00 for a 2-piece chicken rice meal, it's just 5 pesos more than the leading fast food chicken two piece meal; The sweet-savory soy garlic coating of their chicken is truly distinctive, making me say "Lasang Bonchon" for whatever other food comes my way with similar characteristics; Those wonderful chicken pieces come in a lot of different flavors; They offer a whole range of other food as well like seafood and snacks. CONS: The insides of the chicken isn't really as tasty as its crispy exteriors; Rice servings that aren't quite enough for the Pinoy tummy. TL;DR: For a distinctive fast food fried chicken experience minus the usual golden-brown breading, go for the delicious soy garlic Bonchon chicken.