Commuter friends were only too happy to tell us about a particular Mandaluyong carinderia that serves a super bulalo, where even well-to-do folks park their Pajeros right out front. To verify, we flagged a DCMM unit in Shangri-La Mall last weekend. We asked the driver, Mang Demi, about it but alas, the health-conscious cabbie wasn’t big on such food. Instead, he suggested his suki stall that serves less-indulgent food. “Masarap at mura,” he assured us. We asked him what’s good there and he gave us the most general of answers: “Iba-iba kasi. Kung anu-ano.” Thanks for the tip, manong.
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K Meraj’s Food House is a food stall along Open Canal road — it’s a tad too pink you can’t miss it — that had more than eight dishes on offer that afternoon we visited.
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That’s apart from the ready-to-eat stash hanging on the wall. No wonder K Meraj is popular not just with cabbies but with the residents in the area, as well. There’s so many dishes to choose from. The Sinigang na spareribs caught our eye for the unusual cut of meat.
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WHAT WE GOT: Sinigang na spareribs and a cup of rice
COST: P55
WHAT WE THINK: The meat cut is kind of unusual, sure, but the stew is pretty damn good. We like its sourness level. A few spoonfuls revved up our stomach. We couldn’t help but douse our rice, which was a tad too sticky, with it, as well. Though we thought it could use a lot more taro (the servers told us they already used a lot of that for this dish), we were pleased with the amount of veggies it came with. We’re happy to report that the two hefty pieces of meat they gave us aren’t all bones. We would’ve preferred a thicker broth (taro, please!) but over all, this is pretty damn good. We’re actually salivating writing this right now.
K Meraj’s Food House, Open Canal Road, Mandaluyong. Daily 4am-10pm.
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