Dishes to enjoy when you feel the need to try something new, from Chinese to Korean to Thai and to Mexican.
As I write this article, I have just finished what feels like a marathon sprint of quarantine. It’s been one month since a spate of cases in my household has essentially turned me into Rapunzel, locked up in my bedroom, except unlike Rapunzel, I can order my food.
Here are the places I’ve enjoyed the most, and will continuously order from.
Pilya’s Kitchen
Located at Powerplant Mall’s The Grid Market, Pilya’s Kitchen fare is focused on freshly hand-pulled Biang Biang noodles. Owned by Kriza Palmero, formerly of Very Fresh Noodles at New York’s Chelsea Market, this spot offering Chinese noodles (out of the usual Chinese-Cantonese options Filipinos are more familiar with) is a must-try.
My favorite is the Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, with its flavorful broth (with a touch of sourness and spice) and tender beef pieces. I have also ordered two of their super spicy options: Spicy Pork Dan Dan Noodles and Mapo Biang Noodles. Not for the faint-hearted, they will nevertheless be a party in your mouth. Anyone with a hankering for Chinese food will enjoy the dishes to be had.
Pilya’s Kitchen is located at Stall 11, The Grid Food Market at Powerplant Mall, and is available to order on Grab Food.
Yang Gang
No, this Korean fried chicken spot is not named after former New York Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang’s erstwhile fan base. Don’t let your misgivings about the name dissuade you, the offerings from this Mad Eats concept are very good.
I’m partial to the Fried Chickin Sandwich, which comes with a brioche bun, boneless chicken thigh, kimchi slaw, and gochujang mayo. They also have solo chicken meals and hotteok, traditional Korean pancakes filled with chocolate, or sweet cheese or ube cheese.
To order, please click here.
Dot Coffee
Another Mad Eats brand is Dot Coffee, so named because the team’s goal is to give their high-quality coffee to customers right on the dot. With prices between 90 PHP to 170 PHP, you can’t go wrong here
. You have the usual coffee orders that come in iced or hot: café latte, Americano, Matcha, and then other specialties like Spanish latte, horchata, dirty coconut, and more. Also available are doughnuts.
To order, please click here.
Khao Kai
Khao Kai Thai Chicken House specializes in the kind of selections you might find at a Bangkok street cart. Located at Ebro Street in Poblacion and the Pantree Legazpi Village, my favorite order is the Gai Tod. This comes with any number of chicken pieces (your choice) or Jasmine or sticky rice, and flavorful dipping sauces.
Other must-tries are the Moo Krob Kra Pa (stir fry pork belly with chilies, fish sauce, holy basil, served with egg and rice) and the Gaeng Hung Lay (Northern Thai pork curry, a famous Chang Mai dish). Mango Sticky Rice is of course, available as well.
To order, click here.
Taco-Mata
Recommended by my good friend Jam, Taco Mata is a cloud kitchen-based concept (cloud kitchens, in case you are curious, are commissary kitchens built just for delivery food) that sells tacos named after some of the best Manhattan neighborhoods. I ordered The Soho and The Fulton.
The Soho is a steak au poivre cooked sous-vide, seasoned with herbs and cracked peppercorns, served with caramelized onions, potato strings, and brandy-infused peppercorn sauce on a 5-inch flour tortilla, while The Fulton (after the Lower Manhattan-based Fulton Fish Market) is Cajun-inspired beer-battered fish, served with slaw, lemon wedges, smoked paprika, and the Taco Mata orange sauces.
A word on the sauces: buy a lot, and save them! They made the rest of my meals taste very good.
To order, please click here
