A Day Down South

I never expected to travel all the way down Las Pinas just to buy a set of four tires. But I'm actually glad we did.

We arrived at Hazardboy around 10 AM, and unfortunately, the person in-charge of the mounting and balancing machine won't be available until after lunch. Luckily, Eugene (one of the owners of Hazardboy) was kind enough and volunteered to introduce us to good and affordable places.

Our first option was the famous Mang Raul's Bbq, sadly, the bbq shack was still closed when we got there. So Eugene suggested a carinderia this time. I was happy with his Plan B, since I do love affordable, home-cooked food, but boy, was I in for a surprise!

Hidden within the streets of Pilar Village, Las Pinas, was a very unassuming and typical looking carinderia, but one look at their menu took my breath away.



Everything on the menu was really affordable, so we took the liberty of ordering quite a lot.

For starters, we got the Chicken Fingers (Php 150), then a full order of Lechon Kawali (Php 160), Pork Binagoongan Value Meal (Php 100) and Crispy Pork Caldereta Value Meal (Php 100). I initially wanted to order their Crispy Pork Dinuguan, unfortunately, it was not yet available.

Served first was the Lechon Kawali, and we were taken aback with the generous serving portion! Then the value meals followed.

        

Serving size was really generous for all the orders, and the rice was also a full cup.

I love that they used their signature Lechon Kawali as the main ingredient with the other pork dishes. The meat of the Lechon Kawali was soft and well-seasoned, while the skin gave a wonderful crunch!

The Pork Binagoongan did not disappoint. The flavor of their bagoong was not too overpowering, and had just the right "kick".

The Crispy Pork Caldereta was also spot-on yummy! Very saucy and cheesy.

The Chicken Fingers were served last, but, it was worth the wait. The meat was so tender and juicy. It's served with a side of garlic mayonnaise.



I really loved everything that we had for lunch, my only wish is that they are a bit more accessible.

Putsi Ko 'Ay

Rose Avenue, Las Pinas, Metro Manila  - (02) 543 8671

Eat like a Mafia

I'm a huge fan of deal sites. I really do a lot of shopping here, specially for restaurant discounts.

I was lucky enough to find one for Goodfellas. :D

We frequent this place because of their excellent and budget friendly menu. The menu is quite interesting since it is named after famous Italian mafia bosses. Goodfellas is basically a house that was converted into a resto-bar. The interior design took its inspiration from the 50's, and depicted a somewhat manly atmosphere.

Now, on to the food. Since we were a group of four, we ordered the following: Grilled Bacon, Chicken Finger Mafia, Pat & Geno's Sandwich, Gambino, Jimmy Two Times and House Steak (Don). (Whew! That was a mouthful!)

The appetizers along with the sandwich were served first.

     

Grilled Bacon (Php 245). My only complaint about this is that there's too many burnt edges that affected the taste of the bacon.

Chicken Finger Mafia (Php 385). Five (5) huge chicken tenders served with fries. The chicken tenders were crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside, however, the meat itself lacked seasoning. It came with gravy and hot sauce, which could compensate the underseasoned meat.

      

Pat & Geno's (Php 295 - Solo) is their version of a philly cheesesteak sandwich. This is by far my favorite! Liberal servings of angus beef strips and caramelized onions, drowned in their cheese sauce. (drooling right now...)

The Gambino (Php 425) was delightful ! Loaded with shrimps, mushrooms and garlic, soaked in olive oil with a hint of spice.

While we were munching on our starters, the main dishes were served.



Jimmy Two Times (Php 465) is their 2-way pork chop served with pilaf rice. I was taken aback when I saw how thin the cuts were. I remembered it being a lot thicker and meatier before. :( The grilled pork chop became just an ordinary dish, nothing special, unlike how I remembered it. The deep fried chop was a bit too oily and was also horribly underseasoned! I could only taste the breading and it was also tough and hard to chew. I also remembered that the fried chop should have a layer of melted cheese on top. A lot of things went wrong with this dish.



The House Steak (Php 495 - Don size) was Kyle's order. It was served with mashed potatoes and buttered corn and carrots. The steak was cooked well-done. It had just the right amount of seasoning with the meat still being tender.

Overall, my pre-birthday celebration was satisfactory. I just hope that they bring back how Jimmy Two Times should be served. For that price, customers should enjoy a more appealing dish.

GOODFELLAS

56 T Gener Corner, Kamuning, Quezon City