Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pansit Malabon Express
103 B. Ermita Center Bldg,
1350 Roxas Blvd
T
02 521 7403,
W
pansitmalabon
.com; map p.69.
Branch of famed purveyor of tasty fried
noodles (
pansit Malabon
) in servings large enough for four
people (from P300), as well as barbecue chicken meals
(P125) and
bangus
(milkfish; P160).
Daily 9am-9pm.
Seafood Market Restaurant
1190 J. Bocobo St
T
02
521 4351; map p.69.
Here the day's catch is laid out on ice
and you pick from whatever the boat brought in. The choice
typically includes giant prawns, lapu-lapu, lobster, fish lips
and sea slug, all cooked as you watch by wok chefs in a
glass-fronted kitchen. It's not so cheap, though - a huge
meal for two with drinks will cost around P2500.
Daily
11am-2pm & 6-11pm.
Shawarma Snack Center
45 Salas St
T
02 525 4541;
map p.69.
Two branches of the
SSC
face each other across
Salas St, so take your choice of plastic tables or a more
rarefied atmosphere with tablecloths. The Middle Eastern
dishes in both are superb and plentiful, with possibly the
best falafels and kebabs in the city, and certainly the
hottest chilli sauce. Mains mostly under P175. Located in a
small Muslim enclave in Malate, replete with halal food
and a small mosque just off the road.
Daily 24hr.
Zamboanga
1619 M. Adriatico St
T
02 521 7345,
W
zamboangarestaurant.com; map p.69.
Fresh sea-
food from the deep south of the Philippines, a trio of
crooning guitarists and nightly cultural shows at 8.30pm
(mostly folk dance). This is the restaurant that features
on many travel agents' night-time city tours, but still
lots of fun after a few drinks (mains range P250-475).
Daily 11am-11pm.
La Cocina de Tita Moning
315 San Rafael St, San
Miguel
T
02 734 2146,
W
lacocinadetitamoning.com;
map pp.60-61.
Located in an Art Deco home (the 1937
Legarda House) east of Quiapo, near the Malacañang
Palace, this is an exceptional dining experience (expect to
spend a minimum P1500/head). Guests get a tour of the
house before eating in the antique dining room; expect
sumptuous home-cooked Spanish-Filipino dishes such as
slowly roasted pork with crackling and candied sweet
camote
, or
kare kare de pata
(peanut stew with pig's
trotters) with organic brown rice. Reservations required,
24hr in advance (minimum two persons).
Open daily by
appointment for lunch and dinner.
The Original Savory
201 Escolta St
T
02 243 0336;
map p.73.
Legendary masters of fried chicken and
sensational gravy since 1950 (half chicken P175, whole
P340), with branches in SM Mall of Asia. Also do superb
bagoong
(fermented shrimp sauce) rice (P165) and noodles
(from P135).
Daily 8am-midnight.
President Grand Palace Restaurant
746-750
Ongpin St
T
02 243 4988; map p.73.
Plush Cantonese
restaurant with an extensive menu that includes bird's
nest and shark's fin (from P350). More mundane and less
ecologically contentious dishes include excellent crab,
lemon chicken, spicy pork with bean curd and a good
selection of fresh vegetables. Best experienced with a
group (so you can order multiple dishes to share), but they
also serve hearty noodle and rice dishes suitable for single
diners (from P150).
Daily 10am-11pm.
★
1
★
Quick Snack
637-639 Carvajal St
T
02 242 9572;
map p.73.
Tucked away down a side alley crammed with
wet market stalls, it doesn't get better than this for a cheap,
home-cooked Hokkien-style meal. It's best known for its
lumpia
(spring rolls; P45-55),
kuchang-an
(a sort of meat
pie),
machang
(
zongzi
or rice wrapped in banana leaf ) and
oyster omelette (
e-a jian
; P180).
Daily 8am-6.45pm.
Salazar Bakery
783 Ongpin St
T
02 733 1392; map
p.73.
This bakery dates from 1947 and does a tasty
hopia
(P45), but is also great for savoury
asado
rolls and small
chicken pies - the hefty mooncakes (P125) are also worth
a try.
Daily 5am-10pm.
Tasty Dumplings
620 Ongpin St
T
02 242 5195; map
p.73.
No-frills diner with justly popular pork dumplings
going for P80; also does great pork chop rice (P105) and
fresh soybean milk (P35).
Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun
9am-9pm.
BINONDO AND QUIAPO
Binondo has no fancy restaurants and no bistros or wine
bars; people come here for cheap, nourishing Chinese food
in one of the area's countless Chinese restaurants or hole-
in-the-wall noodle bars. Binondo and Quiapo also have a
number of bakeries that are known in the Philippines for
their
hopia
, a sweet cake-like snack with a soft pastry
coating and thick yam paste in the middle.
Eng Bee Tin
628 Ongpin St
T
02 288 8888,
W
engbeetin.com; map p.73.
Filipinos often come to
Binondo just to make a pilgrimage to this well-known
bakery, which has specialized in various kinds of sweet,
sticky mooncake and
hopia
since 1912. The bakers here
invented
ube hopia
, made with sweet purple yam and
now imitated throughout the country, and you can also
buy
tikoy
, the sweet rice cake that is traditionally served
during Chinese New Year.
Daily 7.30am-8.30pm.
Ho-Land Hopia & Bakery
551 Yuchengco St at
Carvajal St
T
02 242 9709; map p.73.
Classic bakery (and
Eng Bee Tin
rival) serving
hopia
rolls for P40, but also
squid balls and savoury treats.
Mon-Sat 7.30am-8pm,
Sun 7.30am-5pm.
MAKATI
Makati is the best place in the city when it comes to quality
and variety of restaurants, with most options in or around
the Glorietta or Greenbelt malls, or P. Burgos St further
north where there are a growing number of Korean and
Japanese places. Bonifacio Global City, to the east, is an
emerging destination for mostly high-end restaurants.
