For the good part of the month, I’ve been eating nothing but canned fish (assorted Century Tuna) and as with anyone who has eaten just those for a span of time, anything will be a welcome change of pace. Kind of ironic since, living in Teacher’s Village gave me access to the whole stretch of Maginhawa St. where one can find all sorts of small restaurants and various eateries. There’s even the if-all-else-fails Mini Stop.

Among the restaurants along Maginhawa, only a few merit my taste bud and budget’s approval are Cocina Juan, Tomato Kick (for the beers), and before they were that dugyot, Friuli. House of Runes is okay though I’ve only been there once and Good Burger have some pretty nice meats in buns. Nice places to eat (or get wasted in) once in a while.

However, I always love lutong bahay-style cooking. Our mother was one hell of a cook in her day so we grew up a bit spoiled in terms of quality of food when budget permitted it. My sister and I grew up to be quite handy in the kitchen but we just don’t have enough time to labor in the kitchen to get a good meal. Hence, quite recently, the cans of Century Tuna neatly stacked on the cupboards.

Until, just this Thursday, we discovered this quaint panciteria which happens to be really near our place. It opened a couple of weeks ago but we only got introduced to it through Dyosa, whose great sense of barkadism never fails to prompt her to bring us a little something when she drops by.

Last Thursday, she dropped by with some lumpiang shanghai in tow. Amazingly, she bought them from that panciteria. And by gosh were they tasty.

So the next day, too lazy to cook and too sick of tuna and bangus, sis and I decided to just order some pancit. Enjoyed it so much that I ordered a small feast yesterday since Risha was dropping by. Lechon kawali, pancit bihon guisado, shanghai fried rice, chop suey, and lumpiang shanghai (each entree good for four) for under Php 600 was more than a good deal. I’m still munching on leftovers for breakfast as I write this.

Do try to check it out if you happen to be in the area. The place is called Pakibalot Panciteria. It offers Binondo style-cooking that fuses Chinese and Filipino cuisines. Well, their menu includes different kinds of pancit, stir-fries, and customizable vegetable dishes with your choice of sahog. It’s at the corner of Maginhawa and Mahabagin right across Mona’s Bakery. Or for orders and deliveries, you can call 3839625.

Now if only they’d give me some of those yummy lumpia for this plug. :p

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