FACE OFF: Hole In The Walls

food at Ita's Chibugan

Contrary to some of my friends and acquaintances misconception about the food places I visited, I do adore hole-in-wall eateries or karinderya. I like the idea that my 100 peso bill could go a long way and could order at least two to three food items for a meager amount. Especially if I'm on tight budget, which is always the case, believe it or not. 

I've got the privilege to visit some of the best tasting karinderyas in my area. I know, this is a very subjective statement since all of us have our own favorites, but I really enjoyed the food offered to these eateries and would plan a return visit anytime soon.

Michelle GoTo

foods at Michelle

I featured Michelle GoTo before. I quite enjoyed the food here that I invited my friend, Gael, to join me on my return visit since I'm quite sure she would enjoy the food here as much as I did.

our orders

chixsilog

tokwa

chixsilong

bulalo

We're quite hungry so we opted to have the rice meals. Gael had the Chixsilog; the fried chicken, sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (egg, cooked sunny-side up) combo, while I had the Chixsilong; same combo with the exception of the longganisa. For the side-dish, Gael had the tokwa (tofu) cut into bite-size pieces marinated in soy sauce, vinegar and chopped onions. The fried chicken was way overcook and was quite dry, same with the longganisa. But flavorful  (malasa), nevertheless. 

On this visit, I ordered yet again the bulalo. A hearty soup with beef shanks and marrow bones. This bulalo may not be comparable to the one offered in Dencio's or other Filipino restos that offers the same dish. But this one could live to its own merit, and at a very cheap price, too.

coffee for two pesos

soda pop to battle the heat

My only complaint whenever I dine here is that its superhot. It's no joke when I said beads of sweat would pour down from every skin opening and orifices of your body when you're here. Even if we're right beneath the blades of an antiquated ceiling fan, there's not much of a difference. If that's the case, dehydration is not far behind unless you arm yourself with lots and lots of water. In our case, lots and lots of soda pops. Not a good choice, I know, but we don't stay here very long. After we ate, I chugged down a good portion of the contents from the bottled water I had with me. 

inside michele

goto

An ideal time to visit Michele GoTo would be in the evening or in the wee hours of the morning, just like what me and my friend did. If I'm not mistaken, Michele GoTo is open 24/7. Since the temperature is cooler, we're quite inspired to try out something hot. Gael had the traditional mami and I had their signature goto (porridge). Though not as thick as I would like it to be, it's a soothing hot soup with a heat that settled to the stomach quite noticeably. And the toasted garlic bits on top lent a nice touch and flavor.

MICHELLE GOTO

Ortigas Extension, Pasig City

(Fronting Autorack Sales before reaching Shell, Rosario Pasig branch)

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Ita's Chibugan Mami Tapsihan

la paz batchoy & sisig

One time, its Gael's turn to introduce me to the eatery she most frequented. This time in Cainta, quite near the Cainta Catholic School. The name of the karinderya is Ita's Chibugan Mami Tapsihan. She told me with much conviction that the food here is really great. She hasn't been there for a while and she also needed to go to a talipapa (wet market) market there to buy some ingredients for a recipe that she would cook later that day. And she saw it as an opportunity to go try again Ita's.

inside Ita's Chibugan

counter

When it comes to ambiance, I like Ita's more than Michele. It has a more relaxed vibe. Although the dining area look cramped with only a few tables and chairs, they offer more space on the second floor landing.

miki

tapsilog

la paz batchoy

sizzling sisig

The staff at Ita's Chibugan cook your food as you order them so it took a little time for our orders to arrive which I didn't mind at all. They also had quite a number of soup and mami variations that you could choose from. Gael was craving for some miki so she ordered the traditional miki noodle soup and some tapsilog (tapa, fried rice and egg) to go along with it. I ordered the La Paz Batchoy and Sizzling Sisig with Egg and Fried Rice. I appreciate that their bowls of mami were really big. Big enough for two people to share. Ita's own version of La Paz Batchoy was simplistic but gets the job done. The morning was quite cold that day and the soup provided enough heat I just needed. I also liked the sizzling sisig. The notes of spiciness from the finger chili whets my appetite to follow it with a spoonful of the hot sinagang rice.

ita's chibugan in Cainta

ITA'S CHIBUGAN MAMI TAPSIHAN


Along Bonifacio Ave. near Cainta Catholic School & Cainta Police Station


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La Aysee

gambas of Aysee

When I first tried La Aysee (or just Aysee) in Greenhills, I was floored by the sheer goodness of the pork barbeque, liempo and isaw they offer. It elicited that same giddiness when I tried again Aysee, this time on their branch in Eastwood. 

crispy sisig

I need to go someplace else after lunch so I had a short order of the crispy sisig. Its one mouthwatering oily goodness. The texture of the crispy pork was very much like chicharon (pork crackling) with oil gushing out in every bite. I absolutely loved it.

aysee's counter

menu

I was also able to try Aysee's branch in Tiendesitas when I had to do some errands in the area. I was with my friends Henry and Gael. Our budget was very limited and good thing Aysee offered reasonably priced food. 

tapsilog

shrimp gambas

The tapa had that inherent sweet-smoky flavor unlike any of the tapa I've tried so far. Quite yummy! The Shrimp Gambas has the same sweet flavor with a little note of spice. The delectable, toothsome sauce of the gambas we used to ladle over our hot rice.

Nestea tower

I also got intrigued when I saw the Nestea Tower on their menu so I ordered that as well for the three of us. And it was indeed an enormous tower of iced tea that graced our table. It even has a faucet on one side of the container to get the contents from it. I wish I have one of these at home.

Aysee in Tiendesitas

I'm hoping to try the bilao servings of Aysee the next time around. 


LA AYSEE


Branches visited: 


Eastwood Cybermall
Tiendesitas


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Chef Engineer's Grill & Cafe

counter at Chef's Engineer

This could be my favorite among the karinderya I've tried so far. First, its just near our village. Second, its air-conditioned so you don't need to worry about the sweltering heat. They also have an al fresco area for those who want to smoke while eating or to those who just want to eat in an open area.

You may say Chef Engineer's can't be categorize as a karinderya but a quick scan on their menu would tell you otherwise since it also offer pretty much the same food but with the preparation was well thought out and tasted great, too.

sizzling burger steak

liempo w/ egg and rice

I was again with Henry and Gael on this visit to Chef Engineer's. Since I've been here before and tried their Pancit Habhab and Sizzling T-Bone Steak and loved it, so I know my friends would also have that same reaction with the food. It proved me right because they both enjoyed the food they ordered and had their fills. 


Both Henry and I had the Sizzling Burger Steak. The burgers was already covered all over with its gravy sauce but I still felt the need to have a separate container of gravy to ladle it over the rice. But it was excellent. Gael had the liempo with egg and rice. She nodded in agreement as she was halfway done with her order to tell me that the food was really great here. 

What set Chef Engineer's apart from the other karinderya is that they offer coffee blended frappe drinks, believe it or not. You can just imagine my excitement when they placed my order of Vanilla Frappe in front of me. Its quite creamy, too. It reminded me of a vanilla milkshake more than anything else. I'm so glad Chef Engineer's is very near from my home.

CHEF ENGINEER'S GRILL & CAFE


Countryside Ave. in Ortigas Extension fronting the Countryside Basketball Court