Razon's
26th Street Corner C5 Bonifacio Global City , Taguig, Philippines
About
TRazon'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, at 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). Make sure you're ready with your hypertension medication! 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 branch 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 served with a side condiment of alamang or shrimp paste) uses real peanuts, and tastes genuinely home-made. The kaldereta,(tomato sauce-based beef stew), 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 (crispy fried pork intestines) meal was a real steal, a mound of chicharon about the size of my cupped hand, with rice for just PhP90! Crisp and tasty, to boot! Overall, Razon's meals are very light on the pocket and unexpectedly good, given the price points. In the first week of August 2010, when I last visited the Caltex branch in 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 standard formica-topped tables, melaware plates and bowls, and quick service. You don't go to Razon's for the ambiance, though, you go for the taste!
