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Razon's
Taguig City, PhilippinesAbout
Razon's originated in Guagua, Pampanga, and many contend that the Razon's branches in Metro Manila don't serve quite the same quality of food as those in Pampanga. So, if you have the chance to visit a Pampanga branch, do so! Still, in the Manila branches, I'm a fan of the famous top-selling halo-halo (a shaved ice and sweetened fruit dessert) and pancit luglog (rice noodles with a native sauce, eggs, shrimp, and ground pork crackling). I'm also partial to their sizzling bulalo (pork shank with tender, falling-off-the-bone meat and sinfully-rich cholesterol-laden bone marrow in gravy served on a sizzling plate). If you get the chance to visit their branch along the North Luzon Expressway or NLEX (it's one of the food outlet options at the Caltex station on the way BACK to Manila coming from the Northern provinces), try out the three most outstanding rice meals offered: the kare-kare, kaldereta, and chicharon bulaklak meals. I think the Caltex branch is the only one that currently offers these food options, perhaps to make up for the fact that the bulalo is not available. But no matter, the kare-kare (beef in peanut and annato sauce with a side condiment of alamang or shrimp paste) uses real peanuts, and tastes genuinely home-made. The kaldereta, while seemingly missing some of the traditional ingredients, still surpasses expectations in terms of taste--and take note, being a foodie myself, I'm not easily given to superlatives for turo-turo (loosely translated as "point ,point" because you just point at the food you'd like)-type joints. The chicharon bulaklak meal was a real steal for the price, a mound of chicharon about the size of my cupped hand, with rice for just PhP90! Crisp and tasty, to boot! I last visited the Caltex station branch during the first week of August 2010 with my sister and sister-in-law, and the three of us spent less than PhP100 ($2.00) each on our rice meals, drinks not included. I would classify a Razon's outlet as more of a dinette than a restaurant, with the expected formica tabletops and melaware plates and bowls. You don't go to Razon's for the ambiance, though, you go for the taste!
