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!

Maginhawa St. Gastronomic Walk #12: Angus Tapa Centrale

Tapsilog or tapa (cured beef), sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (fried egg) is my top favorite all-day breakfast, and I was amazed when I saw on TV last year that there's a restaurant serving it using Angus beef. I'm talkin' about Angus Tapa Centrale in Kamuning, Quezon City, which was featured then on Taste Buddies (and in a few other TV shows). It's just a hole-in-the-wall, non-descript eatery but mind you, it's patronized by big-name personalities in the likes of 
Willie Revillame and Vice Ganda. 

Meanwhile, Angus beef is the meat of a breed of cattle called Angus, imported mostly from the US but could also come from other countries such as Germany and Australia. The beef is said to be of superior quality and here in the Philippines, dishes that use this type of meat are exquisite and pricey. 
For this reason, I was excited about the thought of having a taste of my favorite tapsilog, now leveled up. I couldn't wait to be at Angus Tapa Centrale but unfortunately, could not find the time to go to Kamuning just for it. But months later, I learned that they'd opened a new branch on Malingap St. that's part of the famous Maginhawa restaurant loop. Oh, how excited it got me because this area is my favorite part of the earth. He he he... Fortunately, my food buddy in the office shared my keen interest and one lunchtime, we hied off to the place which is just near where we go to work. 

Here's what we ordered:

US Angus Beef Tapa Original, P165.

Baby Back Ribs, half slab, P295.

Almond Mocha Sansrival, P185.

Grape fruit shake, P135.

Cappuccino, P85.

Inside Angus Tapa Centrale-Malingap

The tapa did not disappoint, it was really good! The beef - tender, succulent and flavorful - was cut into small pieces so it was easy to eat and delicious - just as I expected! The fried rice was a nice complement to the tapa - not soft the way some restaurants serve theirs, and garlicky. The fried egg could have been perfect 

if it had toasted edges, though. Tee-hee. 

As for my buddy, she loved her Baby Back Ribs, too - smoky, mildly saccharine, and tangy. Yup, I tasted it and liked it, too. We had the Almond Mocha Sansrival, yes, but we decided to forego dessert this time, and my friend decided to just take it home. The cappuccino gave the perfect ending to my meal, which I immensely enjoyed. 

Angus Tapa Centrale is one great place for carnivores, I kid you not, and I am so wanting to be back as they have a rather long list of drool-worthy offers to try. And by the way, I read on food authority site Spot.ph that Angus Tapa Centrale made it to No. 1 of their Top 10 Tapsilog for this year 2016 (not sure about the year, though, it could be 2015). Wow, it made me feel good to have eaten it! Hehe..

Don't waste your time imagining how Angus beef tapa tastes like, folks, 

and haul yourself off to Angus Tapa Centrale now. 

Happy eating! 

P.S. Angus Tapa Centrale is at #22 Malingap St., Teachers Village, Quezon City

Lovin' all-day brekkie at Tapa King

Tapsilog, short for tapa, sinangag and itlog, is a favorite breakfast fare among Filipinos, not excluding moi. For this reason, many restaurants offer it and not just in the a.m., but all day long. Moi is happy, but of course, because I love tapsilog even for merienda or dinner. Good thing, a number of foodie places offer it as a specialty and serve it any time of the day. One of such restaurants is Tapa King, which started its operation in 1987. Now 28 years in existence, it already has branches in different parts of the country and has even expanded abroad. A few months ago, Tapa King opened a store quite near our home - at the new Sun Mall in Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City. Good thing so I could have their tapsilog more often, as well as some of their other offers.
Here's some of my favorites here:

Tapa King, P142.

Spicy tuyo, P162.

Beef Steak Filipino, P85.

Chocolate cake, P65.
 TK Burger, P60.

French fries

Mushroom soup, P35.

Inside Tapa King at Sun Mall in Welcome Rotonda

Tapa here at Tapa King is indeed a royalty in taste - rightly spiced, and tender. I love that it's not saucy like at another famous tapa place (did I just give a hint there? Hehe..) but not dry either. I also enjoy their spicy tuyo, which is really my No. 1 favorite for brekkie at home, where I could fry it to a crisp.  Meanwhile, I also loved the Beef Steak Filipino although it didn't appeal to me at first sight. The beef was "anemic-looking" so I thought it was bland. Good thing it turned out to be delicious, just rightly salty. The burger was my daughter's order and she said she liked it, together with the fries. The chocolate cake was a bit of a surprise 'coz I didn't expect Tapa King to come up with a good one. But it was - moist and delicious, with the just the right level of sweetness. 
All these make Tapa King one of my favorite all-day breakfast places. 
Find a branch near you if you haven't tried it. 
Happy eating!

Home-cooked Pinoy food goodness at Tapa Supreme

I first saw Tapa Supreme on Espana Blvd. a few months ago and I was instantly attracted to its simple but neat interiors and no-frills Pinoy menu consisting of dishes that could just remind you of home like sinigang na baboy, beef with ampalaya, pancit bihon and bulalo served in a palayok. It's a non-airconditioned but pretty decent place with prices that are sure not to burn a hole in the pocket. It's always jam-packed with customers especially students, at meal times. I've lost count of the number of times I've eaten here with family and our favorites, 
aside from bulalo, are the tapsilog and sinigang na baboy. 
Here's what we've tried so far at Tapa Supreme:

Tapsilog, P55.
The tapa is a bit sweet and delicious and the meat is tender.

Bulalo, P75.
My favorite! Lots of soup. And see those bone marrow? So sinfully good!

T-Bone Steak, P75.
Good too! Notice everything on the hot plate's swimming in gravy. Haha!

Sinigang na Baboy, P65.
This is my youngest kid's all-time favorite. The soup is deliciously sour.

Beef with Ampalaya, P50. 
This was my daughter's order once for dinner. She didn't like it a lot.

Beef Pares, P50.
Quite good but no chili sauce! Grrr..! I settled for siling labuyo.

Pepsi products are available here.

The menu

Inside Tapa Supreme Espana at daytime

At dinnertime. I love those native lamps.

Tapa Supreme on Espana Bvd,

Tapa Supreme has three branches that I know of in Manila - along Espana near the corner of M. Dela Fuente; on Dimasalang in Sta. Cruz and along Vicente Cruz at the corner of Dapitan (not sure of this last street, though). Go visit one of these days for some delicious and affordable Filipino food that remind you of mom's cooking. Happy eating!