MetroVanIndependent.com
July 2015
19
Food
Street food still the best
By Maevn Hauser
Maevn Hauser sampling Street Food in the Philippines.
Corner street food in Quezon City.
Hello MetroVan Independent readers!
I’m back! This is a series of my experiences
in the Philippines as a Balikbayan (returning
citizen). What to do, where to visit and
many others.
In this issue, I’ll be featuring a place
in the Philippines where our fellow
kababayans will be interested to taste a
variety of street food.
Does anyone still remember these
terms like “beta max” (pork or chicken
blood solidified into cubes), “canon road”
(chicken intestines), “helmet” (chicken
head), “adidas” (chicken feet), “kwek-kwek”
(quail egg wrapped in an orange flour) and
“tokneneng” (chicken or duck egg wrapped
in an orange flour)?
Well, these were all Filipino street
dishes that have been prepared and
cooked properly and sold at a very good
price.
One night, I asked 3 of my good friends
(Sherwin, Bien and Christian) to bring me
somewhere that has great things to offer at
a very affordable budget. We found a place
at 3rd Avenue near Gate 2 of Camp Crame
in Quezon City just a few blocks away from
EDSA - Santolan.
It’s a corner street with at least 5
sets of 4 tables and chairs. At first, I was
quite hesitant to stay because I am not
an avid fan of street food (it’s not that I’m
fussy... I just wasn't too familiar with street
food). But, I got excited and made myself
comfortable. They asked me to choose the
type of barbeque that I wanted and which
hot soup I wanted to eat. We ordered most
of what the store offered like the “tuhogs”
(barbeques), “goto” (congee), “tokwa’t
baboy” (tofu and pork ears/meat sliced into
small pieces), “mami with eggs” (noodle
soup) and bottles of soft drinks.
Even though these stores are located
right on the street, they still practice
cleanliness and proper courtesy. The
vendors always wear a smile which is an
added bonus. What surprised and amazed
me is that when we got our bill, it was only
P240 (Philippine Peso) which is equivalent
to $6 - $7 Canadian dollars. Come on, who
wouldn’t agree with me that we cannot feed
4 people now with this cost? It’s only in the
Philippines! We were all very satisfied and
happy with what we had and I even ended
up taking some food to go.
I’m pretty sure there are still some
places out there that has the same thing
to offer. It can be cheaper and a much
better ambiance. The only good thing in the
Philippines is that in spite of the economic
crisis and international price hike, we can
still sustain and think of something that
will help our fellowmen to at least have
some enjoyment to eat out either with our
families, relatives or friends.
If you guys get the chance to visit the
Philippines, have a watchful eye because
you’ll never know what places and things
you might discover that you’ve never seen
before.