Great Morning Everyone! Wherever you are. What did you prepare for today's breakfast? Still thinking? Oh come on, don't be shy, are these the typical bacon and omelet or pancakes? That's yummy though! But you know, for sure you want something new, right? Okay, why I always ask. Haha. Wanna join with me? Where are we going? No more questions, all I want you to do is to wear a stretchy pants and prepare your stomach. Buckle Up! For sure, It will gonna be a toothsome journey. Oh My! Thank you! Another sunshine has seen in Manila Bay, can't resist to play Bill Withers 'Lovely Day'.
"When I wake up in the morning, love
And the sunlight hurts my eyes
And something without warning, love
Bears heavy on my mind
Then I look at you
And the world's alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be a lovely day
lovely day, lovely day, lovely day"
Whoops! Hit the brake! We are now here! At the newly renovated Sta.Ana Market. For sure too, you're no longer stranger since I had shared before that Sta. Ana is my town, a historical district of Manila City. From old church of Sta. Ana, numerous historic ancestral houses and a lot more, it proved a very important archaeological and heritage area owing to its rich history. But you know what, being somewhat a blueprint of the Philippines doesn't stop on what you can see but also what you can eat here. Yes! It's a nice place to eat authentic 'Filipino Foods', one example is 'Beth's Palabok', selling the best 'Palabok' in the soil of Sta.Ana. Come on, let's eat!
Welcome to Beth's Palabok! If you're new in this place, you'll get lost right away because they don't have a big signage but like me, a local here, it's easy to distinguish their eatery, not to brag so much, but they rented almost half of the food area of the market. That's how famous they are!
The Best 'Palabok' In Town! Grab your spoon and fork, start to dig in, let the food war begin. Let's talk later, okay?
For your benefit, I know you once asked, what's palabok? Well, aside from, it's a filipino food and perfect for breakfast, lunch or even dinner, let's dig much deeper. Since 'Palabok' is a word, we really cannot translate it in english, let me describe instead, it is one of the hundreds of variations of 'pancit'. So what is pancit? It's also spelled as 'pansit', it's a noodles introduced by the Chinese and have been adopted into local cuisine. The term is derived from the Hokkien 'pian i sit' which literally means 'convenient food'(wikipedia). It is also believe that you need to eat it for 'long life' and never cut it, just continue slurp the noodle strands. 'Palabok' is a comfort food you can see not only on special occasion like birthday but even on a normal day of many Filipinos.
You know the secret how to have a tasty 'palabok'? It's in the golden shrimp sauce, to make it more delish it is topped with crushed pork rind or 'chicharon'(the more you put, the tastier), hard-boiled egg(usually sliced into disks), freshly minced green onion and tinapa(smoked fish) tinapa. Others even put chopped fried tofu or 'tokwa'. Did I get you hungry?
Even my nephew Nichi loved it. Moreover, beth's palabok offer budget-friendly different promos. Just in case you wanna drop by there. Heads up to you.
Promo 1(51pesos) Palabok+Puto+Soda
Promo 2(48pesos) Palabok+Puto+Iced Tea
Promo 3(53pesos) Palabok+Lumpiang Togue+Soda
Promo 4(51pesos) Palabok+Lumpiang Togue+Iced Tea
Promo 5(59pesos) Palabok+BBQ+Soda
Promo 6(56pesos) Palabok+BBQ+Iced Tea
Promo 7(55pesos) Palabok+Siomai+Soda
Promo 8(50pesos) BBQ with Rice+Fresh Lumpia+Soda
Can you imagine, you can get full for less 100 pesos or like a $1? Wow!
'Filipino Desserts' like 'Puto' will never be lost on our plate. It is a type of steamed rice cake, most of the time it is topped with cheese, salted egg or fresh grated coconut, it also has different flavors like butter, 'ube' and 'pandan'(srewpine). Beth's sells it for 3pesos each.
Not only one but you can also buy different 'Kakanin' or Native delicacies at Beth's. What's on the picture are 'pichi-pichi', 'kutsinta' and 'biko', all of them are made either from rice or root vegetables like ube, taro or cassava. Most of the time they are sticky and sweet, topped with grated fresh coconut or cheese and wrapped in banana leaves. These yummy desserts are 15-18pesos each.
Lugaw(Congee) with Egg- 25pesos. The bestfriend of all Filipinos during rainy season. This local rice porridge is best served with hard-boiled egg or fried tokwa or tofu. From plain congee, you can also order the one with 'may laman' or with pork tripe, you will just add 5-10pesos. If you want more spice, you can sprinkle it with pepper or fried garlic, let's not forget 'calamansi', a very filipino lime. Another option is 'patis' or fish sauce.
What else can you ask for? I guess just a tissue? But these are all enough to start you're day, right? Barbecue, siomai, congee with egg, fresh lumpia and soda. Did I get you more hungry?
Siomai is my love, it must be always on my table. Chili sauce, calamansi and soy sauce will complete it. It's for only 10pesos.
Lumpiang Sariwa(Fresh Spring Rolls)- 20pesos. Another Filipino dish with different vegetables inside with a soft wrapper(that's why it's fresh) garnished with sweet sauce and crushed peanuts.
Another version is the 'Fried Lumpia'-5pesos. One of my favorites, especially when you dip it in a vinegar with garlic sauce. Oooohhzzz! Perfecto!
Halo-Halo- 35pesos. No one will never like this very famous Filipino dessert, since it doesn't have english word, it is literally translated meaning "Mix-Mix", literally cool too. From its japanese origin, halo-halo became popular because it has a lot of delish ingredients, the usual are sweetened 'saba'(plantains),corn, coconut gelatin, sweetened red beans, sweetened 'kamote', sweetened 'garbanzos', pinipig(pounded dried rice), sugar palm seed(kaong), topped with shaved ice, evaporated milk(the classic is carabaos milk), purple yam(ube), sweetened jackfruit, leche flan(egg custard) and a scoop of ice cream. Everything is sweet, it is the main reason why Filipinos are sweet.
Back in the day, when I was just a kid, Nanay Beth's Palabok was only 15pesos, now it almost tripled, 40pesos, they were just selling in small eatery near our street, now in a beautiful Sta.Ana market with huge space. She is a living proof that there's no shortcut to success, surely she underwent into her deepest downfall before, look how far she's come. Very inspiring woman who took the stairs, not the escalator.
Whenever you like to eat here, you might wanna say 'Thank You For Serving Best Palabok!"
I told you, it's a tasty ride! See you on my next post. Take care always!
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