New restaurants opening up in my office neighborhood on Visayas Ave., Quezon City are always a refreshing "sight". ..Hmmm..new dishes to try and hopefully enjoy! On the last week of July, my wandering eyes caught three newbies and I've been to two of them. I'm most excited over the other one but its building, unfortunately, is still under construction. The other week's discovery was a really good one, though. In fact, I was there for lunch break with friends on two consecutive days. Haha! It's Stoops Bagnet Ilocos which is new only in Visayas Ave. but is actually operating in five other branches for six and a half years already. I'd never been to any Stoops branch and in fact it was entirely unknown to me before they opened a store on Visayas Ave.The owner, Joma Marquez, engaged my friend and I in a little chat as we waited for our orders and he told us it's the
first branch ever in the whole of Quezon City.
Anyway, these were my and my friends' orders:
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| Bagnet Meal with rice and side dish of KBL (Kamatis, Bagoong, Lasuna), P105. |
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| Chicken Bagnet Meal with rice and side dish of TBA (Talong, Bagoong Alamang), P125. |
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| Igado with rice, P85. |
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Sinanglaw, P65.
Dinengdeng, P45.
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| Ilocos Empanada, P45. |
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| Banana Crunch con Vanilla, P40. |
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| Condiments on the table |
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| Menu |
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| The branch owner himself opening the door to diners |
I had the Chicken Bagnet on my first visit and the Igado and Sinanglaw on the second. I loved everything! The owner, Mr. Marquez, coaxed me to try the Chicken Bagnet, saying the taste was close to Max's fried chicken. And it was true, only, the chicken bagnet is more crisply fried. It's flavorful with a crunch, which I really loved. I super enjoyed the Igado on my second visit, and it reminded me of the same dish that I ate in Ilocos Norte last year. This pork dish, I believe, is the Ilocanos' version of menudo - slices of pork meat and liver cooked with tomatoes. Delicious! The Sinanglaw is what is known to us Tagalogs as papaitan - a soupy, bitter dish made from innards - warm and comforting to the tummy. Well, I also tried the Ilocos empanada
and enjoyed it with lots of vinegar.
What's another thing to love at Stoops? The sweet ending - Banana Crunch con Vanilla! Lots of restaurants offer turon ala mode for dessert but this one's different because it's banana que ala mode. Banana que, for those not in the know, are skewered sugared and fried cardava bananas (saba). Stoop's version of the banana que has lots of sugar coating and deep fried to a crunch. The slices of banana are served minus the barbecue stick and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This one's really good! Not to mention very guilt-inducing. Hehe..
Meanwhile, my friends' orders, they enjoyed, too. I tasted the Dinengdeng and although liked it, I believed it would have been better with a little more fish bagoong. Anyway, this Ilocano condiment is available on every table so if you agree with me,
you can just add bagoong if you like.
I strongly urge you, folks, to try Stoops Bagnet Ilocos and make it soon.
Haha! Happy eating!
