Viray: All about food

We are glad that more and more restos are offering affordable meals for the Fernandinos.

We begin with Florencia (kurang-kurangan) is here. It is located at the Tourism Road, Del Rosario, Calulut junction. Name it, they have it. Your favorite adobo, kare-kare, menudo, relleno and pinakbet are readily available. You can even bring your fresh produce or live fish and they will cook it before your eyes. It is incredibly economical. It opens at 9:00 a.m. and close at 9:00 p.m. But wait there is more – you can find the Darling Old Men there dining. You would likely meet citizen Edwin (Edsa) Santiago together with bosom buddies Fer Caylao, Jesse Caguiat, Mado Santos, Elenoy Bondoc and this columnist. Those who experienced the food and ambiance at Kurang-kurangan, are almost certain to return. The set-up is eco-friendly. The fence is live bamboo plants all over. The plants are all green and it is obvious that the management is nature friendly.

Cely’s Carinderia along Lazatin Boulevard is busy as is can be. Customers, like ants are queuing during lunch hours. Vehicles come and go. You can see that the parking area is almost always full. In fact, they have a traffic aide just so your vehicle can be parked the proper way. The food choice is wide. From laing to ginataang bamboo shoots. From paksiw lechon to adobong isaw. From bulalo to sinigang bangus sa bayabas. Located at Lazatin Boulevard, Cely’s Carinderia has filled up the gap left by the legendary Marissa’s Kitchenette.

Lola Ima along the JASA Boulevard is serving “eat all you can breakfast”. They have sopas or congee. They have longaniza or pork tapa. They have crispy bangus. The have chicken (white) abodo or pork adobo. For the amount of P200 (two hundred pesos), you can enjoy your first meal of the day.

These three eateries – Florencia, Cely’s and Lola Ima, make eating enjoyable at your own price.