Like coming home to grandma
When it comes to good food, one doesn’t have to hit the malls or go to fancy hotel restaurants in search of a satisfying meal. One of our family’s favorite places to dine is a small eatery called Lola’s Bahay Pancitan (also known as Lola Idang’s). While it has a branch in BF Homes and another one somewhere in Pasig, we go to the Moonwalk branch because it’s only a stone’s throw away from our house.
Frankly, I have some misgivings about the term hole in the wall. To me, it connotes something derogatory or negative, just like run-of-the-mill or flash in the pan. So I refuse to reduce this eatery to a mere "hole." After all, if our family wants no-frills, reasonably-priced meals, we go to Lola Idang’s or simply order out. True, the place is small–it can probably accommodate 20 persons, tops. But it’s been around for a few years and, I believe, is doing brisk business.
Being a "bahay pancitan", one of its specialties, and rightfully so, is the pancit malabon (P48/per oder), which is also sold in bilao of different sizes. This native pancit is topped with shrimps, squid, slices of egg, and chicharon bits, and is very tasty. I actually prefer Lola Idang’s pancit malabon to Razon’s, which in my opinion is overrated.
Another specialty of the house is the fresh lumpiang ubod (P22). This is one of my favorites because my mother makes this delicious lumpia as well. So I’m very glad that Lola Idang’s is offering this. The egg wrapper and the special sauce with chopped peanuts make this lumpia extra-special, but the ubod itself tastes delectably fresh. When I’m in diet mode, I just bike over to Lola Idang’s and buy one for dinner (one order is actually bitin but I need to starve sometimes, you know).
We also like the crispy pata (P195) or, alternately, the lechon kawali (P95), while my husband loves the kare-kare (P120). He usually orders it minus the tripe so it’s purely pisngi. The peanut sauce is so good that it can actually give Barrio Fiesta a run for its money. The bagoong is yummy in itself.
My mom-in-law always goes for the sinigang na ulo ng maya-maya (P80), which is also good, or the rellenong bangus (also P80), which doesn’t interest me at all. My favorite in this place is the crispy binagoongan (P90) because it’s perfect–the faint crackle of the deep-fried pork’s rind adds a new dimension to this authentic pinoy fare. The unique taste of the shrimp paste blends well with the pork and other ingredients, including the whole eggplant underneath it all. If you’re a bagoong lover like me, I highly recommend this dish.
A glass of sago’t gulaman (P18) completes our meal, and then it’s time to let out a really big burp. The goodness of the dishes reminds us of fantastic homecooked meals by our grandmothers. For some, eating in a place such as this is like coming home to grandma’s cooking. Alas, my only surviving lola doesn’t know how to cook at all.
