Craving for a home-cooked pork binagoongan and a plateful of pancit malabon? How about a classic afternoon merienda of lugaw and lumpia? If you happen to pass by Quezon City, I have just the place for you. Neatly tucked in a quiet street, an eatery called Lola Idang’s Bahay Pancitan.
The place is not that big, with only about ten tables set on a 35-square meter eating space. The restaurant is so unassuming that you’ll hardly take a second look at it; plain white tiles flooring, simple decors, plastic Orocan chairs, and tables laid with generic plaid table clothes. What distinguishes this small diner from the throngs of eating places in Quezon City though is their food.
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| LOLA IDANG’S AT WEST TRIANGLE IN QC |
I have never tasted a binagoongan as good as the ones being served at Lola Idang’s. Crispy binagoonan (₱105.00), as they name it, is divided into three layers. The bottom one, a peeled steamed eggplant, over it is the pork which is fried to a crisp (almost bagnet-like in its crispiness), and topping those two off is a generous serving of lightly sweet & chili bagoong (shrimp paste) and some tomato and onion garnish. Paired with a steaming white rice and a spicy vinegar dip, and you’re in for a superb treat. Just writing about it actually makes my mouth water.
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| INSIDE LOLA IDANG’S SIMPLE EATERY |
Although the resto can actually live off with just their binagoongan dish, they do actually serve other chows too. As their name connotes, their actual specialty is Pancit Malabon. These can be either ordered ala carte or can be bought in bilaos (large woven tray) of varying sizes for take-outs. I have tasted their pancit once and unfortunately was not that impressed though.
►SEE: NORMA’S PANCIT LUGLOG & RESTAURANT
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| LOLA IDANG’S LUGAW ~ ₱30.00 |
Aside from their crispy binagoongan, another of my favorite is their lugaw (rice porridge) (₱30.00), tokwa (fried tofu) (₱35.00) and fried lumpiang ubod (spring rolls) (₱38.00) combo. Their lugaw is flavored just right, its consistency and texture spot on. Paired with the overflowing bowl of tokwa dipped in spicy soy-vinegar and their crispy lumpia and we’ve got a classic afternoon merienda elevated to a higher level.
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| LOLA IDANG’S TOKWA ~ ₱35.00 |
Unfortunately, you can only enjoy these dishes if you can stand their inattentive, unsmiling and unfriendly serving staff who’d rather crowd into their booth than take your order. It actually feels that taking orders was too much trouble for them. And if you need something, you’d actually have to approach their station to call their attention. Ask for a glass of water, expect it to arrive a century later. Take too much time choosing an order, and you’d almost feel them looming up your back, eyes rolling upwards, mouth bent downwards.
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| LOLA IDANG’S FRIED LUMPIANG UBOD ~ ₱38.00 |
Despite all that, I still frequent this simple eating place. In the end, it’s still the food that matters anyways. Lola Idang’s Bahay Pancitan however would certainly feel homier and live up to its name if only their people would make you feel you’re welcome to dine in their restaurant. I just hope that next time I enter their premises, their service can actually complement the excellent dishes they serve.
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| RANDOM SWEETS AND SNACKS |
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| REVISITING THE CRISPY PORK BINAGOONGAN AT LOLA IDANG’S |
After being away for so long, I was finally able to go back to Lola Idang’s to have a taste of crispy binagoongan (₱105.00). We ordered a plate of it along with rellenong bangus (₱120.00), a bowl of pritong tokwa (₱35.00), a serving of lumpiang ubod (₱40.00), and two glasses of sago’t gulaman (₱25.00).
It was as if I’ve never left. The binagoongan was still as excellent as I remembered it to be. The bangus was new to me but I didn’t like it that much. The tokwa though was still good but still don’t like the fresh lumpia. Pricewise, everything was also amazingly the same!
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| SAGO’T GULAMAN ~ ₱25.00 |
The only thing that probably changed were the waitresses serving us. Gone were Lola Idang’s sour unsmiling gals from before, replaced by a more attentive staff. Well, they’re still not into smiling, but at least they’re quite helpful and don’t make you feel unwelcome. A good change!
I got to visit Lola Idang’s again a few weeks ago and besides ordering the usual favorite, the crispy binagoongan, I was able to try out a few of their dishes that I haven’t had the chance to order before.
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| LOLA IDANG’S GARLIC TAPA ~ ₱105.00 |
First off, Lola Idang’s Garlic Tapa (₱105.00). This is an ala-carte order so rice is not included. Serving size was generous, more than good enough for two persons at least. The taste was excellent—really, really savory. The downside was that the the meat was quite rubbery, which was a big letdown.
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| LOLA IDANG’S PANCIT LOMI ~ ₱65.00 |
Next up was their Pancit Lomi (₱65.00). I usually don’t dig lomis, besides the one I tried in Casa Rap. I get easily turned off by its icky gooey soup, but surprisingly, I actually liked Lola Idang’s version of it. The taste is just right and the soup consistency is perfect—meaning, not icky haha. For its price, serving size is on the big side.
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| LOLA IDANG’S CRISPY BINAGOONGAN ~ ₱105.00 |
The usual crispy binagoongan (₱105.00) and fried tokwa (₱35.00) still didn’t disappoint. We came out happy and super full. It was certainly another good lunch at Lola Idang’s.
It’s been ten years since I last set foot at Lola Idang’s QC along Examiner Street. And it’s been ten years since my last crispy binagoongan. To say that I’m ultra excited to go back to Lola Idang’s for my favorite binagoongan dish was an understatement.
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| LOLA IDANG’S INTERIORS AT 2024 |
We arrived at Lola Idang’s Bahay Pancitan for dinner. We almost didn’t make the 7:30PM cut-off for dine-in orders, prioritizing our grocery shopping first at the nearby Hi-Top Supermarket—spell near-expiration bargain items, lol.
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| NEW WALL HANGINGS |
The restaurant seemed frozen in time, it looks almost exactly the same way as our last visit, a decade back—the same yellow walls (albeit with hints of greens this time, and a wall hung with their best-selling dishes), the same green checkered table mats, the same plastic Orocan chairs, and hopefully, the same Lola Idang’s goodness we came here for. What I hope was different though was their old grumpy service staff—which were now thankfully gone.
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| LOLA IDANG’S CRISPY BINAGOONGAN ~ ₱215.00 |
BG, who’s now my wife (we were still boyfriend and girlfriend when we last went here), and I each ordered a plate of crispy binagoongan, which has now doubled in price from ₱105.00 to ₱215.00—quite understandable, considering how high inflation is nowadays. We also paired it with a bowl of goto for Kid A, which also doubled in price from from ₱30.00 ₱65.00.
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| LOLA IDANG’S SUPERB SUKA |
Serving size was still the same, and so was the taste—the crispy pork, the eggplant, green chili, tomatoes, and the salty bagoong that makes you want to pour a helping of their superbly sour vinegar on a small platito with the green chili on the sides. It was the exact same taste we came to Lola Idang’s for. Hopefully, it won’t take another ten years before our next visit.
Lola Idang’s Bahay Pancitan MENU
Address: Quezon Avenue corner Examiner St., West Triangle, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Opening Hours: 9:30AM to 7:30PM, Until 8:00 PM for take-out
Contact Number: (02) 8332-6947, (02) 8925-1424
