This hasn't happened before, and I think us siblings seemed to be on a same wavelength because we all immediately suggested we eat at Little Quiapo - where they held their wedding reception in 1978.
From what I gathered, Little Quiapo has been serving food since 1949, but this wasn't the original branch, and certainly this wasn't the exact place where mom and dad had their wedding reception. The waiter who entertained us said a few years back the restaurant was moved to its current location.
The place is small, but it had the homey feel, which we loved instantly. By the entrance, there was a fruit stall and a native delicacies stall, and near the cashier there is a rack filled with different food snacks - polvoron, banana chips, dilis, and pusit (the ready to eat kind).
It was about 11am when we arrived, which was the best time to come in for lunch, because as soon as the clock turns 12nn, people started coming in. Located just walking distance from the offices along East Avenue (this is located just behind SSS East Ave.), it was a full house right away, and the noise from all the people talking gave it more ambiance that I personally liked.
Sinampalukang Manok
Mother wanted something soupy for this lunch, but we were quite disappointed at the amount of chicken it had. We were five diners (cousin Mhai was with us), and thinking how to divide the chopped leg quarter among five hungry diners sure was difficult. We didn't decide to order another one, though, because at nearly 300 pesos, we found it expensive.
Taste wise, it was good. The soup had the right blend of flavors, the vegetables were crispy and it was comforting.
Camaron Rebusado
Mom loves shrimps (so do I), and this didn't disappoint us. Nothing exceptional, though. It wasn't something that would make us jump up and down, but it was good.
Pancit Palabok
Since then, this has been Little Quiapo's most raved food, and it was love at first taste. I normally don't like Pancit Palabok with thin, hair-like noodles (I prefer the slightly thick ones), but there was something in the sauce that made me love it so much! We decided to get the small bilao size (we took home the portion we weren't able to eat), and since then we crave for this every now and then.
Regular Halo-Halo
Full from lunch, we decided to just get the regular halo-halo for our dessert. Like the Pancit Palabok, this is another house specialty, and oh my gosh, it was indeed sooo good! This definitely made my top 5 Halo-Halo! :)
Chocolate Ice Cream
With all of us going for a glass of halo-halo, brother decided to go for a different dessert. The ice cream was different from the ones I have tasted... this one's slightly bittersweet.
The pancit and the halo-halo were good, the ambiance was okay, but part of me wasn't totally raving about it - maybe because of the price, and maybe because of the disappointment about the chicken dish. I don't mind coming back here, but given the next chance, I will definitely go for a different dish.... and another serving of halo-halo, of course!
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Little Quiapo
90 Malakas St Pinyahan, Quezon City
+63 (02) 922-4131
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