Looking for a Fil-Mex food adventure? We found a great one in The Yard! El Chapo's is your next stop for that yummy taco and nacho craving. Named after the famous drug lord from Mexico, El Chapo's strive to be the best, and maangas Fil-Mex food cartel here. With their yummy homemade dishes and sauce your gonna think it's illegal but as for their slogan "Don't worry ese, it's LEGAL"
Trivia: El Chapo in spanish means "shorty"
FIL-MEX STYLE BARBECUED STREET CORN (P60)
With the perfect grill, sauce and spice this corn is on the list to try! You can add calamansi for a little tangy taste to it.
CHICHARITOS (P85)
One of their best sellers, Chicharitos is a Lechon Sisig Taco with pork belly and their special sour cream sauce and salsa verde with cilantro. That crispiness to the lechon sisig is the best! It can get messy but it's still good!
Since then I love eating siopao especially the asado one, I remember buying from 7-11 for my merienda. Little did I know there could be other toppings we could try! This kind of dish is becoming popular in other places like New York City and recently has been introduced to us in the street of Sgt. Esguerra. Bao on the block is your friendly neighborhood bao that is perfect for lunch and merienda with its unique offerings of bao with different toppings and rice bowls. If you love siopao then this is the place for you!
Opened last September, Bao on the Block was created since the owners grew up with Cua Pao on their table and with a touch of creativity and ideas opened their first venture into the food industry.
Photo wall where they post pictures of their customers :)
Their tagline "It's Bao Or Never", cute!
Now their menu consists of rice bowls, bao specials, dumplings, desserts and drinks with very creative names, you'll see :)Their food is affordable and has a generous amount too. You can check their menu here. Let's get to them!
DRAGON BAO Z (P89)
If you love korean food then this is for you! This korean-inspired bao has kimchi on top of pork and veggies with sides of wanton chips. Plus if you like it hot you should get this! Wow anghang! By the way for their baos you can have 1 bao for 89 pesos, 159 for 2 and 379 for 5! Super affordable!
BAO TO THE KING (P89)
This is their best seller and my favorite! Bao to the king has beansprouts and chicken teriyaki which is tender. I didn't expect how good this was! This is a must try. They also have Tsing Tao, a very popular beer in China, you can pair with their bao.
BOTB CLASSIC (P89)
Tho they have other specialty toppings they still have the classic one. BOTB Classic has pork, hoisin sauce, pickled veggies and nuts on top. If you like to keep it simple you should try this.
FISH WASABI (P149)
Personally I don't like wasabi but WOW, this fish wasabi is my favorite! This rice bowl has dory fish fillet with wasabi mayo and nori on top with pickled veggies, wanton chips and teriyaki rice. Nakakabusog and super delicious! All the ingredients worked out so well with each other, clap clap!
DEEP FRIED ICE CREAM BAO (P99)
Of course even their dessert has fried bao! With vanilla ice cream and graham crumbs, the hot bao and cold ice cream compliment each other :)
Bao on the Block is very refreshing from the typical food we see, it's a unique venture into food and offers great service to their customers. Now I miss their fish wasabi! I'll definitely be back here. Oh and their location is beside a car wash so if you have time or would like to have a car wash you can dine with them :) Thank you Bao on the Block for having us!
I am totally in love with Cheese Tarts! Ever since I tasted one in HK I can't get it out of my head. I'm always on the look for these heavenly goodies, sadly most of them are made with imported ingredients. Now there's great news because our loved cheese tarts are now locally made and is now OPEN!
Lava is a Japanese-inspired cheese tart and is locally made with ingredients sourced entirely here. Made with three artisanal cheese that we will love, the gooey and molten core will be a heavenly mess to eat.
They also serve specialty coffees sourced locally that you can match perfectly with your cheese tart! We tried Cappucino and Cafe Latte and I can say it gave the perfect kick.
You can buy a piece(P80), a box of three(P240) or a box of 6(P450)
I think their menu will soon expand so we'll be on the look for that!
I can say this is my favorite Cheese Tart! I'm proud and glad these tarts are local and the industry is leveling up to world-class. Don't forget to drop by if you're in the area! Thanks again LAVA for inviting us :)
Restaurants and other food businesses are booming everywhere, food parks, innovated food presentation and fusions of different cuisines. As Filipinos we love to try out new dishes but let's not forget how our own culture cooks. In the famous street of Maginhawa we discovered a restaurant where old school filipino dishes are served, Hapag Heritage Cuisine.
Opened last September 28 Hapag Heritage Cuisine is still on their soft opening. The restaurant is a homey, old school, nostalgic restaurant which serves their loved homemade filipino dishes. What's great about them is they make everything from scratch, no msg and food enhancement so everything is authentic and top quality. They wanted to serve and bring back traditional and native food since right now what we mostly see are infused or modern filipino dishes and share to the youth and even bring back memories to our lolos and lolas.
From the food to the interiors, Hapag has stepped up by reminding us our heritage through the interiors and share to us what they serve at home. You will notice the wooden tables and chairs, cabinets and sto. ninos which you can see at our grandparents's house. Another great thing is they have displays of paintings from Cottolengo Filipino, which is a non-profit organization for the abandoned, neglected persons with disabilities.
Now on to their food.
RIPE MANGO SMOOTHIE (P120)
OH MY GOSH, this is one of the best mango smoothies I've ever tasted. It has an ice cream like texture and the taste is perfect! I love how it was presented in a "halo halo" like baso. The price represents for the taste, and you'll never go wrong with mango :)
LANGKA SMOOTHIE (P120) SEASONAL
I was never a fan of langka but this tasted wonderful! Again it has that ice cream like texture, you can just scoop it with a spoon!
MANOK NG HAPAG (P470 WHOLE)
Of course I will never miss out on chicken. This is their signature chicken served on a dahon ng saging. The chicken is tender and very tasteful especially the skin. You should look out for this one.
GINISANG HIPON SA TABA NG TALANGKA (P480)
Taba ng talangka, I know when older people hear that they stay away from it haha! Since people with high blood pressure avoids it but good thing I'm not one of them. Oh the sauce is tasteful with the salted egg topping, this whole dish is complete. The sizes and serving of the shrimp are generous.
TINAPA RICE (P240 PLATTER)
Yes for tinapa! This whole platter can stand alone since it has tinapa flakes, salted egg and diced tomatoes. This was recommended to us and it's one of the must try. The serving is good for 2-3 people.
CRISPY PATA NI IMA (P595)
As a Filipino what I first said after seeing this is "putok batok" hahaha! Their Crispy Pata is magnefique plus the sauce it comes with. The skin is crispy and the meat is flavorful, it's definitely to order.
SINIGANG NA SALMON SA MISO (P380)
I've tasted sinampalukang manok, sinigang na baboy but not salmon yet. Since their food aren't cooked with msg the sour taste in this dish is very authentic, it kicks at the end and I like that. The salmon was cooked perfectly!
PANDAN-MACAPUNO CHEESECAKE (P120)
When I think of cheesecake what comes to mind is blueberries or mango but this is different. Infused with a filipino culture now you can taste a pandan cheesecake! I was surprised with this one since it's new to me. The texture is exactly like a cheesecake but with a pandan taste. This is a must try!
ENSAYMADITAS WITH CHORIZO BILBAO
Hapag will soon expand their menus and this is one of their upcoming merienda, Ensaymaditas. Ensaymada topped with 3 kinds of cheese plus chorizo.
ENSAYMADITAS WITH TINAPA FLAKES
Again they never fail to surprise me because their ensaymaditas with tinapa flakes did! I did not expect how well cheese and tinapa flakes will go perfectly with ensaymada. It's a mixture of sweet and savory. I'm not sure yet with the price tho but this is good for meriendas.
Please do watch this video :)
Hapag Heritage Cuisine is definitely a must try. Filipino families will enjoy their dining experience in this homey restaurant. The service provided is A+ with the staffs hospitality and attentiveness to the customers' needs. This is a casual dining but the service is hotel-like. Plus another good thing is the parking space in front of the restaurant. All in all my dining experience is wonderful! If I should come back again I will bring my family :) Thank you Hapag for this! You can check their menu here.
A Blog owned by Alyssa, a Multimedia Arts graduate. She loves to explore, discover and write about the food she tastes, places traveled and sometimes clothes she wear. Her goal is to inspire, inform and help others through her stories.
