Other great places to eat

I found a forum in pinoyexchange where people share unknown dining spots "good finds". If you are having trouble with the link, just go to pinoyexchange > Pinoy lifestyle > food and drinks > di sikat pero masarap

Manang's

Where it can be found:
Ateneo

Type of dining place:
cafeteria style

Type of food served:
Filipino

Upside:
Cheap, good service

Downside:
Bad location hinders smooth air circulation so the area is always, ALWAYS hot. It’s also so popular among the students that the place is jam packed during lunchtime. Their inihaw (Manang's specialty) is served only during lunch.

Budget for 1 person:
less than P100 (but the price of their food may have gone up so prepare P150, to be safe)

Must try:
the barbeque!!!

Honest recommendation:
Manang’s never fails to serve great barbeque!!! The meat (yes, unlike other places that serve barbeque, Manang’s actually has meat in them) is always tender, juicy and cooked just right. The servings are fair so you get your money’s worth (read: student friendly). They are also very generous with their condiments so you can season your food away (which I recommend you do sparingly because the food is already delicious). Manang’s only serve the barbeque during lunch time so you better go there early or else you’ll be fighting the students for cutting the line or for hogging the benches/chairs and tables. They still serve viands and rice in the afternoon but only if there are leftovers from lunch. The place also serves other Filipino dishes, such as daing na bangus, which I hear is also good (haven’t tried it because I always make a beeline to the barbeque whenever I’m there). The only draw back is the place’s size and location. The area is small (they’ve renovated it to accommodate more people but it’s still not big enough) and it is cramped near the covered courts, tennis area and the PE office so the air is almost always warm and stuffy (due to poor air circulation). Plus, they serve their best food at noon. So the heat of the day plus the crowd plus the bad location equals to a really, really hot (literally) dining place. If you don’t feel comfortable sweating while eating, then bring a fan. Trust me, you’ll need it.


***THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MANANG’S: Since Ateneo is at Katipunan, I’d just like to give high praises to Martha’s Kitchen, one of the best places to eat at Katipunan. Of all the restaurants I’ve ever been to, this is the only place that made me feel like I am eating at the breakfast table/ kitchen of someone’s home (it’s that warm, inviting and homey). It has been gone for around four years now and I am still grieving its loss.

Mylk

I haven't tried this resto yet but judging from a friend's experience, I'll probably never eat there.

Name:
MYLK

Where it can be found:
Greenbelt 3

Type of dining place:
upscale

Type of food served:
Italian/fusion

Upside:
Good service because of few customers

Downside:
see honest experience

Budget for 1 person:
250 is the minimum

Must try:
none that I can dare think of

Honest experience:
Fans of MYLK (if there are any), I’m sorry to say that this restaurant is probably the worst in the Greenbelt 3 strip. Believe me, this restaurant offers nothing spectacular in its menu. I once ate there with my sister and 2 of my cousins on a Saturday night with no choice because most of the restaurants nearby were full. It was raining that night and the stomachs of my companions were rumbling. Fortunately for me, I had a grande frapuccino and a chunk of banoffee pie at Starbucks earlier so I wasn’t really desperate for dinner. The only restaurant with no waitlisted customers was MYLK so we entered with a slight hesitation just so we had a place to sit and a little bit of ambience. My sister and I ordered the pesto cream pasta (around 220-250 bucks – forgive me for my short-term memory), my cousin ordered the Ceasar salad (200 bucks more or less) and my other cousin ordered the ostrich (a little more than 400) which was supposedly the specialty of MYLK. My cousin who ordered the salad wasn’t thrilled when she saw the food; it consisted of only a few lettuce pieces and drippy ceasar dressing. She should just have ordered 2 chicken ceasar salads at KFC instead and get her money’s worth! My other cousin who ordered the ostrich was quite disappointed as well. His food was still very raw and bloody. Although he specified it to be cooked medium, it is my understanding that for fowls, it should be cooked well because of possible viruses or bacteria that can contaminate the person eating it. For a medium cooked ostrich, I imagine it to be a little pinkish on the inside but definitely not bloody. During our wait, my sister was worrying that our pasta might not be enough for the two of us even though I kept insisting that I was still full. So to shut her up, I just let her choose whatever she wanted and she ordered the goddamn kiddie pizza. The pasta was good but nothing spectacular. Forgive my cockiness but I could duplicate it myself. Just chop up some basil, add olive oil and cream, and voila, a 50 bucks pesto cream pasta can be made. Then the kiddie pizza was served and all of us stared at it in disbelief. It looked exactly like the ones being sold by 3M pizza. The crust was still undercooked based from its pale color and chewy texture and they just sprinkled some cheap cheddar cheese over the sweet, ketchupy pizza sauce. I could have sworn they just ordered the pizza frozen and had it reheated when we ordered it. I feel sorry for the little ones who definitely get disappointed when this lousy piece of crap is served to them. The only consolation we had that night was the good service, most probably attributed to the few occupied tables. One thing’s for sure, I’ll never come back to this restaurant again.

Da 4th

Name: Da 4th

Where it can be found: Kanlaon St., Mandaluyong City

Type of dining place: low-class panciteria

Type of food served: Filipino

Upside: Absolutely cheap!!!! A whole plate of pancit can feed two people and it only costs P60. The place is well-lighted and there is a television at a corner so you can keep yourself entertained while waiting for your food to arrive. The place is clean (in a low-class panciteria kind of way).

Downside: If you are not from around Mandaluyong, this eatery is hard to find. The place is not air-conditioned so it can get very hot inside especially during summer. It can even get hotter at peak "eating hours" (lunch and around 4pm) because of the number of people who go here. There are a few electric fans around but the ventilation is not that good so it doesn't really help keep the place cool. Lastly, they do not serve that many dishes.

Budget for 1 person: For less than P80, you can get your fill. One order of pancit (P50) is enough for 3-4 people.

Must try: The pancit.

Honest recommendation: You remember in college when you and your friends were really hungry but short on cash so you go around trying to find a cheap (but clean) resto/turo-turo? This place is exactly that. Hehehe. This place is great if you are on a very, very tight budget. Best time to go here is in the afternoon, preferrably around 5pm -- the menu is fit for a heavy snack and there are not many people inside.