Cheap Thrills

It has been a long time since I have written an “Eat” blog entry. I’ve attempted to write some articles (like about some nacho chips served with tomatoes and onions, hot melted cheese, and ground beef), but those keep going to the backburner. 

Eating "Nacho King" nachos on the bus going home from Indang, Cavite.

Suddenly I found the time to write during a long weekend when the Islamic festival of Eid al’Fitr fell this year on a Friday. It seems fitting to write about food to mark the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. Eid Mubarak! to my Muslim friends!

The first “cheap thrill” is the special goto with beef and tokwa’t baboy from Volet’s Gotohan. (For my non-Filipino readers, goto is rice porridge with beef while tokwa’t baboy is tofu with pork.) (Pork…ooops, haram.) Volet’s Gotohan is a small restaurant attached to Volet’s Resort, a popular resort here in Dasmariñas City, Cavite. Volet’s Gotohan has the distinction being open 24 hours and for being air-conditioned.

Here in the Philippines, goto is usually sold by street vendors on pushcarts. Other dishes serve include lugaw (plain rice porridge), mami (Chinese-style beef soup and noodles), and tokwa’t baboy. Lugaw or goto can be eaten with condiments that are available at the gotohan like vinegar, soy sauce, patis (fish sauce), hot Chinese chili oil, and calamansi (Philippine lime). When I was a college student, I used to patronize a gotohan where a bowl of goto and tokwa’t baboy would cost me around twenty-four pesos.

One time going home from school, I decided to celebrate a little for payday by availing myself of goto and tokwa’t baboy at Volet’s Gotohan. Volet’s Gotohan is off Aguinaldo Highway, on the right side of Volet’s Resort right across a Mang Inasal. The gotohan has glass walls and an orange interior. I ordered their special goto, tokwa’t baboy, and a can of Royal Tru-Orange.

Volet’s serving sizes are plus-sized. The goto arrived in a large bowl, with an a generous amount of beef tripe, spring onions, and even—gasp!—chicharon! Tokwa’t baboy is served in a dish with soy sauce and vinegar mixture, spring onions, and large slices of tofu and pork ears. Oh yes, it may be a tad expensive (the two dishes cost me around Php 110—still cheap considering that I have to shell out at least two hundred bucks a pop when I get a cup of tea and a doughnut from Starbucks) but I was happy and full.

The next “cheap thrill” is tapsilog from another 24-hour joint named Don Galo’s. While there is only one Volet’s Gotohan, Don Galo’s Tapsilog is nearly everywhere. The other branches are apparently franchises and each branch appears to be different from the others. Their signature color is green. My favorite Don Galo’s is the one near SM City Bacoor, also along Aguinaldo Highway. This particular branch is my favorite—I’ve eaten in it several times; including at five o’clock in the morning when I came from a junior-senior prom somewhere.

Their house specialty is the tapsilog, which is composed of tapa (beef jerky), sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (friend egg). They serve other -silogs but their tapsilog is the only thing I order. Recently I felt the need for comfort food so I dropped by and ordered a tapsilog, a bottle of soft drinks, and an additional cup of fried rice. Their jerky is very tasty and flavorful, though I prefer adding some vinegar on it and eat it with catsup. It is served with fried rice with garlic sprinkled on top and a fried egg over easy. The meal cost me ninety bucks.

This is all for now. A good meal needs not be expensive. You only have to know where to look.