Wednesday, December 1, 2010

MANING'S KUTSINTA AND PUTO


Sorry, since I am entitled to my own opinion, I would say that this is the best kutsinta in the Philippines! :)
Kutsinta, or little rice cakes with a gelatinous texture, has been a Filipino favorite for merienda or dessert. They are usually made and served as round cakes, but in Marikina's Maning's kutsinta, they make them in bilaos, or big round rattan trays.


When you step into their store to buy a whole bilao or even one fourth (yes, they retail), you will be greeted by the fragrance of newly-cooked kutsinta: the smell of sugar, langka (jackfruit) and butter saying hello to all frequent customers. You have to try their kutsinta!


And I do step into their store...


...and help out? Hehe!


They also serve very good puto, it's thick unlike your regular puto, and it is topped with cheese and grated salted egg. Another must-try!

This is Nanay (take note, she doesn't want to be called "lola"!) who mans the store all day, all week. She has two assistants to attend to all the people buying kutsinta and puto. Better drop by early, because like they say, these sell like hotcakes! :)



MANING'S KUTSINTA AND PUTO
#3 Gen. F. Santos St., Kalumpang, Marikina City
Near San Antonio de Padua Church
Tel. No.: 6460126
Munching Budget per person: starts at 50 PhP


Marikina, aking hirang.

Roni

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

QIZIA CAFE


You wouldn't miss this Italian cafeteria because it is just beside (or behind?) SDS Medical center in Marikina. Complete address is indicated at the end of this post. :)


If you are looking for another quick Italian fix, you can always go to Qizia (read as "keesha") Cafe. Word of advice though, this is definitely NOT the place for authentic Italian food. The cuisine is Italian, the taste is for the Filipino palate. But still, we're talking about value for your money, which Qizia offers its clients. The food tastes good for the price on the bill. :)


That's my bag, hehehe! Don't expect too much on service. Like I mentioned, this is a cafeteria, not a restaurant. When you arrive, you can go straight to the counter and order. You can still ask assistance from the waiters, of course. Glasses of water, baby chairs, paper bags for leftovers, etc.

So what did we order?!

QIZIA SPECIAL PIZZA

We ordered the Qizia Special Pizza. It's much like the Manager's Choice of Shakey's. I love the thin crust of their pizza here. :)

SEAFOOD PIZZA

Why order only one pizza when you can order two, right? I like how the seafood pizza tasted, it's a bit spicy and the flavor of the shrimp stood out.

CHOCOLATE SHAKE

I sip on this from time to time to recover from the spicy and fishy tastes. I loved the froth, hehe!

SPICY SEAFOOD PASTA

The pasta was cooked al dente, which is always what I prefer. The dish has this curry-taste to it, I like it. Quite unique. :)


For all of these, we only paid a little less than 500 pesos. Okay let's round it up to 500, haha! You see?! You can even have your date here. 500 pesos: I was highlighting the value for your money + taste earlier, right? (We weren't able to try their pastries though, and I heard they serve really good coffee!)

QIZIA CAFE
SDS Medical Center Compound, Katipunan Ext. cor Pio del Pilar St. Concepcion II
Marikina City, Metro Manila
(02) 489-0760
Munching Budget per person: starts at 100 PhP



Marikina, aking hirang.

Roni

Friday, November 19, 2010

MACKY'S GOTO


Goto has never been this good.
("Goto" is the Filipino term for rice porridge) - Update: according to a reader, GOTO is actually the term for "twalya" (or tripe, in English). I never knew that! :-D Funny, how lots of goto chains sell goto even without the tripe itself as an ingredient. I guess "goto" has been culturally accepted as a term for rice porridge similar to "lugaw". Well, I GUESS. :-)

Everytime I crave for goto there is only one eatery in my mind: Macky's goto. I think the secret for this family business' success is that they never compromise the ingredients of their goto despite inflation (hehe!). In your 23-peso goto, you will find a rich flavor of rice, beef, and pig's blood. So yummy:


What else can perfectly pair goto but a plate of tokwa't baboy (28 PhP)? This one's a real winner for Macky's: the sauce is different from your regular tokwa't baboy, and the pork meat is deep fried and very crispy. It should be called tokwa't lechon kawali or something:


They also serve palabok (25 PhP). :) The uncomfortably orange color of the sauce might freak you out but oh yeah it tastes so good you'll finish your plate...after having a bowl of goto that is!



I love the interior of Macky's too. Nothing fancy, just a place where one can comfortably eat his goto. :)



It's quite easy to get to Macky's. When you arrive at the Marikina River bridge from the Cubao direction, turn right on JP Rizal (when you see from the bridge 7-11 it means you have to turn right). Go straight and keep your eye to the left and you'll see Macky's. It is just near the church of Our Lady of the Abandoned. In case you miss Macky's and have reached the church, just park there and ask where Macky's is. It's about 20 meters from the church. If you're taking the jeepney, ride the Calumpang route and ask the driver to let you off Macky's.



MACKY'S GOTO
J.P. Rizal St., San Roque, Marikina City
Just a few meters before Our Lady of the Abandoned Church, across BPI Family Savings Bank
(Take the Calumpang Jeepneys)
Munching Budget per person: starts at 20 PhP



Marikina, aking hirang.

Roni

Friday, October 29, 2010

CAFE LIDIA


Looking for a place to chill with your friends on a lazy weekday - even weekend - night?


Insert drumroll here aaaand: Welcome to Café Lidia!!!





The menu centers on Italian cuisine, the restaurant interior feels laid-back, toasty, fun, and homey. We ordered Pizza Lidia, Fish and Chips, FLT Sandwich (Fish, Lettuce and Tomato, cute huh?) and bottomless drinks.

The Pizza is simply unforgettable. I LOVE IT! It has this thin crust, crispy around the edges, soft and a bit chewy in the middle, and not too overloaded toppings. If you’ve tried authentic Italian pizza, you know exactly why I’m all shook up! Take a look at the Pizza Lidiaaaa (220 PhP): thin crust, a sweep of tomato sauce, olives, anchovies and capers!



The FLT sandwich (155 PhP) was good, too. Crispy fish fillet with juicy lettuce and tomato. You can have your free fix of Mayo and Ketchup, just ask the servers. They serve Mayo Light, mind you.


The Fish and Chips (160 PhP) completed the meal. I don’t know what got into us that day and we went “alla pescatora” that night. Dining in Café Lidia was a cool experience! (Did I mention they have free Wi-Fi?)


Hope you experience Cafe Lidia soon! By the way, take a look at this cute Dads and Kiddos pic at the desserts counter:



More reasons to love Cafe Lidia here.

CAFE LIDIA
#64 Calderon Street, Calumpang, Marikina City
Tel. No.: (632) 6477606
Munching Budget per person: starts at 100 PhP

Marikina, aking hirang.

Roni

Sunday, October 17, 2010

MAMA CHIT'S


That hot, humid, Sunday afternoon, we were driving around Marikina, looking for a place to have our late lunch.


We drove around a bit, eventually parked the car beside the church (Our Lady of the Abandoned - San Roque) and started exploring the vicinity.
Just a block from the church, behind a gas station, we saw the sign "Mama Chit's". The marquee was very nice, and the place had a garden with tables and fancy stuff set up outside, so we decided to check it out... (There was a one-level totem pole and lots of colored bottles!)




 ...and lo! Were we surprised: the interior was adorned with vintage items, from 30-year old softdrink bottles, to old car plates from the US, to old print ads, and old photographs! I'm pretty sure we missed the turntable somewhere or something!





The girl (we are hypothesizing that she is the owner's granddaughter, haha) approached us and gave us copies of the menu. I enjoyed browsing through it: saw a variety of dishes, most of them western, at affordable prices, I would say. The place is semi-self service, once you get there, go to the counter to order, then pick a table.

We ordered some burger and turkey wrap, funny how the place seems fully stocked, when I was starting to get the impression that they don't have that much clients (Sorry Roni, they DO GET FULL especially in the evening!). Please dismiss my jumping to conclusions, and let's proceed with the grub:
The burger was veeeeery juicy! I loved the chips that they served with it, kind of reminded me of Barnaby's sour cream and chives:


The turkey wrap was a hit too! The meat wasn't dry at all:


The pasta was also good, we ordered the Seafood Marinara:


We were very bochogs after our merienda (ay merienda lang pala yun?), and spent the rest of our time there taking photos and keeping ourselves amused by their extensive collection.



That was the best part of our stay - looking around, as if walking down memory lane - the memory lane where we weren't even born yet... *awww*.



More reasons to love Mama Chit's here. And definitely more places in Marikina for you! Toodles!

MAMA CHIT'S
278 J.P. Rizal Street, San Roque, Marikina City
Tel. No.: (02) 646-8547
Just across the Shoe Museum, near Our Lady of the Abandoned Church
Munching Budget per person: starts at 100 PhP

Marikina, aking hirang.

Roni

Sunday, October 10, 2010

THE WELCOME MESSAGE


Hello dear readers,

Thank you so much for taking time to visit (and hopefully read) my feature blog on Marikina. :)
WHY "All Over Marikina"?


I have lived all my life in Marikina, and through the years I have seen the city develop and its citizens acquire that distinct Marikina pride. I want to create a blog that will serve both as a reference and as an eye candy (yes, I'm into photography) for those of you who are interested in local food places in our small but lovely city.

So, I hope you enjoy reading my entries and feel free to drop comments if you would like to inquire on anything "Marikenyo" when it comes to food.

Marikina, aking hirang.

Roni
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