EATsploring in A Time of COVID…through FoodPanda

Arr! Ahoy, me foodie hearties!

How have you been since Mother Nature sent us all to our rooms to think about what we’ve done? =b I hope you’re coping well despite the worldwide house arrest.

Chicken Zorbian, falafel pie, and beef & chicken moussaka from SAJJ Shawarma

For me, quarantine’s mostly ‘same old shit, different day’ as Morgan Freeman a.k.a. Red in Shawshank Redemption said. (Boy, am I glad I mastered Winnie the Pooh’s Art of Doing Nothing the previous years while I was in mourning. Also, I’m major psyched we switched internet providers, to Converge a week before quarantine was implemented in the city. HD binge watching galore with Converge! *wink See, see!)

While I was … and still am … ready to buckle down if nobody can really go out, I’m extremely relieved that in what is this generation’s War, we’re only asked to ‘stay at home’ just so we can beat this coronavirus once and for all, and delivery services are still up and running to help us get through, meeting our needs … and even our wants. (OMG, I’ve been sooo antsy to go sightseeing at the grocery since midApril … but if they say we still can’t, I’ll live. WindowS shopping at FB Marketplace is a pastime in the meantime. *hihi)

Monster overload, Kani burger, and classic burger from Miwishayu

Community quarantine went quietly in the first week. And then it hit me … CRAVINGS for Indian/Pakistani or anything along the lines of biryani was back again. Enter FoodPanda, and SAJJ … one of our go tos for Middle Eastern cuisine. “Where temptation never ends.” *heehaha

(As if it’s Pringles-Once you pop, you can’t stop; it’s order in once, you’re sure to order in again. =D) It wasn’t long until my tastebuds were looking for burgers, and for this particular craving, it was a tag team between Food Panda delivery service and Miwishayu. Always winners with SAJJ Shawarma and Miwishayu A Good Burger.

With a number of restos on the food delivery platform’s listing, it dawned on me that my foodie lovies and I could still go on a food quest even while being an inmate in our own home. \m/

Botejyu Authentic Japanese Traditional Cuisine

You could say lunch today was a fancy one. Today, X+1 also learned the difference between tonkOtsu and tonkAtsu. I intended to go for one of the ramen selections this Japanese resto had and asked Race if he knew what a tonkotsu broth is again. (I always go for miso, you see.) He said, isn’t that the fried pork? Slow to pick up, I couldn’t imagine the base for the soup of this ramen is fried pork. #Huh?

Grilled char siu pork and cheese omusoba, kobe warabimochi, wakame salad, pork belly okosoba, and tender pork tonkatsu cutlet curry rice (“,)

Low and behold, on Uncle Google, I found “broth is made from boiling pork bones in water for several hours.” That’s tonKOTsu to you, to Race, and me. While adding dishes to my cart, Race and I joked about the ‘learning French video’ that’s been going around online, “Vert” … and mistakenly ordered tonKATsu. So much for ramen today. Le sigh. ❤ for the omusoba and the seaweed salad. (I always liked the textures of that since I tasted that at Yasuragi.) My gosh, the tasty okosoba. (Here we go again with one/two letter changes in words. =) )

(Best rider award also goes to our Botejyu delivery guy. He read the note I always leave on my orders, that’s detailed directions to our looban house. ^^, He also utilized the chat box/rider contact on the FP page to inform me he’s already at our designated meeting point … READ: He didn’t call me as much which I greatly appreciate. Gives me the major hibbie jibbies talking on the phone. I don’t care if it’s friends or fam; text, do not call. So THANK YOU SO MUCH, dear rider! Happy riding and stay safe. I hope you’re our ‘designated deliverer’ for future orders. *tahaha )

Calda Pizza

Calzone and etna pizza =D

Calda has the thinnest crust pizza I’ve ever come across. It’s like the Armenian comfort food, lahmajun. Calzone, pizza folded onto itself, my brother liked most. To Race, the pizza would’ve been perfect had it been toasted some more so it’s crunchy but otherwise, a-okay. I concur about the crispy crunchy slice but this one’s fine. As a side note: Ang sarap pala ng UFC hot sauce! =))

Hill’s Diner

Mango shake, milk shake, beef salpicao, bulalo =]

Great shakes … so refreshingly cooling, I drank one so fast, it shocked my tummy into churning. Race thought the salpicao was all right though the meat pieces on that, a bit tough. They have a good bulalo, that I would’ve loved more if it had more soup … and probably some marrow in it, too. *hee

Food’s on the way and we’re tracking it like a hawk on the built in map thingy. *hihi

Lechon House

Sadly, they don’t have lechon as it is. They’re more like a lechon kawali house really. Pretty good dinakdakan, with their sauce reminiscent of garlic shawarma sauce. It got even better when I drizzled some calamansi juice on it. =) Lechon paksiw was a tad too kawali style and dry for me but no biggie.

Crispy dinakdakan and lechon paksiw =]

Trinitea Tahoo Buddy

Just when I was thinking it’s so bad to get taho cravings in the ECQ because it would be challenging to satisfy, Trinitea Tahoo Buddy partnered with Food Panda. (I already saw them in the Marketplace at Facebook previously.) What’s more, they’ve different flavors for their taho. The original flavored one is still my number one. (“,) But just in case you want to mix things up with this soft tofu treat, voila, five other flavors. You’ll even get it warm, as taho is supposed to be, yey!

Buko pandan taho, Original taho, strawbery taho, ube taho, leche flan taho, chocolate taho ^^,

We’re almost at the home stretch of quarantine time … Either way it goes, extended or general version with new normal, I’m thinking FoodPanda (and other delivery services for that matter) is going to be a big help to us all. Want something? Check out foodpanda.ph and select a resto, the dishes you want to eat, wait for your delivery rider, pay, and food adventure at home is go.

As I’ve been harping on this food blog’s FB page since day one of ECQ,  to slow this virus down, we need to BEHAVE AS IF WE ARE PUMs, and STAY HOME. Stay safe and healthy please.

“When ‘I’ is replaced by ‘we’, even illness becomes wellness.” ~Malcolm X