22 September 2005

Street balls and pares

It was already past 7 when I was still in the office, and my stomach was growling impatiently. I asked some of my colleagues if they wanted to eat something before returning to work. A couple said sure, and they suggested the pares stall at Makati Avenue.

Now, I am known to be somebody who does not eat in street stalls. I don’t know who spread that rumor, but I do eat street food too. Especially squid balls. Well, okay, the pares thing is relatively new to me.

So off we went to Makati Av. Wow, there are two vendors side-by-side selling the same type of food but they both have more than their fair share of customers. People in shirts and shorts, others in office attire, some in police and parcel service uniform... quite a good mix. This must be a popular food stop at night; they’re nonexistent here at daytime. There were no ladies around, though, unlike with squid ball stalls.

The stall had two large caldero (cauldrons?) at the center. One had brown-colored rice in it, and the other had a brownish soupy thing. We ordered pares, and we were promptly given two bowls: one with rice, the other with this soupy mixture. The taste is not that bad, I guess, especially since we were all able to consume two orders of rice each. Perfect with soda.

The last time I ate at the streets was in a lugawan (I ordered arroz caldo, which is rice broth with chicken in it) and and I was sitting comfortably then. This time, you eat standing. Talk about faster than fastfood.

Speaking of street food, here are a couple of photos:
These are chicken balls. We were supposed to order squid balls, but they ran out of stock.

And this, my friends, is the new thing in balut (boiled, fertilized duck egg). This is not being served in the streets, however. This version is being sold in the restaurant row of the 6th floor of The Pacific Star Building at Makati Avenue.

The balut less the shell is dipped in an orange batter and is deep fried. Same goes for quail eggs (the small ones which you see here). I also eat balut but not 100% of it. I do not like the partially-developed duck at all. So when I see that portion, I give it to my balut-eating companion.

Which was the same case here. We used a fork to poke at the balut and get certain portions which we dip in vinegar. But when what remained was the baby duck, I gave it to my friend, who willingly gobbled it up but not before giving me a curious stare. But I don't like that part, so why eat it? Dare me with a minimum of 1,000 pesos and I just might try. :-)

This is nice if you have a craving for balut but you do not have the luxury of time to crack open the egg and mess with the juice.

19 comments:

  1. ako ay nagbasa at naglaway. When I was in Makati, popular sa amin ang jolli jeep. Nakatikim na rin yata ako nyang pares.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hate u for posting that! wala rito nyan!!!! sarap grabe!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tanggers, onli in da Pilipins ba?

    Penovate, para naman lab mo ulit blog na ito, i-link kita ha? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous9:45 pm

    hi nick! i think eating balut the old-fashioned way is still the best and the most challenging of all, and more important, u don't have to worry about acquiring hepa A (from the batter they use, that is) *lolz!*
    yummy! pahingi!

    ReplyDelete
  5. i don't know what's the difference between the "Pares" of Makati Ave and Banawe, QC. but I absolutely like what I ate in the QC. Yummy huh!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Street stall eating can be very interesting at times. Sometimes you can find the best foods there.

    Never could bring myself to eat balut but I think I would be more tempted eating the fried version. I would still rather let it hatch and develop into a mature duck before consumption.

    ReplyDelete
  7. nakakagutom naman dumaan dito. beer en balut, a perfect combination! nag-iwan po ba ng beer si Tanggy? mas gusto ko ang penoy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. sige ser wats, mang-inggit ka pa hehehe...

    pero sa totoo lang miss ko na lalo ung balut at kwek-kwek

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fried balut? Eh di wala ka nang mahigop na sabaw. Yun pa naman ang masarap. Hindi rin ako kumakain ng sisiw. Ipinapasa ko rin sa iba.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello en! Totoo yun, still the basic balut is the way to go.

    Hi Amie! Biira ako pumunta sa QC, so I'll never know...

    Hello Mr. Abbey! Well, with the fried version, you can still see the chick inside ... which I didn't like

    Hello Bakya! Yun nga eh, di nag-iwan ng beer si Tanggers...

    Kek-kwek! Jeff, talagang na-curious ako kung ano yung orange thingy na kinakain sa streets... now I know.

    Hehehe. Thanks niceheart. At least alam ko nang di peculiar sa akin yung ayaw ng sisiw. Pero paano kapag magkasama tayong kumakain ng balut? Walang kakain ng sisiw. Iiwan natin sa mesa, mga basang sisiw...

    ReplyDelete
  11. yan ang gusto ko dito e, puro pagkain. brings back the memories back home.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous6:36 pm

    miss the jolli-jeeps yeah, first encountered them when i worked at the pacific star for a couple of months, good food good price, hindi pa lalaki tyan mo kasi derecho sa paa ang pagkain (nakatayo ka kasi kakain eh). if you're feeling extra adventurous there's a small place up in dona carmen, just off burgos after it crosses kalayaan, dun sa may foxy's. very good silog hot any time of the day :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. in paranaque, the best pares in town can be found at tita ghem's pares house (dona soledad ave, better living, bicutan). it found its way into the news a few years back because this was where john campos (tama ba name? yung boypren ni rosebud) was shot. he was eating pares with his back turned to the road, a victim of a drive-by shooting.

    ReplyDelete
  14. wow pares kakakain ko lang din niyan last sunday with my frends before we went to bambang. yung quail eggs.. we call it kwek-kwek ... hehehe tsalap tsalap .. lalo na pag sinawsaw mo sa maanghang ng suka

    ReplyDelete
  15. Owen, nahahalata na yata na wala akong inatupag kundi kumain. Di naman ito food blog, puro kwento lang tungkol sa food :-)

    Uy Bambit! Thanks for the tip!

    Tama ba yun, meowok? Nakilala yung store, kaya lang notorious? hehehe

    Airwind! Galing ka ulit ng Bambang? Di mo pa binibigay directions!

    ReplyDelete
  16. well, di lang naman dahil sa notoriety. it really does serve the best pares in town. to die for (literally). ehehehe... bad joke ata

    ReplyDelete
  17. nope!! wala nang time punta bambang ... nabigay ko na direction ah.. ride the lrt .. youll see bambang station . then from there you can ask all the pedicab drivers kong saan yun palengke... :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous8:09 pm

    If your in Cebu, try Pungko-pungko.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...