The Lounge, I found out, does not only produce that appetizing smell in the late afternoons but in the early morning hours too as customers line up for their daily ration of pandesal and breakfast menu.
I have passed by this area several times but haven’t got a chance to drop by until yesterday noon when I dragged a sleepy roommate to check what they have for lunch.
There is really nothing extra ordinary about the red and yellow painted lounge with cool tables and chairs except that it is a good hangout with food and drinks available below a $5 budget.
The food counters carry a variety of island favorites—spare ribs soup, beef with broccoli, chicken adobo, sizzling sisig which is dish made from parts of pig’s head and liver, and bento lunch boxes all ready to heat and eat. With my appetite for lunch still in an “off” mode, I decided to pick out a bento lunch pack with rice, broccoli with beef and chicken adobo, thinking that I was not going to finish it anyway. I was wrong. The chicken adobo is tender and somewhat spicy—the taste that sends you whistling yet you can’t have enough of it. It is not so spicy that it will have you fanning your tongue but you can ask for more pepper or Tabasco as an option.
The Lounge offers catering services with a long list of choices for tray specials, including pancit bihon, palabok or rice flour noodles, spaghetti, menudo which is a traditional dish made with beef stomach in a clear broth or with a red chili base, caldereta which is beef or pork stew, chopseuy, stroganoff, meatballs, lumpia Shanghai, lumpia vegetables, fried chicken, pinakbet which is an Ilocano dish, pork afritada or braised pork in tomato sauce, kare-kare or ox tail stew with peanut-based sauce, and more.
Deliciously baked
Known for its mouth-watering lines of baked goods, customers can enjoy their favorite breads fresh from the oven every day. Here is your destination to eat fresh pandesal, Ampan, banana cake, cheese ensaymada, dinner roll, egg pie, monay bread and slice, pandecoco, cinnamon, doughnut, hopia, cookies, biscuits and the list goes on.
I also found another favorite delicacy on the shelves of the Lounge—turon, or deep fried bananas in spring roll wrappers and coated in brown sugar syrup.
The Lounge bakes customized cakes for all occasions. The bakery’s products are also available in major stores and retail outlets on the island.
If you have some time to refresh, go for a scoop of your favorite ice cream or a dish of halo-halo, a popular Filipino dessert composed of shaved ice, milk and many other ingredients, or enjoy a tall glass of strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, mango or coffee pearl shakes.
The Lounge is open from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wi-Fi is available free for customers. Only cash is accepted for now. For orders or inquiries please call 233-0327.{jcomments off}
