National Highway - San Fernando, La Union
28 October 2010
A continuation of my food trip shared last Friday.
Afternoon of that day, Ria and I went to visit two more churches in two different towns, but since we needed to get a bus ride home in San Fernando, we decided to eat dinner first, because all the walking made us slightly hungry. There were a lot of food establishments in San Fernando, but most also has branches in Metro Manila (like Jollibee, Pizza Hut, McDo, and KFC), so I took Ria at a food place that is "exclusively" found in the province.
Midtown Food Palace has been serving good food since late 1970s. Back in late 1990s, my Aunt and I would eat snacks here before or after hearing mass at the Christ the King Church (just walking distance away), and even if there are so many food places opening in the area, there were times that I would go there to eat.
It's more of an upscale karinderya if you ask me (that is, foods were already cooked and ready to be plated once order was placed), but foods were obviously much, much better than roadside karinderya.
Guests can take their seats and let the wait staff get their orders, but they also have a take-out counter where guests can line up and wait for their orders. The place had a renovation in 2008 - they now have a second floor and an area for parties.
This place is just along the highway and most buses would stop near the restaurant to drop off and / or get passengers, so during meal times, expect this place to be full - kinda like when we visited it. Good thing a table was vacant when we arrived, or else we'd wait for a table. :)
Ribs Alexander. I had a difficult time choosing my food, but I knew I wanted to eat rice, so I went for this. I told Ria the last time I went here, I ate their barbecued baby back ribs, and because the menu didn't have a picture of this, I expected it to be creamy (somehow I misunderstood "Alexander" for "Alfredo"). When I was served this dish, I thought it was like eating a different version of their baby back ribs, but I was totally wrong. The ribs were breaded and fried and is served with sweet and sour sauce, and although the sauce tasted normal (just like any other sweet and sauce), it was the ribs that made me love this dish. It just had a different taste - maybe it was marinated or the breading had something special... all I knew was that I couldn't stop taking the meat off the bones! If there was any complaint to it, I'd say it's with the ribs. They chose to use the very bony part of the ribs (maybe it was the spine) that there weren't that much meat to eat. Add to that, there were only three pieces of meat. So bitin!
If you're in La Union and you want to eat here (they serve a wide array of foods - from breakfast, to snacks, to rice meals), it is located near National Bazaar (a supermarket) and Danish Baker.
I come from a family who loves cooking and eating. I never had any formal training in cooking and that I taught myself how to cook based on the handed down recipes, but I could say that I can cook good food. In 2008, I started documenting my food trips for my