Yoji and the Foodies

The Don has always been on the lookout for best tasting Bulalo down south of Metro Manila. Unfortunately, he has not found one and as a result, completely stopped searching…at least in the south area.  I seriously believe that a good bulalo is the one made by grandpa and nothing can beat it. So unless it’s from a family recipe, it wouldn’t taste right.

However, I also think that he’s looking at the wrong places! In my first attempt at finding that elusive bulalo, I think I had far greater success.

I went to this place: Manoy & Cucuz Panciteria

It’s primarily a panciteria but as you can see from the picture, they offer Filipino all time favorites and more. I ordered my bulalo and waited for 30 minutes or so. I don’t understand why it had to take that long but I figured it had to do with their ordering queue system. During that long wait, the orders for delivery come and go; mostly pancit in bilao and crispy pata. There were also walk-in diners and they ordered pancit and barbecue. People in fancy cars also came to buy crispy pig heads. Business is brisk. Good for them.

I was convinced that the food is more than decent. I wish I could say the same thing about the sanitation. Perhaps the owners could make more efforts to keep things clean. You need to be there to gauge if the sanitation practices would be to your satisfaction.

Anyway, the bulalo was a big hit.  The Don was thrilled and swore to leave the bulalo hunting to my capable hands. The soup was good but I was happy with the bone marrow. When we were kids, the elders call it “utak”. So for 10 years or so, I believed it was brain. I don’t know why they called it “utak” back then. Even the brain wouldn’t have this kind of texture.

Looking at it makes my artery clog. Of course, you need to eat this when it’s very hot and with plenty of rice and some greens from the bulalo. Eric Ripert and Anthony Bourdain eat them roasted and with bread.