When in San Juan Part 2: Notes of a Food Tripper

by Pauline B. Pastor on September 16, 2011

San Juan, with an area of around seven kilometers, is Manila’s smallest city. This fact might suggest a lack of choices in what it has to offer, given that it’s sandwiched between its two bigger brothers, Makati and Ateneo’s home base of Quezon City.

Don’t be so quick to dismiss this “little guy,” though—it happens to be a haven of restaurants aplenty. A simple food trip led to the discovery of a San Juan foodie scene that’s able to hold its own against mainstream staples.

Photo by Aih Mendoza

Konbini

57 Connecticut St., Northeast Greenhills, San Juan

Located smack in the middle of the restaurant-laden Connecticut Street, Konbini Tokyo Market (Konbini for short) is a convenience store chock-full of items flown in directly from Japan. Aside from countless aisles of goodies including various Kit Kat flavors (try the green tea!), Konbini is also an in-house restaurant.

Although the Pork Gyoza (P195, 6 pcs.) is adequate in flavor, the Pita Pan Beef Yakiniku (P180) and the Chicken Yakitori Momo (P60 each) are altogether different stories. The marriage of beef and Japanese mayo, served with marinated yakitori sticks, delights with authentic Japanese flavors that highlight the quality of the meat instead of distracting the palette with buckets of sauce. I can’t emphasize enough how good these were—domo arigato, Konbini!

Katipunan Alternatives: Teriyaki Boy, Kamirori

Photo by Aih Mendoza

Lugang Café

115 Connecticut St., Northeast Greenhills, San Juan

At a building just a short way from Konbini sits Lugang Café, a Shanghai-based franchise that specializes in Taiwanese cuisine. Giant, imposing doors greet you as you enter the tastefully decorated main dining room, which is adorned with glass chandeliers. Lugang Café looks exactly like the venue for first time in-law elbow rubbing—humongous wall mural of a dragon included.

Although it has notable dinner options such as the Beijing Shredded Pork with Pancakes (P260) which is a superb substitute for Peking duck wraps, the surprisingly sweet Three Cup Chicken (P290) is the main star of Lugang.

The Mudslide Smoothie (P180), a chocolate slush mountain sprinkled with crushed Oreos, is a rich and creamy concoction that’s a surefire way to end your meal/date/every single day of your life.

Katipunan Alternatives: Hap Chan, Mongkok

Photo by Tim Arafiles

Sunrise Buckets

G/F Madison Square, Madison St. cor. Ortigas Ave., San Juan

Hitting Sunrise Buckets up on a Wednesday meant that we got a chance to avail of their Wednesday Wings (P499): three pounds of chicken wings for a fraction of the price. The Sunrise Original Wings is hot enough to fire up your senses, while the Hickory Wings provide the much needed contrast with its sweet barbecue notes. What really stands out though is Jack Daniel’s Wings (P385, one pound)—you heard right! Epic Meal Time comes to mind, but I’ve got to say—these wings are incredible.

With all these chicken wing places sprouting across the Metro, it’s easy to see that chicken wings are the stealthy partner to the milk tea trend. Sunrise Buckets, with its extensive line of rubs and sauces, proves that chicken wings have the staying power to live on.

Katipunan Alternatives: Flaming Wings, Bon Chon

Photo by Tim Arafiles

House of Lasagna

Unit 1-B G/F, J. Abad Santos St. corner V. Cruz St., Little Baguio, San Juan

Chef Erick Congmon is the man—the lasagna man, that is. His family has been in the restaurant business for years and, as a child, he would be a frequent spectator in the kitchen. He was thus exposed to all sorts of food, but mainly to the Italian and Spanish culinary traditions. Many good years later—and the House of Lasagna is alive and thriving.

His bestseller, the Beef Lasagna (P200), is a lasagna lover’s dream—layers of al dente pasta and painstakingly seasoned beef are topped off with a generous heap of cheese. The Seafood Lasagna (P230) was the night’s favorite; the addition of different types of seafood brought a whole new dimension to a well-loved original. We also had a plate of Chicken Skins (P140)—that’s sure to bring the chicharon lover in you to its knees.

Katipunan Alternatives: Old Spaghetti House, Xocolat

Photo by Tim Arafiles

Moksha

713 J. Abad Santos St. cor. Wilson St., Little Baguio, San Juan

The last stop, Moksha, is a tiny bar across from the House of Lasagna complex. Aside from having a full menu, Moksha supposedly has the best Chocolate Caramel Cake (P180) this side of town, but to the tune of many “awws” and violent groans, the waiter pronounced that it was out of stock. We decided on the Banana Vodka a la mode (P180) instead: orange vodka-infused bananas swimming in a pool of vanilla ice cream. Nothing spectacular, though, especially since the build-up for the chocolate cake left us all bitter. What we really did appreciate about Moksha, though, is the ambiance; the lighting and interiors are akin to that of a mafia don’s swanky den, and we vowed that we would definitely come back to 1) host a raging party and 2) finally get some of that cake.

Katipunan alternatives: Cantina, Mile-Hi Diner/Intersection

I’ve got to say that San Juan isn’t overwhelmed by the flanking situation at all. We can look at the Makati–San Juan–Quezon City triumvirate as a sandwich—the smallest city of the three is most definitely that juicy palaman, which lifts the otherwise forgettable pieces of bread to utter transcendence.