When it comes to street food, I’d like to say that one can find the best around Asia, most specifically in South East. Notable places are Singapore, Bangkok, Taiwan and South Korea. And of course, the street food scene in the Philippines is as exciting as the other countries that I’ve mentioned earlier. There are similarities and differences with the Filipino street food among these SE Asian countries, but it’s always the sanitation concerns of these street food that are always put up in question.
As much as I don’t want to acquire any illness while travelling abroad and eating the country’s local street food, there’s part of me that is largely wanting to try as much as I can. I guess, for me, if I don’t get the food at the grassroots level, it’s not completely immersing myself. So far, I’ve never had any problems while eating the street food I’ve tied abroad. Even back here in the Philippines, there’s only one instance that I got sick because I ate something from a street peddler. I’m still alive now and I still continue to eat street food.
Street food is not for the faint of hearts or for the picky eaters. Perhaps they are created for the adventurous ones. Even some people native to a certain country doesn’t even eat their street food. This is likely due to the thought of eating innards or maybe perhaps the concern for the cleanliness of the food being served, especially if most of them are on the streets, exposed to pollutants or were not cleaned and prepared in the sanitary way that lives up to their standards.
The good thing is that, in the recent years, there has been an increase of restaurants serving street food on their menus. In Singapore, these types of food are served and regulated in Hawker Centers. I’ve never been to South Korea, from the photos and videos I’ve seen, the street food looks pretty clean. In Bangkok, Taiwan and Hong Kong, you can find both that looks clean and not.
In the Philippines, you can find restaurants serving up clean street food from mid to high end ones. I think all offer great tasting ones, the only difference would be the price points and locations. Just last weekend I visited a neighborhood restaurant offering grilled meats, street food and other Filipino favorites in Marikina – a city known for its ability to put you in a culinary frenzy and a place where many note-worthy home-grown restaurants can be found.
Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ was established back in early 2018 by husband and wife Dotie and Dindo Cleofasout of their love for food. It’s literally close to their hearts and home as within the compound is the Cleofas’ house. They wanted to extend their kitchen to other people by turning their house’ garden and garage into a restaurant (or shall I say a leveled-up eatery) and share Mr. Dindo’s heirloom BBQ sauce recipe that he inherited from his father: Mang Ding (thus the name of the place).
My friends and I got to try the following dishes:
Ensaladang Mangga – ensalada is the Tagalog term for salad. This includes chopped white onions, tomatoes, mangoes and their home-made shrimp paste. One of the many classic Filipino appetizers. I particularly like the shrimp paste as it had a nice blend of sweet-salty flavors and doesn’t have that pungent fishy smell.
Ensaladang Dulong – dulong is a term commonly used in the Philippines to describe a set of small fishes or silverfish caught using fine-meshed nets. I’m pretty sure this is the first time you’ve heard about ensaladang dulong: I’m telling you, so was I and my friends! At first, we all thought this would be super salty, but not at all! It was really good and had a lot of texture! A must-try, most definitely!
Ensaladang Talong – one of my favorite ensaladas that were ever invented because I love egg plant. This has grilled eggplant, white onions, tomatoes, mangoes and their home-made shrimp paste.
Barbeque Platter – for PHP 499 this includes 5 sticks of pork barbeque, 5 sticks of chicken isaw (intestines), 2 pieces of chicken barbeque, 2 sticks tenga (pig ears), two sticks of isol (chicken tail), 3 sticks of pork isaw (intestines) and 2 sticks of chicken gizzard – which I think is perfect pairing for ice cold beer! Some grilled meats and innards sold as street food are commonly plain, while those from Mang Ding’s have a delicious sweet-salty sauce which is the recipe of the owner’s father from whom the name of the establishment was also taken after. Combine that with the smoky flavor after being charcoal grilled is really a complete enjoyment, taste-wise.
BBQ Boneless Bangus Overload – grilled deboned milkfish topped with heaps of tomatoes and onions! Loved this dish so much! I went straight for the bangus belly and got me a spoonful of that chopped tomatoes and onions. Delish!
Sizzling Corn – a classic beer paring made of shredded corn, melted butter on a sizzling plate.
Grilled Pork Belly – probably one of my favorite grilled meats. This was a no fuss grilled pork belly, looks like it was only spiced with salt and pepper and then charcoal grilled letting the flavor of the pork melt with the salt and pepper! Nothing but pure goodness!
Dinakdakan – this is grilled strips of pork belly and pig’s ear with calamansi, vinegar, onion, sili and mayonnaise. A classic Ilocano dish full of smoky flavor.
Mang Ding’s live by the following words: “Mura, Malinis at Masarap”. Mura means affordable, Malinis is clean and Masarap is delicious. They guarantee that what you’ll eat at Mang Ding’s will always be of those three standards. The idea came from grill stands that you would usually see in almost every street corner in the Philippines. They made sure though that they clean and prep their meats very well to remove the fear of customers regarding their safety and health for when they eat street food. The storage, preparation and cooking of their offerings are well regulated. They also make certain that the prices of their menu items would not burn your pockets; so that you can enjoy them everyday if you want to.
The lace is very chill because t’s situated in a quiet neighborhood in Sto. Nino Marikina City. It’s a perfect place to visit if you and your friends are on a budget and are craving for something that would not cost all you that much. You could drink a few beers while eating and catching up at their al fresco dining area lit up by vintage outdoor Edison string lights. No loud music, unlike in other places, Mang Ding’s gives you that feeling that you and your pals are just hanging out at the house of one of your friends. Chilling, drinking and eating grilled stuff and seafood.
Got no time to visit anytime soon? Fret not, Mang Ding’s is on GrabFood. So, order away and have these delicious grilled meats, street food and Pinoy favorites delivered right to your doorstep.
As much as I don’t want to acquire any illness while travelling abroad and eating the country’s local street food, there’s part of me that is largely wanting to try as much as I can. I guess, for me, if I don’t get the food at the grassroots level, it’s not completely immersing myself. So far, I’ve never had any problems while eating the street food I’ve tied abroad. Even back here in the Philippines, there’s only one instance that I got sick because I ate something from a street peddler. I’m still alive now and I still continue to eat street food.
Street food is not for the faint of hearts or for the picky eaters. Perhaps they are created for the adventurous ones. Even some people native to a certain country doesn’t even eat their street food. This is likely due to the thought of eating innards or maybe perhaps the concern for the cleanliness of the food being served, especially if most of them are on the streets, exposed to pollutants or were not cleaned and prepared in the sanitary way that lives up to their standards.
The good thing is that, in the recent years, there has been an increase of restaurants serving street food on their menus. In Singapore, these types of food are served and regulated in Hawker Centers. I’ve never been to South Korea, from the photos and videos I’ve seen, the street food looks pretty clean. In Bangkok, Taiwan and Hong Kong, you can find both that looks clean and not.
In the Philippines, you can find restaurants serving up clean street food from mid to high end ones. I think all offer great tasting ones, the only difference would be the price points and locations. Just last weekend I visited a neighborhood restaurant offering grilled meats, street food and other Filipino favorites in Marikina – a city known for its ability to put you in a culinary frenzy and a place where many note-worthy home-grown restaurants can be found.
My friends and I got to try the following dishes:
Ensaladang Mangga – ensalada is the Tagalog term for salad. This includes chopped white onions, tomatoes, mangoes and their home-made shrimp paste. One of the many classic Filipino appetizers. I particularly like the shrimp paste as it had a nice blend of sweet-salty flavors and doesn’t have that pungent fishy smell.
Barbeque Platter – for PHP 499 this includes 5 sticks of pork barbeque, 5 sticks of chicken isaw (intestines), 2 pieces of chicken barbeque, 2 sticks tenga (pig ears), two sticks of isol (chicken tail), 3 sticks of pork isaw (intestines) and 2 sticks of chicken gizzard – which I think is perfect pairing for ice cold beer! Some grilled meats and innards sold as street food are commonly plain, while those from Mang Ding’s have a delicious sweet-salty sauce which is the recipe of the owner’s father from whom the name of the establishment was also taken after. Combine that with the smoky flavor after being charcoal grilled is really a complete enjoyment, taste-wise.
The lace is very chill because t’s situated in a quiet neighborhood in Sto. Nino Marikina City. It’s a perfect place to visit if you and your friends are on a budget and are craving for something that would not cost all you that much. You could drink a few beers while eating and catching up at their al fresco dining area lit up by vintage outdoor Edison string lights. No loud music, unlike in other places, Mang Ding’s gives you that feeling that you and your pals are just hanging out at the house of one of your friends. Chilling, drinking and eating grilled stuff and seafood.
Got no time to visit anytime soon? Fret not, Mang Ding’s is on GrabFood. So, order away and have these delicious grilled meats, street food and Pinoy favorites delivered right to your doorstep.
MANG DING'S PINOY BBQ
Buenviaje Street, Santo Niño, Marikina City
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Buenviaje Street, Santo Niño, Marikina City
Contact Nos: +63 9171659872
Facebook: facebook.com/mangdings
Instagram: instagram.com/mangdingspinoy
For more information, complete menu and restaurant reviews, check out their Zomato profile:
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