Ted's La Paz Batchoy

It has been raining lately and the weather is cold. This is the best to enjoy a bowl of warm soup. I remember reading an article about the anatomy of a good soup. Probably due to the Chinese influence, Filipinos also enjoy a bowl of noodle soup. Over the weekend, I chanced upon a branch of Ted's La Paz Batchoy where I had one of the tastiest noodle soup. La Paz batchoy originated from the province of Iloilo. E told me that the dish itself was an accident. It was created from making use of leftover meat. I am not exactly sure if that is true but yes, the dish has meat on it. The famous Ted's Old Timer La Paz Batchoy was created by Ted Lapura in the 1930's when he was a teenager. It started as a small stall in the province of La Paz, Iloilo. During that time, they only served the "original" version of La Paz batchoy. Now, it has evolved to dishes like miswa batchoy, bihon batchoy and sotanghon batchoy. As well, they have expanded and has now several branches. At least to me, the most accesible branch whereI can satisfy my batchoy craving is at SM Mall of Asia.

The batchoy has three varieties: special, super special and extra super. The extra super comes with pork meat, isaw (pork's large intestine) and atay (pork liver). One serving costs P80.00. Side dishes include rice, pandesal and puto. I had mine with rice.

Extra Super La Paz Batchoy

It was really tasty and filling. I added a dash of pepper on my serving because I wanted it extra hot. An extra bowl of soup can also be asked, free of charge. I was so satisfied, I came back the next day and had another one.


Ted's also offers namit meals. This meal with sisig, rice a small bowl of La paz batchoy and a glass of softdrinks is very filling at a cheap price of P120.

(Namit meal - sisig, rice, La Paz batchoy)

Batchoy maybe Chinese in influence but is very Filipino in culture. It is very simple yet very delicious.

Luk Yuen Noodle House

We ate at this Chinese restaurant at the SM Megamall branch to celebrate my college friend, Mic's birthday. I grew up going to SM Megamall for our shopping needs, as probably the case for every Pasiguenos. It is the nearest mall to our place with almost complete amenities. Being familiar with the mall, sometimes it is difficult to pick a place to eat at inside the mall. With SM Megamall undergoing renovation, it is even harder now to choose a place to eat at.

Luk Yuen Noodle House is one of those typical Chinese eateries. Service was good here. Our servers were polite and quick to attend to our needs.

Some of the food was ok but some fell below my expectations.

Noodles Cantonese style. I liked the taste of this but the serving was small.

Sliced Beef with Broccoli

Boneless Chicken in Lemon Sauce

Yang Chow fried rice. The waiter said that it was good for 2-3 persons but it really was a small serving. As well, it didn't have much ingredients (sahog).

To satisfy my Chinese carvings, I’d still go to North Park.

The Classic Savory Chicken Part 2

Yes, we came back! Well, E wanted to eat pancit; we had to eat anywhere at Pasig area because we were planning to watch a movie there; and we were already along C5 earlier. The Classic Savory Chicken at SM Hypermart was an obvious choice. We had a late lunch (around 2pm) so the place wasn't at all packed.

E chose pancit miki bihon since we’ve already tried the pancit canton plus the chicken, which was their specialty.

E found the miki bihon dry. It was the opposite of the pancit canton we first ordered which had a thick sauce. E said that my own 'miki bihon' tasted way better. hahaha.

I am not a big fan of 'fried' chicken with no breading or marinade and so I am also not a follower of the famous Max's fried chicken. TCSC's specialty is similar to that of Max's, both cooked the same manner with the taste slightly differing. TCSC's chicken is served with their own gravy.

TCSC's chicken didn't change my opinion on chicken simply fried. The chicken's meat is naturally bland so it is quite tricky to put flavor on it. I found the chicken a little bit overcooked which resulted to an even more dry taste. I had to ask for soy sauce to add flavor to it. I prefer the moist chicken (cooked 'Shanghai' or 'China') style at North Park or any chicken cooked by adding rosemary and roasting.

If we ever visit again, we'll probably just stick to the pancit canton and try other dishes from their menu.

The Classic Savory Chicken

Friday night. E and I saw ourselves first time at the quite large and spacious, SM Hypermart at Ugong, Pasig City. The grocery with a few restos and stores is just beside Tiendesitas. I had my hair cut at the BenchFix branch there (which is an altogether another story :P) and went grocery-shopping.

I go grocery shopping at several malls either near our house or near at work (SM Megamall, SM Makati or Landmark). After trying out this branch of the SM superstores, if given the time, I’ll do the rest of my grocery shopping here.

My reasons: 1) it’s spacious (I think I’ve mentioned that already) which means more shelves and stacks of products; 2) so far, almost complete. I mean most of what I need are here. There is a variety of products. 3) few people shop here so it’s not that crowded and there are no long lines at the counter; 4) I went shopping at night and the veggies are still in their good quality; 5) There are restaurants around the are shouting at you to try them out plus Tiendesitas was just across the street for another dining experience.


Where did E and I eat?

We spotted a place just within the entrance where a number of people were eating. The place was just small. When we enter the mall, the resto was already crowded. When we were done shooing, there were still several people eating there. The menu was displayed outside wo we didn’t have to guess on what they were serving. Given that the prices seem reasonable, we decided to try the place. The place is called The Classic Savory Chicken.




As I read, this eatery dates back in the 1950s when four of the ‘Ting brothers’ put up a panciteria at the busy district of Quiapo. Later on, they discovered a special recipe for fried chicken and gravy which became popular not just among the Chinese but with Filipinos as well. Their version of a chicken recipe became so popular which led to the opening of the first branch of the Savory Chicken House at Escolta. After about 50 years, the third generation of the Ting family launched the The Classic Savory Chicken.

Basically, they offer Chinese Cuisine with chicken as their specialty. And so the Chinese saga again continues. I know I have to stay away from all these Chinese food and try another cuisine. LOL. (Indian cusine, don’t worry, I’ll try you next).

E really wanted to try the chicken but as I was planning a pre-brithday celebration for him which included chicken barbeque in the menu, I somehow convinced him that I do not want to eat chicken that night. As much as it was the main dish in their menu, we opted for something else.

They served their pancit the way I want my pancit cooked: with a thick sauce.

The staff was really courteous. E is allergic to seafood and we requested that it be taken out of the dish. They did just what we requested and we were happy about it.

We also tried their spicy beef with sate sauce. It wasn’t at all spicy but nevertheless, tasted good.

As I researched, The Classic Savory Chicken also have branches at Robinson's Place Manila and the SM Mall of Asia. I'm excited to try the rest of dishes at their menu.

The Big Little Store of Gilmore

The Chinese food trip saga continues! Since that day (several months ago, sometime last year) where we went to Gilmore to have my computer fixed, Gilmore became to me more than just a computer mecca. I associate Gilmore now with authentic, really good Chinese food. Amidst the bustle of the techie industry lays this quaint store and restaurant. It’s called The Big Little Store of Gilmore – the irony of which amuses me.

Pardon me for the lack of research. Perhaps on my next visit, I would set aside my hungry stomach and chat for a while with the owner or some people there. Now my curiosity of how the store came to be bothers me. I’d make a mental note to know about that on my next visit (perhaps it’ll be when I buy my own baby - a new lappie!).

The Big Little Store is divided into three sections. The left part is where the store is where they sell a variety of Asian food products and some local products even. The center is where the counter for ordering is – as well as for the display of food. The setting of which resembles that of a canteen. The right part is the restaurant – where one is seated and waits for the food upon ordering.

The grocery section sells a variety of products. They offer a variety of Asian condiments (like chili paste, soy sauce, and curry pastes), herbal teas, dried mushrooms, vegetables and frozen dumplings. I am not sure though if the prices are cheaper compared if you buy them at stores from Chinatown in Binondo. My eyes feasted though on the assortment of products – half of which I do not even know on what dishes I should use them for.

E and I opted for beef noodle soup, Chinese lumpia and siomai. How I loved the taste of what we ordered!

As the soup was served to use, its gingery scent immediately emanated. It just felt relaxing to put my hands on the hot bowl and smell that ginger scent. The soup was definitely better than what we had at Mongkok. Although I found the soup a little oily. But just that – it still tasted good and I enjoyed eating it.

I first tasted Chinese lumpia at a trip at the Salcedo weekend market. It was an instant hit for me. I don’t usually find Chinese lumpia as part of the menu so I only knew that if I wanted one – I will be getting it at the Salcedo market. When I saw it at the menu at The Big Little Store, I knew I’d be getting it. I was not disappointed. The mixture of fresh vegetables was just succulent. E also loved it.

And of course – the siomai! My top two favorites would be siomai from North Park and from this store.

If you are a Chinese food lover like me – or just looking for good tasting food – I would really recommend eating at this place. Reasonably priced food that would give you a remarkable Oriental experience – that is definitely worth trying!

The Big Little Store is located at:
Ground Floor, Gilmore IT Center
Gilmore, New Manila
Quezon City

Mongkok, a Chinese resto

E fetched me from work last Friday, then we went to Rockwell to have dinner. It was his idea to go there. It was quite understandable that he decided to go there since it was his first time at the Power Plant Mall. I was having a grand time that night teasing him about it. LOL. The Power Plant Mall is a relatively small mall compared to the other super malls like SM and those Ayala-owned malls. E prefers small crowds so the mall was a hit for him. We decided to have dinner at Mongkok since I very much enjoy eating Chinese food. We both are still on for the no-rice diet so we opted for noodle soup and dumplings. I wonder if choosing another carb for rice will do us good but anyway, we did not want to break our no-rice record. As we were waiting for the food, we noticed that several of the crew was looking at the table next to us. We really could not guess why but on the table were a guy (which E said looks like the driver or body guard), a gay man (politically incorrect), a mom and a young girl. The mom and the young girl were seating on the same direction as we were so it was quite difficult to recognize them. It was only halfway through the meal that I realized it was Sarah Geronimo! Deep inside I wanted to take her picture but I have to be composed or else E would tease me to death about being jologs. Hahaha! Sarah (feeling close!) was really polite, charming and friendly.

pic taken from lizhoney.com

Anyway, back to the food. E and I both didn’t like the noodle soup. The noodles were thin and mushy and not the usual type of noodles one would normally have in other Chinese restaurants. There was nothing special with the soup. The broth just tasted that of boiled beef. My best noodle soup so far was the one I had in Seven Corners, Crowne Plaze Hotel in Ortigas. The soup was light yet really tasty.





But we both like the dumplings. They have several varieties of dimsum that one can choose from. They even have carts strolling around the resto where one can just get there without having to give the waiter the order and wait.




Overall, I still prefer North Park over Mongkok and other Chinese restaurants. Although just for the dumplings, I would go back here.

And also, given that I love Chinese food, I still haven’t explored much of Chinatown. I’ve already eaten at President’s and food there is absolutely delicious. E and I have also eaten at this authentic Chinese store at Gilmore, and I also loved it there. I can’t wait to try more authentic Chinese restaurants. Any recommendation?

Mongkok is at:
the lower ground floor (basically the basement) of the Power Plant Mall
Power Plant Mall is @ Rockwell Driver cor. Estrella St.
Makati City