One evening when we were having dinner, one of my workmates insisted to push through with the Maginhawa St. food trip we’re planning months ago. It was the first day of August then and the majority voted for it to be done by August 31, a month of planning. We’re not too excited. Since Maginhawa is near University of the Philippines, we also added Mang Larry’s Isawan to the itinerary.

Some of us met at Trinoma and hailed a taxi to UP while others went directly to Mang Larry’s Isawan. We were there around 3 in the afternoon and a lot of people were already queuing in front of Mang Larry’s booth for their orders, a testimony to The Famous Isawan in UP Campus. They have several skewers available: Balun-balunan/Gizzard (Php6), Special Isaw Pork (Php6), Pork Barbeque (Php10), Atay/Liver, Isaw Manok/Chicken Intestine (Php3), Isaw Baboy/Pork Intestine (Php3), Goto (Php6), Tenga/Pork Ears (Php6) and also offers Siomai (6 pcs for Php22) and Liempo (Php50) for take-out.

I ordered 3 Isaw Manok, 1 Balun-balunan, 1 Pork barbeque, and 2 Pork Ears for a total of Php37. Waiting time was about 20 minutes since there were a lot of people on their booth. Vinegar for your order is available on the containers at the side of their food stall. The famous isaw manok was good but the taste would have been better if they have a better taste of vinegar (sauce, whatever you call it), I liked the pork ears though. If you craved for some fishballs, kikiams, squidballs or kwek-kwek (quail eggs coated with orange batter), you can satisfy it from a food stall located near Mang Larry’s. Mang Larry’s Isawan together with some food stalls are located in a vacant lot along F. MA. Guerrero Street.

UP Jeeps Tips: Dong, a friend of a workmate is from UP, gave us some tips in riding jeepneys inside the campus. You can determine the route of the jeep with its color on top; maroon (Katipunan), green (Philcoa, Pantranco, SM North/Trinoma), and yellow (Ikot and Toki). Katipunan, Philcoa and Toki routes are in counter-clockwise direction while Ikot is in clockwise direction.

From Mang Larry’s, we made to Krus na Ligas and rode a tricycle to Friuli Trattoria in Maginhawa Street. The place is not that big and since we were 12 in the group, we waited for the staff to arrange a table for us. Friuli is known for pizzas and pastas. When we checked the menu, best seller pizzas start at Php180 so we asked a staff how large it is, it was 10-inches according to him. We ordered 1 each from the bestsellers and 1 All Meat. I didn’t expect the experience Friuli had provided. They exceeded the value of our money because the pizzas were so good and even better than other pricey pizzas in the metro. For the four pizza flavors we had, our total bill was Php810 only.

Ranking the flavors we tried, some of the members of the group also agreed with me that the best was the Margherita, followed by All Meat, Tre Formaggi and last was Viva Venezia.

Next destination we checked was Sancho Churreria Manila known for cakes and pastries but also serves appetizers, entrees, and soups. Since we just had pizza, we decided to order some of their cakes and pastries for dessert. We got 5 servings of their famous Churros de Chocolate (Php85 per serving), 2 Cream Puffs (Php30/pc), 2 Chocolate Éclairs (Php30/pc) and a slice of Choco de Leche (Php70) and Chocolite (Php70).

The Churros were actually good but I just wish that the Spanish Chocolate served with it was a bit sweeter. The éclair and the puff seemed to have same pastry cream filling though, just okay to whisk the pizza beforehand. The group liked the Choco de Leche over the Chocolite. For all the dessert we ordered, the bill was Php685.

Last stop for the day was Tomatokick. Since we were already full, we decided not to try the meals but ordered some drinks and finger foods instead. I didn’t take photos during the drinking session since I was already tired and bloated with the food we tried.

Overall, the trip was great having tasted a variety of food from street foods to pizza and pastries. I only spent around Php300 for the entire food trip including transportation. The food places we tried are only some of the restaurants available in Maginhawa Street. We will surely come back and will be trying out other restaurants in the area.