Where to eat in Laguna: Phuong's
Saturday, January 25, 2014During my three-day vacation before starting with my new work, I spent my time in the serene town of Los Banos. This is the town where I grew up, from pre-school to college. Although I spent almost a quarter of my life in this town, I didn't know the best spots to eat and hang out, as food was always available to me courtesy of my mom. So during these past few years, I am trying to find out these awesome spots to eat like a tourist. Since I only go to Los Banos every weekend, well, it's easy to truly feel like one.
The new path built for students and residents to easily climb to the University Health Service located at the foot of Mt. Makiling
And so on my first day of vacation or my short stint as a bum, my sister and I tried out Phuong's, a Vietnamese restaurant formerly located in Lopez Avenue and now relocated in FO Santos Street. I don't have any photos of the facade of the eatery but this blog has some, so check it out.
The eatery somewhat reminds me of a karinderia with the name of a store lumped with the signage of a certain beverage. It's a no-frills eatery (without aircon and with plastic chairs and tables) where patrons go not because of the fancy ambience but for the food.
Phuong's is owned by an old lady named Phuong, a Vietnamese who married a Filipino. Another thing to note is that you should not be in a hurry when dining in Phuong's as they prepare the food from scratch, meaning no microwave and frozen food served.
I was feeling under the weather that day so I ordered a Pho Bo or beef noodle soup while my sister ordered Pho Ga or chicken noodle soup. Their serving is very generous - just look at the beef and chicken in our bowl!
Chicken noodle soup, P130
Beef noodle soup, P140
Unique to Vietnam, our noodle soups were served with extra Mung bean sprouts and basil. Very healthy!
Some blogs mentioned that their herbs were sourced from their own herb garden.
Our soups were not salty and tasted light. At first glance, our bowls and the portion of the food seemed small but we were wrong. The amount of meat and noodles in our bowls were plenty. You can tell that the soup was cooked with care as the broth was cleared of its impurities.
We ended our meal with their super yummy Vietnamese rice cakes. The first time I tasted these was way back in college when our Vietnamese classmate treated us to these delectable cakes. It tasted like my favorite kutsinta but were definitely bigger and you can tell the taste of coconut milk with each bite. Yum! Writing about this makes me want to go to Phuong's and buy some. Each costed P15.
Only P15 each! :D
Budget-wise, Phuong's is not the place where you can dine everyday. But for someone who has dined in expensive restaurants in Manila (i.e. Pho Hoa), eating in Phuong's is a steal. I'll surely come back to buy those rice cakes again and try more from their menu.
Here's their complete menu:
Location:
F.O. Santos Street,
Los Banos, Laguna
Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/0SeFT
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