So, what have you been eating during this quarantine period? If you have been a longtime reader, you would know for a fact that aside from reviewing good food finds and restaurants in Manila, I also love to cook - I have a YouTube channel for my recipes, to support that claim. Given the quarantine set in the country, one would expect that food bloggers like myself would resort into showcasing our home cooking skills. That will happen, of course, in this blog. But then again, despite the lockdown, there are still good food finds you can have delivered in your home well worth sharing.
This blog is about that, yes. Most importantly, this blog is about showing support to our local businesses who are fighting their way to thrive in this situation we are in.
As you may have known, main focus of this blog for the longest time to feature restaurants and hotels in Manila. Since I am currently in my hometown during this lockdown, it is high time to take advantage of the situation and support our local food businesses that we have here by purchasing food from them when kitchen's a bit to hot to deal with.
The array of food I am currently writing about in this blog post are the ones that my small community in Angono area offered during this time when dining out is far away from possibility. There are some from Antipolo too, since I live near the boundary between these two amazing places.
A disclaimer though, these food businesses are the ones that offers delivery services at the comfort of ones' home. And I am not talking about those food app we are so used to in Manila, because according to their app, my area is out of their coverage. Bummer. But thanks to these local food businesses because I never set foot outside our home to acquire these grubs. Owners of these food businesses no matter how big or small are frontliners too, hence, well worth of the support anyone can give.
First one on this list is the amazing Pancit Bihon / Canton with Lechong Kawali and Special Sisig by EL MANÁ. I am picky with my pancit that is why there's not a lot of feature about it here on my blog. but this one from EL MANÁ is one of the best Pancit Bihon I have ever tried. The Lechon Kawali toppings was a welcome added bonus that made the experience more palatable.
Their Special Sisig is said to be special because it is lutong Nueva Ecijang Kapangpangan. I am not sure about that combination of two cultures but what I am sure of is that I enjoyed this sisig to bits.
Next is this amazing combination bilao by Zane's Combi Bilao & Pancit Malabon. They offer different bilao food combination and the one I got was the Pancit Malabon, Lumpia, and Maki Bilao Combination. I found their pancit malabon comparable to those big names when it comes to pancit malabon. The lumpia features a classic homemade taste which we all love, while the maki was something one may enjoy especially when deprived of this Japanese specialty due to pandemic.
My parents took a great liking to their maki so I have also ordered their Maki Bilao. These maki rolls are technically their version of California Maki but covered with white sesame seeds instead of the usual masago.
They also have another bilao food combination that features cheesy pichi-pichi and let me tell you, while I am not a fan of pichi-pichi in general, theirs made me a convert. Will definitely order for more one of these days. Mind you, Zane's do not just offer food in bilao, they also have single order for those who wants to try their food but cannot finish big batch in one go. Definitely one of my favorite quarantine food finds.
Then we have this amazing Loming Batangas by Baon Republic. Baon Republic is a mini food stall in Mahabang Parang, Angono that serves variety of food from silog meals to bulalo that warms the heart and fills the tummy. I specifically love their Loming Batangas because it was delicious as it was filling. I also love the owner's passion in serving this lomi because he is all for serving authentic lomi that he takes pride in sourcing the miki noodles he uses for his lomi from Batangas. Talk about dedication, for that, he gained this food writer's respect.
I also got to try some amazing and super affordable grubs from Danpuluts Tipid Bowls. Just like Baon Republic, Danpuluts actually has a food stall in Mahabang Parang that serves homecooked silog meals and beer match grubs like lechon kawali, lumpia, and sisig. While everything I have tried from Danpuluts were all amazing, their sisig, hands down was my favorite.
I haven't tried Ginataang Santol before and I have always been curious. One seller named Eugene in our community sells this amazing dish that everyone seems to love and I did not regret taking the chance to try it. Even my father who is a picky eater and a good cook on his own rights liked it.
A seller named Rubie Rose offers California Maki rolls and its visual appeal alone made me order for a 55pc package right away. These are basically the usual California maki but with different coverings aside from masago that lends a different depth of flavors. She's about to sell Sushi Bakes soon and trust me, I've already made an advanced reservation.
Simple meryenda food are also best sellers in our community and while having it on my plate is a rarity since I always favor savory over sweet these days, I am also glad to have tried these grubs. There's the palitaw and cheesy buchi from seller named Sarah. A meryenda that's not only affordable, but delicious too.
Sarah also sells Leche Flan. I love how it wasn't too cloyingly sweet and it has just the right amount of creaminess. I also love that it is affordable compared to others leche flan available for buyers like myself.
Then there's this what they called Graham Flan from a seller named May. A combination of refrigerated mango graham cake and leche flan. While it could used more mango in my opinion, the creaminess of the leche flan was spot on. I can't wait for my sister who's crazy about stuff like this try this Graham Flan!
I have been ordering way too much pizza from famous pizza restaurants for the first few weeks of the quarantine way before I realized there's a community of food enthusiasts in our area. Right after that, I let myself try a local pizza brand named El Bonito Pizza from seller named Yna. It's no SnR nor Shakey's but this one with its super affordable price will do once pizza cravings hit you.
Now this hotdog sandwich from seller Elsie may not look appetizing in the photo, my fault. I just took a snapshot of it using my beat up phone and devoured it right away because it's as good as any humble streetfood can get. They call it Halflong which I am guessing derived from half of a footlong hotdog sandwich. I was hesitant to try this at first because I am such a fan of Pink's Hot Dog at BGC and I am afraid I am just disappointing myself, but hey, for its price - it's not bad at all.
One of the best thing about trying out local food from your community is discovering food you never know existed. Goes to show the creativity of people in times like this. Seller Al Ni introduced me to this wonderful and delicious streetfood called Cheezy Tacos - a local rendition of Mexican tacos. The shell was made with crisp fried lumpia wrapper shaped into a taco shell and filled with cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes, and lots of cheese! It was a humble food but not without a charm.
This I need to include in this list because this homegrown Chinese/Pinoy eatery named Hoxing is well loved by my family. Hoxing specializes in Chinese food and Pares-Pares and their store located in Antipolo is the usual stop of our family and relatives when craving for amazing and affordable pancit and delicious Pata Tim. Their Pata Tim was so good it easy runs out so one time we opted for their Crispy Pata and we were without regret.
Crisp and tender at the same time, Hoxing's Crispy Pata is one of which you should not miss when dining at Hoxing. Another dish that I love at Hoxing is their Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet which goes perfectly well with Hoxing's Special Fried Rice.
Another local restaurant that I was able to order from was Chives Bistro and Market. Everything I have tried in this restaurant was amazing. My favorite was their Salted Port and Pork Ribs. And since I was deeply impressed by this resto, it merits a separate blog post of its own. You'll read that here at YedyLicious soon.
Milk tea is still a thing despite the bouts of rain we are experiencing nowadays and I would just like to share this milk tea I was introduced to in this time of quarantine. Filipinos have always been known for its resilience, and of course, humor. Enter, Covid 9 Tea, an affordable milk tea decent enough in terms of price (Php39 for small cup just like in the photo) and taste.
Coffee Project in Vista Mall is one of our family's favorite coffee place, so when I saw Milktea Project not too far away from the area, I thought I should try it. It isn't affiliated with Coffee Project definitely. But this one is decent enough for its price and is good enough to curb those milktea cravings.
I also got to try Cafe Tribu which shop is located at RS Manuel building in Antipolo City because they were kind enough to accommodate my request to deliver in our area. I tried couple of things but while coffee is not their strongest suit in my opinion as it gives off an instant coffee taste, all of the other flavors were enjoyable enough especially during hot days when we crave for cold drinks as a respite.
Sugar & Tea Milktea is another milk tea store available in our area. Let me just say that of all the milk teas I have tried during quarantine, this one I find the most impressive. Their S & T Black Sugar Milktea is my favorite. But I will be sharing more of them on a separate blog post.
These are just some of the food I have eaten during this quarantine period. There are a lot more so expect that there is a possibility that I might turn this into a series.
I have intentionally did not put exact information for some these businesses as I have not asked for permission. After all, most of them are private individual and would only sell in our area and perhaps nearby towns. But if you are from Antipolo - Angono, and are interested to try these food, please do not hesitate to leave a comment or send me a message on YedyLicious Facebook Page so that I could provide more info.
So, why am I writing this? This is to show that during times like this, we have the chance to support our local businesses that will in return help our community uplift its quality of living despite the pandemic. I am encouraging you that while we are on a quarantine, let's give our local businesses a chance. I already have and trust me, it surprises me to this day how great some of them are.
It wouldn't hurt to do our part in rebuilding our country's economy by supporting locals. Let's start from our own community, let's help each other out because at the end of the day, we will all survive if we all got each other's back.
Thank you lovely readers for spending your time on this blog. Please stay safe and healthy.
