Last week was my first time to visit the City of Malabon. Our photography friend mentioned the City Government’s project, the Malabon Food Trip and we decided to give it a try. The Malabon Food Trip is all about visiting some of Malabon’s famous eating places via tricycle, that’s why it’s also called the Tricycle Tours.
We started the tour at San Bartolome Church, which is walking distance from the modern City Hall of Malabon. The church is built in 1614 and last year, celebrated its 400th year anniversary. The design of the church is Neo Classic – using Greek columns and design. It’s one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen.
Going back to the Food Trip, our first stop is at Lugaw Xperience where we had a taste of their famous Arrozcaldo. The place is small but the taste of their Lugaw is very nice. One of the best Lugaw I've ever tasted. You can choose which part of the chicken will be included in your Lugaw – thigh, breast or wings. Lugaw Xperience is just across one of the famous landmarks of Malabon – the Ibaviosa House.
The Ibaviosa House (according to the marker) is originally made of bamboo and nipa. This pre-war house owned by couples Manuel Ibaviosa Sr and Maria Cruz-Ibaviosa was completed in the early 1940s on this 2,200 sq m lot, due to the family’s success in Malabon Patis (fish sauce). The structure which provides a glimpse of the past endured the Philippine-Japanese war, preserving its living room with marble floor finish, French windows, artistically decorated ceiling and overall eloquence. According to locals, the house was used in several soaps and films.
Next stop to our Malabon Food Trip is Hazel’s Special Puto. This I can say is the best puto (and puto pao) I've ever tasted. This can really be a reason to visit Malabon since they don’t franchise their special puto. Their puto is so “fine” in the sense that they might have used the finest variety of rice available in the market or they might have grinded it very well.
According to the plaque given by the Malabon City Government, Haze’s Special Puto is “Ipinundar noong taong 2000, lumaganap ang kakaibang timpla ng mga produktong pagkain nito sa mga suki mula sa iba’t-ibang dako ng rehiyon. Pangatlo sa limang magkakapatid, ipinagpatuloy ng nagmanang si Hazel M Faustino and noo’y payak na hanapbuhay ng kanyang inang si Rebecca Monfiero. Ngayo’y patuloy na tinatangkilik ang Hazel’s Puto hindi lang ng taga-Malabon kundi pati rin ng taga ibang lugar.”
Our next stop to our Malabon Food Trip is Jamico’s Restaurant: Home of Judy Ann Crispy Pata (since 1972). This is where we had our lunch. I can also say that this is where I tasted the best Crispy Pata. It’s been featured in several TV Shows already and is already a landmark in Malabon. Like Hazel’s Special Puto, they also don’t franchise their famous Crispy Pata so that we’ll have a reason to visit Malabon.
No other than the owner of Jamico’s Restaurant greeted us on our visit and even showed us the entire pata so that we could take a picture of it. Jamico’s Restaurant is founded by Remeyno Antonio and is managed by siblings Susan Antonio-Corvera and Judy Ann Francisco. They also serve other dishes like Ampalaya con Carne, Lumpiang Shanghai, Lechon Macau, Tokwa con Lechon, Bistek Tagalog, Chicken Pandan, Shrimp Embotido, Torta Alimasag, Calamares, among others.
Our next destinations include Dolor’s Kakanin, Betsy’s Cake Center and Nanay’s Pancit Malabon. That’s on Part 2 of our Malabon Food Trip.
San Bartoleme Church – the starting point of our Malabon Food Trip
Some of the members of the Malabon Tourism Office that conducts the Malabon Tricycle Tour.
Our tricycle driver for our Malabon Food Trip.
The Ibaviosa House across Lugaw Xperience
The Lugaw Xperience – the best Arrozcaldo in Malabon.
One of the best Arrozcaldo I’ve ever tasted.
The price is very affordable for such tasty puto and puto pao.
The best puto and puto pao I’ve ever tasted.
This is the one included in the Malabon Food Tour.
This is the entire Pata which is priced on their leaflet at P550.
