Low Budget Living in Paranaque

Desperate times call for desperate measures. But this should not discourage us from having fun, especially when we're out with our families, or roaming about in Paranaque, or roaming about with our families in Paranaque.

Starting this March 2008, I will be posting a series of articles that devotes itself on having fun with your family in Paranaque while within the confines of a shoestring budget. Mostly written by the most pathetic cheapskate I know, namely ME, I would welcome contributions from other cheapskates that may have their own ideas on how to be, well, cheap. But being the cheapskate that I am, don't expect any talent fees from my part.

To simplify matters I've decided to start off this series with my immediate community of Baclaran, which is the northernmost barangay in Paranaque. - A.B.    back

Super Bowl of China    linked

Shylin at Paranaque's Dampa    linked

Ocean Park, Manila    linked

David's Tea House    linked

Hawaiian Bar-B-Que    linked

Gerry's Grill    linked

Juan's Bistro (formerly Tandoor King)   linked

Savory Chicken at SM MOA

When I talk about "Living in Paranaque" this does not necessarily mean confining my movements within the city, although this would be ideal. I actually feel obliged to share my routines with the nearest “compleat” mall, the celebrated SM Mall of Asia (MOA).

Among my favorite diners in the mall is Savory Chicken Restaurant. Yes, it is an official branch of the same Savory chain that has been feeding the Metropolis for generations. This MOA branch has managed to retain that classic Savory chicken flavor, which remains to be the best chicken I have ever devoured. Hell, they even serve their utensils in a glass of hot water, something I never encountered in malls.

Prices are reasonable. There’s none of that service charge crap that always leaves you wondering why the bill has reached something more than you ever imagined (the Restaurant and Hotel Billing Phemomenon).

My favorite combo for the family (including in-laws) is a whole Savory chicken costing PhP320 ($7.50), Yang Chow rice at PhP140 ($3.30) and a plate of steamed fish priced at PhP185 ($4.50). This “feast” has been able to feed my party of 6 adults and 4 kids, with enough leftovers for a doggie bag to feed probably 2 more hungry souls.

Service is efficient and respectful, but not overbearing. One setback is that there is always a line of customers waiting to be seated during peak hours, and once seated, there is that conscious feeling that some hungry unfortunate is hoping for you to hustle through your meal so that she could get your table sometime before Christmas. Don’t you just hate that?

Another setback: there is no beer! But the fresh sweetness of a coke on the rocks is just perfect to wash down all those flavors into your system. You could also try their iced tea, which is among the better ones served in the mall.    back

Pier One

I don’t know what happened to Pier One. It used to be one of those joints where I just had to come back. That cool atmosphere in its open-air sections is still there. Beer by the bucket promos. Availability of my favorite beer, the ever-so-rare Cerveza Negra. Good prices for good food.

During my last visit, the meal prices were still apparently reasonable, but the beer now cost 51 pesos! It could have made a world of difference if they priced it at 49 for morons who still get sucked up by such pricing strategies. But hey no, they even had the temerity to add 1 peso to the psychological price barrier of P50.

And what is this? I get charged for 1200++ pesos (about $29) for 3 items, 2 beers and 3 glasses of juice that my kids and in-laws had to share! 1200++ despite my mother-in-law’s senior citizen’s ID even! This is a case of what I call Restaurant and Hotel Billing Phenomenon, that however much you have budgeted what you asked for while providing for gullible allowances, they will still charge you more. Okay, there’s still service charge and e-VAT added, but most rackets have that and that’s fine by me. But 1200++?!!

F*ck the ambience! I’m not going back there unless I’m not paying the bill, and if only for that fried itik (duck) since duck cuisine is hard to come by in Metro Manila.    back

Caling's goto and beef mami

Managing his stall at the very heart of Baclaran, in the corner of Quirino Avenue and Pinaglabanan St., Caling has been feeding me and my family the best goto and mami for months now.

My eldest daughter, Priscilla Emilia, simply adores Caling's goto, which costs PhP20 (50 cents) per bowl. However, my youngest, Anthea, prefers Caling's beef mami, which is PhP15 (35 cents) an order. As for me and my wife, we just wait for the kids to take their fill, then finish up whatever's left in their dishes.

Caling also serves lunch but "entrees" are not exactly his specialty. Still, whenever I don't feel like cooking, I just ask the househelp to order whatever viand in Caling's stall to-go, and this would suit my family just fine.    back

Fast Forward: Lydia's Lechon at SM Sucat

I had wanted to write a comparative essay between the more accessible native lechon outlets in my neighborhood. While working on my notes on the said essay at SM Sucat, I inevitably felt a craving to partake of this cholesterol-laden delicacy. Fortunately, there was a Lydia's Lechon stall at the mall's food court, which is where I immediately proceeded with my entire family in tow.

Native lechon (roast suckling pig) had always been an expensive Filipino delicacy. A 1/8 kilo order of this usually costs around PhP200 (US$5.00), excluding rice and drinks, an amount that I could not afford at that time. So I decided to have the next best thing, paksiw na lechon, which is unconsumed lechon cooked with additional spices and condiments in its own sauce. Native lechon is definitely more delicious, but its paksiw version has more taste, thereby allowing for more people to enjoy it.

A bowl of paksiw na lechon at Lydia's-SM Sucat costs PhP105 (US$2.60) and could easily satisfy adults. Soup is not free, but the kids eat more if they wet their rice with soup. Still, the 11 pesos I had to shell out for the papaitan broth was well worth the amount. Rice was relatively expensive at around PhP16 (40 cents) per cup; I just felt obliged to purchase from Lydia's this staple in gratitude for all the extra plates and saucers required to stretch the meal, which I kept on asking from them. It leaves to be said that this was more convenient, too.

As for drinks, we have this habit of buying from the grocery store if one is nearby. We had already bought a medium-sized bottle of Tampico citrus drink from SM Hypermart before we ordered from Lydia's. To make the juice cold, I asked for glasses with ice from (again) Lydia's which the staff were sport enough to provide.

To sum it up, for the amount of less than PhP200 (US$5.00), I was able to feed my family lechon, even managing to bring home some of the stuff for the househelp.    back