Light Snack at Noodle King N.S. Amoranto Street

It was an overcast afternoon when our group decided visited the famed La Loma in Calavite street and N.S. Amoranto ( formerly called Retiro street).

Noodle King Pares and Mami House

Rows of lechon restaurants, karinderia and pares houses were located within this street. The restaurants had their own share of loyal clientele tucked to its long and colorful culinary heritage.

Quezon City and Manila boundary 

The area serves as a border between Manila North Cemetery and Manila Chinese Cemetery.

The group decided to have “Pag pagpag” which is a Tagalog word to ” shake off “or “loosen off” or “to remove”. It is a common superstitious belief that one can does not go directly to one’s home after attending a funeral, wake or cemetery unless they have done the pagpag.

It was a superstitious belief probably influenced by the Chinese and Malay, that one must visit a go-in between place after visit attending a wake, funeral or cemetery. ( Usually restaurant, church or convenient store).

This is to confuse any bad spirits or elements which can done harm to the immediate family or friends of the deceased person.

rows of roasted pig on charcoal pits

One must spend time eating or doing something like changing clothes before going home. Just to avoid any mishap or misfortune to one’s family. Another common belief is that without doing the Pagpapagpag, death can come to immediate family or friend who attended the wake or funeral.

The Original Pares

We decided to eat at the Original Pares House, Unfortunately the pares house is full and the group have to wait between 20 to 30 minutes before the group can eat.

Jonas Pares House is another choice, but a little further down the road.

Noodle King Pares and Mami House

Noodle King is known for their noodles, beef pares, siomai, siopao, chicken barbecue, rice topping, pork asado, sizzling meals, fried chicken, arroz caldo, tokwat baboy, chicken, wanton noodles, mami and silog meals.

Noodle King menu board

The restaurant is well lighted, large signage. They also had an air-conditioned room good for 20 people and an area which can accommodate between 30 to 40 people at any given time.

Halo-halo

Most of my friends and participants ordered their halo-halo. The halo-halo had a generous serving of ube halaya.

complimentary soup

My fried ordered their pares meal and it comes with free soup. Their pares is presented in big bowl and with bigger portion compared to Original Pares and Jonas Pares. But taste different compared to the two pares house. Sauce is a little bit on the sweet side.

siopao

Siopao is large, but there are other restaurants which had big portion of siopao and more tasty ones.

Siomai is quite generic, some commercially sold siomai in packs taste more flavorful. The saving grace is the chili oil.

black gulaman

Black gulaman is a bit okey, not too sweet compared to other black gulaman from other restaurants.

mais con yelo

Mais con yelo is not too sweet, however we were quite disappointed that it was serve this way. One was serve with the halo-halo cup while the other one was serve using ordinary plastic cup. It makes us wonder that they must try to have more halo-halo cup.

The restroom is well lighted and clean. Which is a plus point for any restaurant.

Overall, They must try to improve their menus and service. It took us a while before they filled-up our orders.

Noodle King Pares and Mami House

Address: N.S. Amoranto street ( formerly called Retiro street ) corner Dr. Alejo Santos street, La Loma , Quezon City

Operations : Mondays to Sundays from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm

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Jonas Pares House : 40 Years of Love and Passion

Jonas Pares House is a MUST dine- in place when one is within the vicinity of N.S. Amoranto street (formerly called Retiro street) and near Banawe street. The Pares House specializes on beef, pork pares, siopao asado, bola-bola, dimsum, mami, kikiam, buchi, chopsuey and other home cooked dishes.

two kinds of siopao ( asado and bola-bola take out pack), Jonas beef pares, fried rice and free soup

Jonas Pares House is located within Mayon street corner Malindang street, Quezon City.

chicken feet with tausi

Our gang of friends would find time to eat at this pares house whenever we would visit nearby Lourdes church, Suki market ,Dapitan arcade during our thrift shop hunting

steamed siopao asado and bola-bola

History

Jonas started as a small carinderia / eatery with just a few seats available way back in 1979. It was the husband and wife tandem of Mr. Roger Tiu and Mrs. Lolita ” Lolly”  Tiu team up with a seed capital of Php 6,000 envisioned a restaurant providing fine-dining quality food at a price affordable to masses.

Jonas history by Mr. Cirilo F. Bautista (poet, columnist)

The recipe came from her father who would often got invited during fiesta or special occasions to cook for the guests. His love and passion for food that would define his legacy which left lasting impact in the culinary world. Eventually, he taught his daughter the art of cooking pares and its ingredients.

meal viands

Mr. Roger Tiu would cooked the beef pares while Mrs. Lolita Tiu would serve to their clients. Most of the early customers were from nearby Lourdes church and outlying areas.

What makes Pares so special is how the beef was prepared and cooked. Seventy percent (70%) of the beef is lean meat from beef flanks; the rest of the 30% is from fat. The beef is tender because it was slow-cooked in a charcoal-fed fire for at least 12 hours !

customers

They started cooking 5 kilos of beef pares in 1979 and increased to at least 100 kilos of beef meat everyday by 2019. Jonas Pares is credited and popularized the term “Pares” which means the pairing of beef and fried rice. Pares meal which started within the district then soon spread to different parts of the city and in far flung provinces.

shrimp hakaw -one of MUST try dimsum

Jonas Pares started adding more dishes and enlarging their restaurant by the 1990’s. The restaurant floor space was increased, its facilities upgraded, and air-conditioning installed.

Sitting Capacity and Ambiance

Jonas Pares House is well lighted with modern fixture and cozy ambiance with a sitting capacity of between 70 to 80 persons at any given time. Mixing both native, modern while having a community bulletin board for those who wanted to post their messages.There is also a counter where one can get free service water, tube ice, condiments and chili paste.

take out counter

There is also a small take out counter inside the restaurant where one can buy some dimsum, cakes, canned drinks, buchi, pastries, nuts among others.

community bulletin board

blueberry cheesecake

Blueberry cheese cake– One of their best selling desserts (Php 110 per slice). We tasted their famed blueberry cheese cake which is a little bland for our taste.

In- House Promo

There is an in-house promo which enable customers to buy 6 siopao ( steam buns) for just Php 270.00. It comes with its sauce and special package. Ideal for pasalubongs and treats.  One can order a combination of asado and bola-bola.

The restaurant is also listed under popular travel and restaurant site zomatoph, booky and tripadvisor.

Note and full disclosure:  The prices quoted in this website is base on the prevailing prices. Prices of their meals, pares and in-house promo are subject to change without prior notice from the management of the establishment. The author is not connected with the management or employed by Jonas restaurant.  Just an ordinary “suki” customer at the place.

Address: 561 Mayon street corner Malindang street, Santa Mesa Heights, Quezon City, 1114 Metro Manila.

Operations: Everyday from 6:30 am to 10:00pm

Contact (02) 712 6261

How to Commute: ( There are many ways on how to commute going to Jonas Pares)

1.) From Mayon street and A. Bonifacio Avenue- Take a jeepney ride with Mayon street going to Welcome Rotunda jeepney ( Php 9.00 minimum fare)  One can opt to walk along the Mayon/ Del Monte Avenue intersection which can take between 25 minutes to 35 minutes walk.

2.) From Santa Cruz / Blumentritt -Manila – Take a jeepney with Retiro street signage ( aka N.S. Amoranto street route) – From Blumentritt ( Php 9.00 minimum fare to Php 12.00 per head depending on the route)

3.) From PNRI station Blumentritt – Take jeepney route going to Retiro/ Muñoz ( Php 9.00)

4.) From LRT line 1 -Blumentritt station – Take jeepney with the route Santa Cruz/ Retiro to Muñoz

5.) From Quezon Avenue/ MCDO- There is a jeepney route which ply Quezon Avenue to Banawe street.

A Solemn Visit to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in N.S. Amoranto

It was sunny afternoon last week, when we visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes located along N.S. Amoranto ( formerly known as Retiro street) corner Kanlaon street.

National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes

We would often pass along their stretch of street on our way to Muñoz in Quezon City. Sometimes the church and shrine was our reference point when we are going to the Suki Market and Dapitan Arcade.

History and Heritage

The Lourdes Church and Convent was first established by the Franciscan Capuchin friar in 1891.

The devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes slowly but surely spread throughout the Philippines that the Capuchins were forced to build a bigger and more beautiful church which was dedicated on February 3, 1910.

The church used to be along General Luna street within Intramuros in the 19th century until it was destroyed during World War II in 1945.

As posted by the website of the Diocese of Cubao, there was an initiative to establish a parish within Retiro St. in Quezon City in 1941, spearheaded by the Capuchins to the Archbishop of Manila. A decree was issued on March 28, 1942 to establish Sta. Teresita del Niño Jesus Parish; however the church construction was delayed because of World War II. The image of Our Lady of Lourdes was kept at nearby San Agustin church and convent and were miraculously saved.

Our Lady of Lourdes statute located at the left side of the main entrance

The statue of Our Lady of Lourdes then moved from one place to another during the last chapters of the war and was enshrined for quite sometime at the Sta. Teresita Chapel in Mayon Street. Finally, on February 10, 1951, the image was brought back to Sta. Teresita Parish on Retiro St, and later the parish was renamed Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. Fast forward to 1997, in celebration of the Parish’s forty-fifth anniversary, the Our Lady of Lourdes was declared a National Shrine.

timeline of the parish and devotion

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes is located at Kanlaon Street corner N.S. Amoranto Ave. (formerly Retiro St.) Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City. It celebrates its feast day every February 11. There are everyday masses and special devotions are also held in the Paris.

main entrance

The church’s present architecture is a modern revival of  neo-romanesque.

church interior

church altar with stained glass windows and painted ceiling

baldoza tile

old baldoza tiles were also part of the mid-century ambiance

main founders of the church , their names were etch in marble for posterity and gratitude

When the first construction of the church and convent was planned in a lot acquired through the donations made by the families represented by Don Salvador Araneta and Doña Natividad Zaragoza Tuason. On August 14, 1941, Fr. Florencio de Lezaun, superior of the Capuchins in the Philippines addressed a letter to the then Archbishop of Manila, Msgr. Michael O’Doherty, asking his consent to build a religious house with a church attached to it, in a 10,500 square meter lot acquired by the Order in Retiro Street. The compound also housed the school and office.

CBCP plaque of dedication

various saints at the side entrance of the shrine

a spiral staircase leading to the church organ

church organ

Dendrobium aphyllum locally called fairy/ dainty/ lesser sanggumay were naturalized on Christmas palm within the pocket garden located within the shrine premises.

Note: All photos are from the author

Sources and References:

Website: Diocese of Cubao

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

Except from Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine leaflet and poster

Excerpt from Shrines, Incarnating Christ Today. St. Paul Philippines, 2004.