Eons ago, I went with my sister when she visited Quiapo Church. It has been my practice to take a few pictures outside the church, and while snapping a few images, my sister asked me if I wanted to visit the Sta. Cruz Church, which is a long walking distance away from Quiapo Church. I rarely go out the house, and this being a day of enjoying the great outdoors, I was happy to see something new.
It was indeed a long walk, so when we passed by Sta. Cruz Food Express with posters showing affordable prices, I suggested that we eat lunch first, after all it's already quarter to noon.
The place was enormous... and very clean. Just like the usual fastfood / carinderia, diners had to make a bee line to the cashier and order up. Their menu wasn't as extensive, making us choose our food with ease. We just chose went for the value meal as we didn't want to spend that much.
Burger Steak
This was my choice of meal. It didn't taste like Jollibee's, but it was surprisingly good! My sister was also surprised at how it tasted. For a meal less than 50 pesos, it was more than I expected.
Dragon Boat Dumpling with Siomai
Not sure if I got the name of the dish right, but this is like Tamales or Suman. It was something new to us, and it was just okay. The siomai on the other hand, was delicious. It tasted like the Siomai served in bigshot Chinese Restaurants.
Chinese Lumpia
Whenever we go to the Sidcor Weekend Market, we always take home some Chinese Lumpia. Seeing this on the menu made us buy one because it was only 40 pesos, 20 pesos cheaper than the one we buy at the weekend market. Tasting this, I wished this food place is just near our place, because the taste is at par with the one we buy at the weekend market and it was cheaper, too.
Pepper Burger
My sister was uncertain with the Dragon Boat Dumpling, so she ordered this just in case she didn't like the dumpling. The only setback was the bun, but the patty and the dressing as well as the veggies were really good.
Our total bill was less than 200 pesos, and we were able to satisfy hungry tummies. I am not sure if this place is still open as my feet still haven't taken me back to Sta. Cruz, but if it is still open, I hope I can dine there again.
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