MoKja! Korean Buffet & Barbecue Restaurant in Quezon City is a Must-Try for Tourists

WATCH: The MoKja! Korean Buffet & Restaurant Quezon City, PH tourist experience.

Maginhawa Street of Quezon City in the Philippines has become a kind of food mecca where residents and tourists alike get to treat themselves to restaurants which serve local Filipino and international cuisine. There's so many to choose from and since there has been a level of cultural influence from Koreans who've chosen to make the city their second home, there have also been a boom in Korean food restaurants. One of the popular ones include MoKja!, which is a buffet and barbecue restaurant at the 3rd flr. of 80 Maginhawa Street, Teachers Village, Quezon City 1101, Philippines.

"Mokja" is Korean for "let's eat" and this vibe is definitely present when you enter. It's quaint, small, and cozy, so if you're not early, you might have to wait at least a half hour or so before you can be seated. Diners have a maximum time of two hours to eat, so there could be some stomachs grumbling waiting in line to get filled when you get there. By the time you get seated, you might already have the sweet smell of bulgogi beef meat on your clothes since the frying smoke that fills the place can really cling on you. The gold-painted exhaust tubes which hang from the ceiling like some high-tech anime tech gear don't help much to suck out the smoke from the room, although they definitely contribute to the feel of the whole place which seems to be popular with people in their twenties.

MoKja! is really the kind of Korean restaurant where the food becomes part of how friends, co-workers, or family get together over a good meal. If you're a tourist in Quezon City thinking of treating a few friends in a fun restaurant, then MoKja! is a good choice. Just be prepared to wait until you get seated if there's a crowd and also be ready to eat lots of meat. Sure, you can mix your own salad at the buffet table, but that's just secondary to the meat.

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Kinamat Resto Bar Silog and Budbod Menu (Angono, Rizal)

"Fi-fi-fo-fum. I smell a hungry customer. Solve this riddle to enter..."

Kinamat Resto Bar in Angono, Rizal is a simple native eatery with a band area for guests to experience a little live music while dining or drinking with friends and family. It has a rustic ambiance with all the natural materials like wood, bamboo, and nipa, used in the building structure. Outside, traditional masks used in festival parades look out to welcome diners. One could easily pass by this restaurant without noticing it. There's just a gravel driveway where guests can park, but apart from the sign hanging from a bamboo post and what's painted on the front wall, one would think that it's not a restaurant at all, but people do frequent the place and word-of-mouth gets around. When kids hear about the shark lamp, they all want to see it with their own eyes, though it's only made of fiberglass, maybe.

Sink your teeth into this crispy Kinamat pork chop.

Kinamat Resto Bar is simple, informal, quaint, and a local favorite, which means tourists have nothing to lose by checking out the place and ordering local food favorites like budbod, which is similar to Spanish tapas but with fried meat that's heartily mixed in with rice and slivers of scrambled egg. There are different kinds of budbod available. There's Shanghai (lumpia or egg roll as it's called by Americans), Pork, Beef, and Mixed, Of course, where there's budbod, there's also likely the silog dishes which are essentially fried rice (sinangag) with ulam, which is the meat you eat with the rice, like fried beef, pork, longanisa, chicken, bangus, hotdog... all served with fried egg, tomatos and your choice of either vinegar (suka) or fish sauce (patis). It's like breakfast at any hour of the day! there's also the popular breaded pork chop that is crunchy on the outside and juicy in the inside. Most of what's in the menu would complement a bottle of cold beer, as the locals would prefer it. But just as the restaurant is simple, so are what's in the menu, but it's all good. Kinamat Resto Bar is located along 1342 Col. Guido St. near the Manila East Rd. Tricycle and jeepney drivers can tell you where it is.

Kinamat Resto Bar's Beef Budbod.

Kinamat Resto Bar's Menu. Click to read.

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Balaw Balaw Exotic Food Restaurant Art Gallery in Angono, Rizal

The Balaw Balaw restaurant welcome sign

Welcome to Balaw Balaw

Balaw Balaw is a native specialty restaurant in Angono, Rizal in the Philippines that doubles as an art gallery. Established by local artist and crafstman, Perdigon Vocalan and his wife, Luzvimin in 1982, Balaw Balaw became known for its menu which includes adobo crickets and timber grubs. If you're a tourist looking to experience a new and challenging culinary adventure in the Philippines, then this is the place to go to. You can find Balaw Balaw restaurant along the Manila East Road near the corner of Doña Aurora Street in Doña Justa Village in Angono, 

Looking down from the 2nd floor

There are plenty of the surprises inside the Balaw Balaw restaurant. There are several floors and rooms that are open to guests where they'll find all sorts of wood and paper sculptures and also paintings depicting local culture. The house itself is a wonder to behold with it's winding staircases and local antique charm. You can start your exploration in the dining area where there are already plenty of installation art and sculptures from local festivals on display. The ground floor is bisected by an artificial creek that's obviously been sitting there untended for a very long time. You'll find a little bridge of rocks that you can cross to get to the other side where the art gallery actually begins. The sculptures there appear old and untouched so don't be surprised to find huge cobwebs and a spider or two staring back at you. But it's all part of the thrill of the old house. 

The Balaw Balaw dining area

A roomful of paintings

There are lots of very old things to discover inside Balaw Balaw restaurant and if you go visit when few people are around, like two in the afternoon, it can feel like you're exploring an abandoned house. You might get an eerie feeling when looking at the many sculptures with faces and religious iconography, and at times you might feel like you're being watched from a dark corner. A section of the house is actually occupied and the rooms are connected by obscured passages, so you might get startled when someone suddenly appears when it seems you are alone in a room. Just hide your surprise by pretending to admire your surroundings or by asking if the piece of art you're looking at is for sale.

Head up to Balaw Balaw restaurant

A partly hidden room

At the roof deck, there's a quaint garden of potted plants and a shed where paper mâché masks used in the local Higantes (Giants) festival held in November are displayed. Be careful going in there because there's likely a guard dog in a corner of the room (another one of the little surprises of Balaw Balaw). It's actually where the art workshops are held. 

So, if you love adventure when it comes to eating exotic food and exploring old art houses, why not get a taste of Balaw Balaw restaurant? It might not be the kind of place for a first date, but if you are into art, antiques, strange food, eerie things and a meditative state, this is highly recommended. Go to Balaw Balaw for the experience. The memories will stay with your for a long time and enough for you to take a few friends or tourists along so that they can also experience it with you as their guide. 

What does balaw balaw mean? The term refers to a local delicacy in Rizal made from fermented shrimp paste and rice. 

The grand room of driftwood sculptures

Join the Last Supper of Balaw Balaw Restaurant

The wooden spiral staircase of the Balaw Balaw house

The art workshop

Balaw Balaw Restaurant house facade

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The Mighty Ton Giant Hamburger at The Porch

Giant Hamburger of The Porch.

If you like hamburgers, a normal-size bun might not be enough for you to feel full. So this giant hamburger called The Mighty Ton from The Porch long Anonas Street Extension in Quezon City may just be what you need to be satisfied. Of course, if you're ordering for yourself, you'll likely only finish just an eighth of this monster, so be prepared beforehand to be intimidated by the sight of this hamburger and it's weight! It's called The Mighty Ton for a good reason.

Dig into this giant burger!

Apart from its huge size, it's not your usual hamburger because it does not use a typical patty. Instead of a hefty patty in the middle of those bun slices, you get beef flakes which remind you of tapas. If you choose to take on this burger, make sure you have at least 5 to 10 other people along with you. Otherwise you will have no choice but to ask for a takeout bag when you realize you just can't finish it. As a party burger, it's perfect for some fun eating with friends and family, especially with a hefty dose of French fries! The Porch is a restaurant by Casa Verde.

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The First Maid Cafe in the Philippines

This is Meidolls, the first maid cafe in the Philippines where the waitresses are dressed in cute maid costumes worthy of an anime cosplaying party. Meidolls is at the second floor of the building just across the Rublou shopping plaza near the Brookside jeepney stop in Cainta, Rizal (UPDATE: In 2012, the restaurant had moved). You can see the interior of the restaurant from the outside of the building through a long glass wall fronting the road. The management of the cafe had relocated to this front unit from a smaller one on the same floor that's hidden from view.

The interior of the Meidolls maid cafe is quaint with a television in the corner where a maid or two usually sings or dances. The large counter in one corner is where all the food is prepared and served from for ease of service. The restaurant has just enough room for maybe two or three groups of people and a few pairs along the side. The tables and chairs have short, or no legs at all, to simulate an authentic Japanese dining experience. Once you open the door, the "maids" inside greet you in traditional Japanese fashion and attend to you almost immediately; at least, as long as they're not busy attending to other guests.

The maid servers call all diners "master" and they are summoned with the ring of a counter bell on each dining table. Just tap the bell and they come to fulfill your dining needs. They can even perform a little song for you (see images), if the timing is right. It's all about fun dining and you can even play an eating game - with a corresponding order of course! Meals are easy to eat and fun to look at. The colorful menu says it all. If you want to, you can even have your meals prepared to go. But then if you do that, you miss all the fun.

UPDATE: In 2012, the Meidolls maid cafe restaurant closed down.

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This is a Queens Blade Airi Black Maid Costume Statue just for you maid-loving anime figurine collectors. It's impeccably detailed and you know at a glance that she's a maid. The question is if she's out to serve or out to serve your head on a plate! Click here or on the image to order this fine anime maid statue with a huge scythe for your collection!

Kamayan sa Palaisdaan Restaurant - A Treat by the Road

In Tayabas, Quezon, in the Philippines, there is a restaurant by the roadside called Kamayan sa Palaisdaan (Hand eating at the Fish Ponds). It is a popular treat to many motorists travelling to and from Lucban where the Kamay ni Hesus Healing Center by Father Faller is located. The restaurant serves traditional Filipino food and it's specialty, which practically everyone orders, is crispy fried lechon sa kawali. Other dishes are also a must to order if you are in the mood for a truly Filipino dining experience.

It's open day and night and in the morning, guests are treated to its quaint interior with tables fashioned from antique sewing machines (top). There are also sculptures around the dining area that will surely get diners' attention. Near the entrance is a peeing boy fountain statue (left) that will surely make you smile with amusement with its funny expression. There's also a wooden crocodile hidden underneath some shrubs; there's also a happy buddha staue in a corner of the stage. Of course, there are the floating restaurant tables (above) on water teeming with fish.In the evenings, restaurant guests can enjoy the performances of live bands.

From the parking lot, the dining area is accessible from stairs or a ramp for the eldery. A wheelchair is available for those in need, although convenient, the chair still has to go through a gravelly area to get to the ramp, and it can be quite a challenge pushing the wheelchair.

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Biggs Restaurants in Bicol Feature Collectible Wall Exhibits

If you're looking for a fastfood chain in Bicol, then you won't miss Biggs. Biggs is just one of the most prominent restaurants/diners in Bicol where you can get the usual diner meals like chicken and rice, spaghetti, burgers, and delicious pastries. Bigss is everywhere in Bicol with branches from north to south. Eating at Biggs is an interesting experience because of it's quaint mid-20th-century-inspired interiors with antique collectibles displayed on the walls.

The branches provide a different experience for diners with the different pieces on display. A branch can be like a museum of modern artifacts. Shown below displayed on a second floor of a diner are miniature motorcyles. These can be found in the branch in Legaspi city near the airport. The signs on the walls (top; above-left) are also interesting to look at and are reminiscent of rock and roll designs from the nineteen fifties. The diner appears designed to cater to a young and hip crowd, but it's also popular to the oldies - maybe it reminds them of the old days.

 

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C2 Restaurant's Traditional Filipino Cuisine

There's a restaurant at the SM Megamall called C2 that serves traditional Filipino cuisine. C2 means Classic Cuisine, so don't confuse it with the iced tea product. Anyway, eating here can be a treat with the friendly waiters and colorful seventies-inspired light fixtures (left). The restaurant is all about Filipino food, and they serve their own jazzed up versions of classic dishes like the Philippine chicken adobo (shown below with the crispy tilapia) and hubad na lumpia (top).

If you eat here, you may be pleasantly surprised at how old-time favorite dishes can give a different experience to the Filipino palate with added ingredients in the preparation and presentation. If you're already familiar with the usual taste of traditional Philippine food, you will find the versions served at the C2 a delight, tickling you with new twists to old tastes. Even familiar drinks offer new tastes for your buds. If you're lucky, you may run into a friendly waiter who knows a lot of trivia on food and history.

The C2 restaurant mentioned here is found at the Atrium section of the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong. It's menu specialties are Ensaladang Prutas at Lato, Guinataang Puso ng Saging, Crispy Squid, Cirspy Tilapia, Prawns in Aligue Sauce, Boneless Crispy Pata, Pork Humba, Tinolang Binakol and Tokwa't Baboy.

UPDATE: This C2 branch at Megamall has closed.

 

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