Saturday, July 26, 2014

H. Home Food Finds


Today was like any other Friday, busy, tiresome but a good day to either celebrate or end the week.  For us it was just those kind of awesome gastronomic finds that are spontaneous and unforetold.  

It's one of those days when I don't need to prepare dinner or even care what the kids would want for dinner.  Kuya is off to spend the night at his friends house, Ate was on her way home and the two girls were at their Tita Len's, enjoying hot noodles and bonding with the cuz over loom band creations. While us, husband and the foodie wifey headed off somewhere far where there is no traffic, no rowdy crowds spending their week-long income for some drinking sesh and no waiting for hours for our food to be served.

Nope, we did't go to Tagaytay, hell, not even Antipolo (traffic din kaya sa Julia Vargas going to Cainta).
Actually, I have two restos in mind, Silantro or El Chupacabra.  We wanted a heavy dinner but we can't afford to spend much, since I have plans on spending a bit a a newly opened organic thingy in BGC.

We went to Dona Soledad Avenue, Paranaque.  There, we didn't know any food joint that we might like.
It's the road where SM Bicutan is and I only knew one establishment on that area- Luxe Aura Nail Spa.  We just drove along the road searching for a nice place to eat, we were famished for it was passed 9 pm.  On the first bend of the road on the right side is a quaint and bright eatery, which was semi full.  But we passed by it and went on looking forward.

We almost reached the end of the road when we saw a newly opened restaurant but they decided to close up shop early, boo, we didn't make it, and I'm uber hungry.  Along the way we found cool bakeshops and tea shops but that wasn't what we were after, do we?  I would to check them out and blog about them.

We don't have a choice but to turn back and search again, though I insisted to go this place I initially saw.  I always look for a place being filled up with customers, it means their food is good.

H. Home Food Finds was where we had landed.  Upon entering, we noticed that the only seats available was the long table at the glass window facing the street.  We didn't mind for again, I was uber hungry.





After quickly scanning their simple menu, I had the time to look all over the meager and narrow-spaced diner.  

Look how quirky the place is, it didn't showcase any design concept, the owners have just hanged all their collections all over the place.  From mugs, toys down to signs and many more.  We're guessing the owners didn't think much of how the place would look like, I'm not sure if the OC-kind of people would stay long.  
Then again, we didn't mind, we were hungry.


Not long, our orders came, though we saw only two staff working about, and the place is highly romanticized with the aroma coming from the dishes that were being cooked in their kitchen.  It is the place I would want to be intoxicated with (with the aroma that is).

My order, Peking Chicken over Rice (P 175) came first, and I'm one happy camper.   I can't begin to describe how delicious the meat were spiced up and flavored.  What sets it apart from all the other Chinese-styled chicken I tasted was its Pecking sauce.  They do have Peking duck as well.  With that said, you also have the option to have it over noodles instead of rice.  

The "Peking Sauce" also known as tián miàn jiàng (sweet wheat sauce), according to my research can be a combination of the following: soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, cornstarch, Shaoxing wine (or dry Sherry), and a bit of sesame oil.  


Bhogs had another of their best-seller, the Crispy Duck over rice (P 278).  He actually have ordered it over a hot noodle soup but they ran out of noodles.  He kept on telling me he loved it's tender and juicy duck meat.  We rarely eat duck for financial reasons of course, and also for some culinary reasons as well, knowing hoe hard it is to cook with that meat.  The sauce clinging to the duck meat was tangy and slightly sweet yet still was different, not the sweet-sour sauce we would  usually have.  I can taste a hint of fruity notes on the sauce as well. 


We concluded dinner with an order of their house-made buchi.

I love that everything were freshly cooked and prepared with plating and presentation to match those in high-end Chinese restos in the mall.  It's like a piece of Hongkong or Binondo in Paranaque.

I love discovering diners like this, unpretentious, simple menu with home-cooked dishes on a homey ambiance, lastly away from the hurly-burly night life in the metro.  Will be coming back for the noodles and the Jelly fish salad.








14 comments:

  1. I would love to try that Crispy Duck dish. Your photo alone is enough to convince me that it's a must-try!

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  2. Hey I always pass by Dona Soledad when visiting my sister but I didn't know this beautiful place existed until today. Will definitely check it out next time. :)

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  3. The crispy duck looks tasty and the other dishes look equally good to eat. Great find!

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  4. Regular akong nakakain ng lutong itik sa Victoria Laguna.. That Crispy duck is something I would love to try. Para maiba naman.

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  5. where is this place? I want to try their dishes too :)

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  6. now, you made my stomach cranking! let me taste all of that, haha.

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  7. The most unseemly stores often turn out to be an interesting experience for people! H. Home Food Finds is definitely a great example of this circumstance :)

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  8. Isn't it a bit expensive especially that it has small servings? But I would love to try their Peking Duck. I might think twice about my first question. :D

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  9. The place look cluttered by I guess that's the charm of the place. Their food looks great too.

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  10. The crispy duck seems yummy and good.Well, maybe that's the way to decorate according to the owner's tastes.

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  11. Is this along Dona Soledad? Our place is near that main road and would love to try this when I return to visit in October! Since I used to live in Paranaque, I often just hang out in my neighborhood and only go to Makati or elsewhere for business. Traffic is the main reason why I stay close to home at the same time, I get to support my local businesses.

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  12. With all the things hangin arround, it would feel homey..
    So I think that's ambient concept this place has..
    WOuld love to try dining here

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  13. The peking duck looks yummy. How about the food price, is it worth the serving and the taste?

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