In a city bustling with so much life and energy, there’s always something new to discover — especially the food it offers.
Home to some of the most interesting restaurant concepts and celebrity chef-run restos, Quezon City also boasts smaller but equally interesting food joints tucked into residential streets like Maginhawa, Banawe and the Scout area. Its culinary scene is so dynamic — even QC residents like me have a hard time keeping up.
Banawe and the Scout area are just a short drive away from our place, but every time my family goes there to binge, there’s always a new restaurant to check out. And since dining out is our fave bonding activity, it would be a shame to waste time on the familiar.
Inspired by the city’s vibrant food scene, San Miguel Pure Foods Culinary Center organized a food crawl for food writers and bloggers to get the lowdown on what’s good.?
“The four destinations we selected for this food crawl are a mix of hole-in-the-wall and full-service restaurants to offer you a distinctive feel in each stop,” enthuses SMPFCC Culinary Service manager Llena Arcenas, who planned our “eatinerary.”
Joining a food crawl is like having a progressive dinner party with friends — one person would host the starter, walk to another flat for the mains then move on to another friend’s pad for dessert.?Onboard an air-conditioned jeepney replete with a videoke machine, we crawled our way to QC’s best-kept resto secrets — Meshwe, Big B’s, Mantaro and Gourmet Gypsy — while singing our hearts out.?
• It’s a wrap at Meshwe. Meshwe specializes in authentic Middle Eastern dishes such as shawarma, falafel sandwiches, hummus and pita, among others. “Meshwe,” which means “grilled” in Lebanese, is the brainchild of chef Nathaniel Mounayer, who is half-Filipino and half-Lebanese. Chef Nathaniel put up Meshwe because he had a hard time looking for a restaurant that offered decent Lebanese fare while he was still a Hotel and Restaurant Management student at the University of Santo Tomas. “Filipinos just love their food sweet and salty. So I was surprised when the shawarma I ordered was sweet, not sour. In Lebanese cuisine, sour is the main flavor profile,” explains Nathaniel. What makes Meshwe’s chicken shawarma special is the garlic sauce, a smooth and frothy concoction that has yogurt, not mayo. The chicken shawarma (made with Magnolia Chicken) and the cheese sambousak, a small cheese pie, top the menu.
Meshwe is at 33 Malingap St., Teachers Village, Diliman, QC.
• If it’s Big B, it must be good. Big B Burger takes pride in its burger patty, which is made of 50-percent beef and 50-percent bacon. Here, the dishes and the pink lemonade drink are served literally — and theatrically — with feelings. Just tell the waiter how you’re feeling right now and he’ll act it out for you. Aside from Big B’s bestseller — the Big B’s (beef x bacon) with AwesomeSauce — one shouldn’t leave the resto without sampling Poutine ng Ina Mo, Big B’s version of the classic Canadian dish topped with Purefoods Bacon crumble; and the BAUS burger breakfast burger slider.
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Big B is at Magiting St., Teacher’s Village, QC.
• Chicken surprise at Mantaro. Mantaro, formerly Don Andres, is a quaint Peruvian resto along Scout Tobias corner Scout Limbaga that serves the meanest roast chicken — the pollo a la brasa — in the metro. Rubbed with secret Peruvian spices, the chicken is roasted to perfection — the meat slips right off the bone — by Mantaro owner and chef Luis Higa, a Peruvian national of Japanese descent. Pollo a la brasa is just one of the many delectable Peruvian treats chef Luis and wife Candy serves at Mantaro. The menu boasts Peru’s popular dishes like ceviche de pescado, pulpo al olivo and lomo saltado made with only the finest ingredients and spices shipped from Peru.
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Mantaro is at 57 B, Scout Tobias corner Scout Limbaga, QC.
• Savor the world like a gypsy. A brainchild of food lover and wanderer chef Waya Wijangco, Gourmet Gypsy Art Café offers delectable dishes inspired by the latter’s food adventures here and around the globe. Here, one can satisfy his/her cravings for Vietnamese, Mexican, even Indian cuisine. There’s saffron arancini, pissaladiere, elote Mexicano, Vietnamese wings and mini pavlovas. These dishes may have foreign names, but the taste pleases the Pinoy palate. At Gourmet Gypsy, chef Waya combines her love for food with her passion for teaching individuals with special needs, having a degree in Family Life and Child Development. Here, she employs students of Open Hand School for Applied Arts, a vocational school for individuals with special needs, as servers, cooks and bakers.
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Gourmet Gypsy Art Café is at 25 Don A. Roces Ave., QC.
If you happen to be in Quezon City, do check out these foodie destinations that are definitely worth your time, money and calories.