Today's Word: Luke 2:11

Today, we remember that our Savior was born to us thousands of years ago. What a glorious day it was when the Lord Jesus Christ was given to save us from death due to our sins! What great love it is that God the Father has for us! Let's not forget that this is the reason why we are celebrating Christmas. Whether there is a simple meal or a feast on our table to share with the family does not matter. It is honoring the Lord 
and thanking Him for giving us a Savior that's important, as well as being 
a blessing to our fellow human beings, especially those in need. 
Merry Christmas, everyone! May the Lord bless us all 

as we celebrate His birthday.

(Credit goes to the owner of this photo)

The enduring Ma Mon Luk

In my five decades and one year of existence, I have only visited the iconic 
mami-and-siopao place Ma Mon Luk in Quiapo once, about seven years ago. So last week, I thought of making a second visit, this time with my friend, who decided to treat me 
for her birthday at the Quezon Ave. branch.

Ma Mon Luk may not ring a bell for millenials but for us Gen X members and older, it is an institution. It is even believed by some food historians that it was the Chinese man named Ma Wen-lu or Ma Mon Luk as he became known in the Philippines after whom "mami" was named (Ma, his name, and "mi", meaning noodles in Chinese). The man migrated to the Philippines from China in 1920 and thereafter opened his first noodle restaurant in Binondo. The Quiapo and Quezon Ave., Quezon City branches 
opened next but for some reasons, the original store closed down 
while the two have remained open to this day.

Anyway, my friend and I came for dinner on Saturday last week. Fortunately, the place wasn't full so we immediately caught the attention of servers. Well, I was there by myself just a few days earlier but had no luck. I waited for about 20 to 30 minutes trying to get noticed by the crew but they were all super busy! I decided to 
just leave and transfer to another restaurant because I was starving! 

Anyway, here's what my friend and I ordered:

Original mami

The broth was quite thick compared to other bowls of mami that I've had elsewhere and looked milky, too. However, it was bland for my taste, but a dash of salt 
and pepper could lend more flavor to the soup.

Bola-bola siopao

This, I loved! It was delish, with a generous amount of pork filling. 
No wonder Ma Mon Luk siopao is well loved by patrons.

Pork rice

My friend and I were surprised when this was served because we were expecting a dish of pork with rice. We thought we were given chopsuey rice by mistake. The server assured us, though, that it was their pork rice. Well, the veggies tasted good, 
although it was essentially chopsuey in both look and taste.

Pork fried noodles

We were expecting a plate of crunchy noodles but these were already drenched in sauce and already soft when it came on the table. Nevertheless, 
the pancit tasted good so my friend and I still enjoyed it.

Menu

Inside Ma Mon Luk along Quezon Ave. in Quezon City

Ma Mon Luk may be really old and quite rundown, with no air conditioning system, but the fact that it still exists decades after decades, attests to the fact that Pinoys love this Chinese restaurant. I know it will still be here for my future grandkids 
to visit, to enjoy good food and a slice of history.

The new Rodic's Diner on Visayas Ave.

Ask any University of the Philippines-Diliman student if he/she knows about Rodic's Diner and you won't get "no" for an answer. This Pinoy resto is iconic at UP and has already branched out to a few areas in the metro. It was the Maginhawa St. 
store that I got to visit about three years ago. 

Last October, Rodic's also opened a branch along Visayas Ave., where I go to work, 
and of course, I've visited a number of times. My youngest 
child also came with me one time. 

Rodic's is famous for its "tapsilog" but I was surprised to find out it serves good palabok, beef mami and paksiw na lechon as well.

These are what we've had:

Tapsilog
As I mentioned, this is the dish Rodic's is well known for. But truth to tell, I'm 
not a big fan of their version of this all-day brekkie fare but you know, 
taste is a very subjective thing. 

 Palabok

I wasn't expecting much from Rodic's palabok but this was surprisingly good and the serving was huge. I only wished they offered something to pair this with like puto, perhaps, or even fried lumpiang toge or shanghai.

Beef Mami
The taste of this noodle soup dish very much reminded me of beef pares. 
But I love beef pares so this was alright with me. My craving 
for a hot bowl of soup was satisfied. 

Lechon Paksiw
I was on some kind of a "lechon roll" when I had this. I had Zubuchon the day before and was still on that lechon high and thus ecstatic to find this at Rodic's. I was glad not to be disappointed because this lechon paksiw was delish, with the perfect 
balance of sweet and sour. The meat wasn't exactly tender 
but that was forgivable. 

Different viands displayed turo-turo style

Menu

Pica-pica foodstuff such as nuts, chicharon and biscocho for sale. 
Souvenir items are available too! 

Interiors

I love how bright, airy and clean this store is.

UP life mural

Rodic's Diner at #47 Visayas Ave., Barangay Vasra in Diliman, QC

Rodic's Diner is the perfect place for those who have big appetites but are watching their budget. If you're famished, you'd get satisfied by the huge servings and good cooking, of course. I'm excited to try their other dishes such as 
dinuguan and kare-kare so see you there, folks! 
Happy eating!