Today is the last day of my super-long leave. So August 21 was a holiday, and my leave for August 24 to 26 was approved. Right now I’m looking like the Yes! Kid meme LOL. Sadly, due to my persisting myofascial pain syndrome and an acute bout of tonsillitis, I had to stay at home most of the time. My friend told me to take advantage of the last day of my leave so after my physical therapy session, I decided to go to one place I’ve always wanted to visit: LA LOMA!
The La Loma welcome arch
La Loma’s moniker is “Lechon Capital of the Philippines”. I remember seeing this GMA news feature about the lechon stores around La Loma. Plus, a lot of my friends told me about the pares in Retiro (which in Quezon City becomes N. Amoranto St.). A close friend of mine also told me they went to La Loma to get lechon for a family event. I dunno, in some way that made me curious about what’s in store for me in La Loma. So with only a day left before I go back to work mode, I decided to head off to La Loma and quell my curiosity!
My first plan to get to La Loma was through Ayala, then Taft, and then Blumentritt; however, the line for the BGC bus was long and there were no buses coming in, so I had to travel to Gil Puyat instead. Once I got to Blumentritt, I took a shot of the view from the platform. I dunno, for some reason I love the view from Blumentritt Station. You can really feel how dynamic the place is.
The (self-proclaimed) iconic view from Blumentritt LRT Station
So from Blumentritt I took a jeepney to La Loma. Now, La Loma is a district of Quezon City, and its name is Spanish for “the knoll” (thanks Google Translate). A knoll is something akin to a small hill. Actually, La Loma sits on the foot of an elevated area (Santa Mesa Heights), thus the name of one of its barangays, “Paang Bundok”. Plus, once you enter La Loma, Retiro St. changes to N. Amoranto Street, which is named after a former mayor of Quezon City.
I’ve already seen photos of La Loma online, but seeing it in person is a different feeling. La Loma has the vibe of a provincial capital city. It’s urban, but it does not feel too urban. It’s relatively calm and if you’ve been to Laoag, it kinda feels like that. I dunno, just a quirk of mine LOL.
I arrived in La Loma an hour after lunch. Well, that’s exactly why I was in La Loma! Since my friends have already told me about it, I decided to try one of their specialties: pares! Now, pares here in Makati is savory, with a semi-runny broth, and the meat is cut into bite-sized pieces. The whole dish is then seasoned with dried garlic and shallots. You can get your Makati-style pares from either roving stands or the ubiquitous jolly jeeps.
Now I’ve tried Quezon City pares from Jonas (the Project 8 branch, so I’m sure the La Loma branch is not at all different). What I noticed about Quezon City pares is that the broth is sweeter and more viscous, plus the chunks of meat are bigger! I’ve read somewhere that La Loma is the birthplace of pares, so I guess I’m in the right place!
I was supposed to try the first pares house I saw, but it was so crowded. As a foodie, I know that when it’s crowded, it is good. However, I am on a bit of a tight schedule. It’s a weekday and you wouldn’t wanna be riding the MRT later than 3pm. So, I decided to go to the pares house beside it, Noodle King Pares & Mami House.
RESTAURANT REVIEW
Noodle King Pares & Mami House
What made me come here is the facade. It looked so clean and organized. I love the diner layout and I also love how they made the preparation area, which you can see in the left side of the first photo, visible to all. The staff was also very courteous and presentable. I am used to picking up my orders but the cashier said that they’ll deliver it to my table instead. Now I am trying to be inconspicuous as a food blogger, so I hope it’s genuine customer service. But I’m sure it is :).
Well, it’s not as packed as the other restaurant, but it does not lag behind. Of course, since I am in the birthplace of pares, I ordered pares! And since I am a siomai lover, I also asked for one order. All in all, the total bill for my meal is PHP 118 (no service charge). Since I have tonsillitis, I only asked for service water LOL. Again, this is why I love dining in QC. I dunno how much this will be in the CBD or BGC under the same circumstances, but PHP 118 for what I ate, well for me it’s fine. The other restaurant has the pares too at PHP 80, so I guess it’s a standard.
Taste-wise though, I have to say, a bit on the so-so side. The texture of the fried rice was a bit rough, and the meat was somewhat tough. Tough is not really the word I am looking for. I guess, not tender. Yeah. The sauce is delicately sweet. It’s not that kind of dehydrating salty-sweet, the type that pierces your frenulum. So-so. The siomai was a bit dry, but it’s not bad at all. Looking at it, I can say it’s all meat, or maybe 96% meat. The food item I loved the most is the soup! I can’t describe the flavor, but I loved it so much I had three bowls!
Overall rating
- Price: 3.5
- Ambiance: 4
- Food: 3
- Service: 4
- TOTAL SCORE: 3.6
Noodle King Pares & Mami House might not be the most visited pares house in La Loma, but to me, it’s decent. The ambiance is good, and it does not come off as intimidating in spite of its commercialized facade. The food is so-so, but it’s not a bad thing. Affordable and satisfying, that’s what I will remember from my experience here.
After eating, I decided to walk around La Loma, you know, to keep all that food down. Would I ever leave La Loma without visiting Lechon Row? Of course not! Well, I would not be eating lechon, because I will be honest I’ve lived an unhealthy life months ago and I think lechon is the last thing I want to get stuck along the lining of my arteries LOL. For me, going around Lechon Row is more of a cultural than a culinary experience.
I read from an article that said that La Loma’s lechon industry was born from the need to feed hungry patrons of the adjacent La Loma Cockpit. Going around the block, you can see rows of freshly roasted golden-brown lechon, on their bamboo skewers, lined up in front of shops with familiar names such as Mila’s Lechon and Mang Tomas. Now I got the chance to interview some of the caretakers, and they told me that all of the raw products come from Bulacan. The lechon is then roasted in the shops. Some of the shops sell chicharon bulaklak as well, most likely from the pigs delivered to them. The price of the lechon ranges from PHP 6,000 to 7,000, depending on the size.
La Loma’s lechon industry was born to cater to the hungry patrons of the La Loma cockpit
After going around the different lechon shops of La Loma, I decided it was time to go home. Before going home, I decided to take a few more photos. Another thing that you need to know about La Loma is that it’s actually the Quezon City side of the Blumentritt crossing. Somewhere near the Manila North Cemetery is the shared border between Manila, Caloocan, and Quezon City.
Manila to the right, Quezon City to the left, Caloocan just behind me
I really enjoyed my visit to La Loma. Eating pares in its birthplace and seeing the district’s vibrant lechon industry have been the highlights of this day. La Loma might just be one of a thousand neighborhoods across highly urbanized Metro Manila, but its faithfulness to its culinary and cultural traditions makes it stand out not as a tourist destination, but as a reference to Filipino culture.
How to get there
La Loma is most accessible from Blumentritt LRT station. Once you get out of the station, you just have to ride a jeep with the signboard “Retiro-Blumentritt-Banawe”. You can also get there through Quezon Avenue. Once you leave the station, cross the footbridge and take any jeep to Mabuhay Rotonda or Espana. Get off at Banawe and ride a jeep to N. Amoranto Street, where you can ride the “Retiro-Blumentritt-Banawe” jeeps. Cross to the other side as the jeeps going to Blumentritt and Retiro are southbound in direction.
Want to recommend a restaurant in La Loma? Have other ideas how to get there? Want me to visit your neighborhood? Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment 🙂
Eats Too Far 