street food – Jellybeans in the City

3 ways Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ in Marikina is perfect for your family holiday gathering

It’s been a year and a half into the global pandemic, and we are just now feeling some loosening of the many restrictions.

With the Metro Manila recently de-escalated to Alert Level 2, kids are now allowed out of doors, emerging from more than a year of being stuck at home.

With Christmas just around the corner, extended families are surely looking forward to the time they can all gather together and catch up.

I know just the perfect venue for such gatherings: Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ in Marikina.

Let me tell you why:

1. Going there is like being welcomed into a family home.

Mang Ding’s is located in a quiet neighborhood in Barangay Sto. Nino, Marikina.

Restaurant owner Dindo Cleofas inherited his father’s (the original Mang Ding) love of grilling and wanted a restaurant where he can continue his father’s legacy as well as have a place where he can relax and chill with friends. Together with his wife, Dotie, he converted their home’s garden area into an outdoor dining space where he can serve customers his specialities, hot and fresh from the grill.

The space is shielded from the elements by a roofed pergola and surrounded by lush greenery, most of which were planted and nurtured by their family.

This open-air dining area is well-ventilated, equipped with fans to keep the air circulating and the surrounding plants adding refreshing color and coolness to space.

Walking into Mang Ding’s feels like visiting your favorite tita’s house; it’s a place where you feel right at home.

2. It can serve as your kids’ introduction to Pinoy comfort and street food.

A few months ago, I brought my parents here for dinner and upon seeing and tasting the familiar Filipino comfort food served to us, both my mom and dad waxed nostalgic about the dishes they grew up with. They regaled my daughter with stories about their foodie adventures back in the day.

If your kiddos are the “just fry me a hotdog, Mommy” type, it may be high time to introduce them to the simple yet sublime joys of good, down-home Pinoy cooking. You can be sure that lolos, lolas, titos and titas will waste no time in telling stories about their own experiences with Pinoy comfort food during your family party, and will help instill among the little ones healthy respect and appreciation for our culinary heritage.

You can count on Mang Ding’s to bring to the table an array of MALINIS, MASARAP at MURA dishes such as:

Ensaladang Talong (Php75).

Sizzling Tokwa Special (Php160).

Quarter Leg Chicken BBQ (Php150).

Boneless Chicken BBQ (Php180).

Isaw Manok (Php20).

BBQ Platter (Php575).

Boneless Bangus Overload (Php265).

Pompano (Php380).

Grilled Pusit (Php425).

Tuna Panga (Php485).

And if the children still want the hotdogs, longganisas and fried chicken that they’re familiar with, you can still accommodate their requests here, and even give them a sweet treat for dessert.

Grilled TJ Jumbo Hotdog (Php50).

Grilled Longganisa (Php55).

McJolly Pakpak (Php225 half kilo | Php400 kilo).

Belgian Chocolate (Php150 slice).

Since good food help spark great conversations and great moments, your fam is in for a memorable experience when you hold your get-together at Mang Ding’s.

3. You can enjoy its tasty dishes at home.

The fun doesn’t have to stop after the get-together. You can bring home the yummy Pinoy BBQ at home with you, thanks to this handy box. For just Php599, you get fifteen sticks of Mang Ding’s signature barbecue and isaw served with grilled corn as well as calamansi and siling labuyo for the dipping sauce.

On the other hand, if your family opted for a virtual reunion, you can still partake of the same meal during your Zoom party by sending them Mang Ding’s Ready-to-Grill Pinoy BBQ packs (basting and dipping sauce included) that they can cook at home in a jiffy.

These include, among others:

Liempo (Php360/500g).

Pork BBQ (Php600/20pcs) and Isaw Manok (Php460/20pcs).

Chicharon Bulaklak (Php325/500g).

So whether your clan decides to have a physical get-together or a virtual party over the holiday season and beyond, Mang Ding’s is surely your best bet!

Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ is located at Block 3, Lot 13 C Buenviaje Street, Barangay Santo Nino, Marikina City, open for dine-in, pickup and delivery on Mondays to Thursdays from 11am to 9pm and Fridays to Sundays for 11am to 10.30pm.

Reserve the venue now for your clan gathering or book a table for lunch, dinner or drinks by calling +63 916 2853031.

Disclosure: Together with fellow bloggers, I attended a food tasting held at this restaurant. Food items served were not paid for by the attendees.

Classic Pinoy streetfood at Casa Calle, SM Megamall

Do you remember your first taste of streetfood?

The varied shapes, colors and textures, the interplay of sweet, salty, sour and spicy, plus a hint of the forbidden (because didn’t our moms warn us to keep away from these back then?) and that feeling of comfort when you bite into them, these are part and parcel of our early street food experience.

While those good sensations associated with street food remain to this day, that feeling of prohibition hardly applies now, especially when street food is elevated to the level that Casa Calle brings them to.

This stall located at Eatogether Food Hall in SM Megamall serves up, not just Pinoy comfort food faves, but also welcome tweaks on our favorite street food, such as:

Inihaw Platter (Php380). Various meat and sundry parts marinated in barbecue sauce and charcoal grilled to smoky perfection such as two sticks each of Pork BBQ, Isaw Manok (chicken intestine), Bulaklak (ruffled pork fat), Tenga (pork ear) and Betamax (coagulated pig’s blood). This promo bundle is available only during Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Lugaw Special (Php95 for small | Php115 for large). Savory rice porridge with bits of meat and tripe, a hard-boiled egg and garnished with toasted garlic and choppef green onions.

Tokwa’t Baboy (Php90). Crispy bits of pork belly tossed with fried tofu and chopped chilis and onions in a vinaigrette made with vinegar and soy sauce.

Tokneneng (Php35). Hard-boiled duck egg covered in orange batter, best enjoyed when dipped in spiced vinegar.

Sizzling Beef Pares (Php188). Cubed beef brisket sauteed and stewed with garlic, onion and ginger, and seasoned with star anise. This viand is paired with garlic fried rice (hence the name “pares”) and served on a sizzling plate.

Turones ala Mode (Php155). Banana and langka slices encased in lumpia wrapper, them deep-fried, and served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnished with sesame seeds and chocolate sauce.

Get ready to rediscover your love of Pinoy street food here.

This Casa Calle branch is located at Eatogether Food Hall, Second Floor, SM Megamall Building A, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City.

Another branch is set to have its grand opening soon at 163 Aguirre Street, BF Homes, Paranaque City.

Disclosure: I attended a food-tasting here together with fellow foodies. All food items mentioned here were served for us to sample the fare and elicit our honest feedback.

Check out my posts on other stalls at Eatogether Food Hall:

Pinoy street food for #TeamBahay from Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ

Momshies, do you sometimes wish that you could enjoy your guilty pleasures – like Pinoy street food – in full view of your kids?

Well, no need to hide your street food fix from your kids. In fact, you can take this opportunity to introduce them to Pinoy street food.

It’s all thanks to Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ and its frozen ready-to-grill Malinis, Masarap at Mura street food.

Mang Ding’s is where I had my first (and only!) taste of isaw. There, during a foodie meetup with fellow food bloggers, I had a whole lot of fun rediscovering tasty Pinoy street food, all freshly cooked at Mang Ding’s Instagrammable al fresco restaurant.

When Marikina was placed under quarantine and restrictions were placed on mobility and dining out, Mang Ding’s started offering its fare in frozen and ready-to-grill packs.

Each pack is frozen and vacuum-sealed, its contents seasoned and marinated with Mang Ding’s signature sauce.

Tonight, I flexed my indoor grilling muscles, got out my grilling pan and got to grilling.

And wouldn’t you believe it: it was actually quite easy!

First, I thawed out the frozen pack containing the pork barbecue and isaw. Then, I added six tablespoons of cooking oil to the basting sauce provided. I then brushed both sides of the meats while they were grilling until they’re done.

From the satisfying sizzle you hear as they grill, to the appetizing smell of barbecue wafting throughout the kitchen that had my eldest #ExhibitA blurt out “Ang bango, Ma!“, to the beautiful spread these make on my dining table, and to the my fam’s joy as we bite into the tender sweet-savory pork barbecue, isaw manok and isaw baboy, my fam’s Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ dinner is a feast for the senses.

So have one yourself. Treat your #TeamBahay to a lovely street food meal, right at home.

These ready-to-grill frozen packs are priced at:

Pork Barbecue: Php400/20 sticks
Isaw Manok: Php360/20 sticks
Isaw Baboy: Php450/20 sticks
Chicken Tail: Php550/20 pcs
Chicken Barbecue: Php390/3 pcs quarter leg (1 kilo)
Chicharon Bulaklak: Php280 (500 grams)
Liempo: Php270 (500 grams)
Rib Eye Steak: Php500/2 pcs (380 to 400 grams)

Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ branches are located at:

Shoe Avenue, Barangay Elena, Marikina City (store hours: daily from 11am to 6pm | Tel: +63 906 3977559)

Block 3, Lot 13 C Buenviaje Street, Barangay Santo Nino, Marikina City (store hours: daily from 11am to 6pm | Tel: +63 916 2853031)

Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ is open for dine-in, takeout, pickup and delivery via GrabFood. Safe cashless payments via BPI, BDO and GCash are also available.

Note: If you’re getting a frozen pack, place your order a day before. Mang Ding’s vacuum-packs on demand to ensure freshness.

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to facilitate an honest review.

Check out my reviews of other Filipino restaurants:

Savouring Asian street food at Hawker Street, Savour Manila

I took an opportunity to take my daughter on an impromptu foodie adventure (and on a weekday at that!) at Savour Manila.

My daughter recently started her internship/work immersion in a company in Quezon City. Since it is a short distance from my office, I usually drop her off and pick her up from her workplace.

On this particular afternoon, we found ourselves with a couple of hours to while away and we decided to meet up at my office then go out to eat.

She was all set for some Japanese food but as we were walking along Tomas Morato, the Savour Manila food park caught our eye.

For our first time here, we decided on Hawker Street, the stall that offers Asian street food. We shared a bowl of laksa (Php200), my daughter’s first encounter with this Peranakan soup dish, and two sticks of bacon yakitori wraps (Php100).

We requested for the laksa to be mildly spicy, given that we both have low tolerance for spicy food. While the broth has a nice balance spiciness from the curry and creaminess from the coconut milk, the noodles used are pasta noodles instead of the more authentic vermicelli or laksa noodles.

The bacon wrapped asparagus spears and enoki mushrooms served as our meaty viand. We really couldn’t say anything much about the bacon wraps except that bacon makes everything better.

We even shared a giant glass of iced tea from the store two stalls down.