Little Quiapo Restaurant's Pancit Palabok and Hamburger, one of my favorite Filipino merienda

It has been a hectic Christmas week of family reunions and as I'm writing this, I’m also busy preparing for the New Year celebration, what a crammer. But before the year ends, I would like to thank the people who took the time to read my food blog, warm thanks for the nice comments, I really appreciate it. I’m glad there’s someone reading it beside my husband and sister…... and for the new followers of my blog, thank you for inspiring me to do better.

And since the holidays is about being with loved ones, I would like to feature one Filipino restaurant that has been around for many years according to my parents and has been part of the Philippine culinary culture and this is Little Quiapo. I’m not sure how long this restaurant existed but I’m glad they’re still around to give me one of my favorite snacks, their version of pancit palabok and hamburger.

I know there are a lot of pancit (rice noodles) to go around in this country, some even available in fast foods. But given our wide variety of pancit like pancit bihon, canton, luglug, habhab, malabon, I still pick the pancit palabok even if its sauce is considered simple and its trimmings not as extravagant as the others. I especially like Little Quiapo’s pancit palabok because of its richer sauce and the distinct crab sauce flavor that palabok is often associated with.

Hoenstly,the other palaboks I’ve had in the past looked anemic and tasted bland, nowhere near the deep orange and rich sauce of Little Quiapo’s palabok. Moreover, the latter's sauce is nicely complemented with thin transparent-like noodles and topped with sliced boiled eggs, smoked squid and chicharon bits for added flavor. And though you can eat this palabok without the usual sprinkle of calamansi (local lemon), doing so would provide you with a delicious contrast as the calamansi’s sourness cuts through the palaboks velvety sauce.


Aside from LQ’s palabok, I also love their hamburger. And this is odd since I’m not really fond of burgers. Actually, I only like eating these hamburgers; the Whopper from Burger King (I love its grilled flavor), the Tropical Hut burger (love its sweet pickles) and the Little Quiapo burger. So, why this burger? Well, I like its unpretentious taste, the flavor is not overpowering and most especially, I love the coleslaw topping that comes with it. The coleslaw leans on the sweet type, not the type you get from KFC and it blends well with the lean meat of the burger. Together, it’s a very tasty treat especially following it with an ice cold soda, yum! Of course, it would be better if the bun is not left in the toaster longer than it should like the one in the picture.

Overall, I'm glad that despite its unassuming façade and almost non-existent self-promotion Little Quiapo is still here and remains in the Filipino culinary landscape. With the deluge of foreign-inspired restaurants in the country,it still holds on to its Filipino identity. Maybe that's why I still go there, to remind myself that despite being exposed to other foreign dishes, I know that Filipino food not only taste good but its also a part of home.