The Gourmet Couple

Three weeks ago, my wife and i went to her hometown in Sariaya in the Quezon province during the weekend. Well, Sariaya is a sleepy town. You won’t see any popular fastfood there. Heck, there’s no even PLDT there. So if you’re kinda bored in the hussles of city-life here, this town is right for you. If not, you’re out of luck. But in fairness to this town, you can find good traditional eateries here. I’ll feature them one of these days here especially where to buy pasalubongs.

Anyways, given our “predicament”, we went to SM Lucena. Yup, Lucena is now a booming town. We stroll around and lo, we found something very familiar… a blast in the past. There it is… Buddy’s.

Going back to memory lane, when i first visited my wifey in Sariaya, we went to Lucena (sleepy town nga kasi). Lucena then was different than today. The center of commerce then was the town proper. If you’ve been to Binondo, you’ll get the idea what i am trying to picture at. So, the very popular resto there was Buddy’s. It was here also that i first saw a “kiping” (kee-peeng), a decorative lantern made up of rice. The ambiance is nice… and so is the food. We had a great time there. Good ‘ol memories.

So when SM Lucena was built, the town proper lose it’s customers and so is Buddy’s. All roads now lead to SM Lucena. It was good to see Buddy’s penetrated SM Lucena. A smile and an excitement covered me when i saw it inside. I miss the food. So in a hurry, we ordered Pansit Lucban ( a variation of Pansit Hab-hab but with a lot of mix), Lumpiang Ubod and 2 pcs bbq. Pansit Lucban is best eaten with it’s own cocktail vinegar. It was a real feast for me for their Pansit Lucban is good for 2-3 persons. And as usual, the price is reasonably cheap. And oh, I got to see more kipings.

Last payday, my officemates and i treated ourselves in a sumptuous lunch. We went to Baliwag Grill and Restaurant just inside BF Homes Parañaque along Aguirre Avenue. The place was changed since the last time we ate there. It can now accomodate bigger customers.

Baliwag offers a variety of our katutubong ulam. We tried pinakbet, ensaladang talong, adobong pusit and of course their all-time lechon manok. I recommend pinakbet. I’ve never tasted such pinakbet as good as this one. Adobong pusit is also highly recommended. There’s a twist in the sauce they used… you’ll crave for more.

And.. oh.. don’t worry about the price. It’s reasonably kaya ng bulsa.

So, turn your plates!

Bonapetite!