Frugal Fort

Frugal Chow Hound founder and friend, Doy has been hounding me to write about this food entry and I tell him there’s a backlog of topics hounding me.   Living in the Fort has it perks being one of the few truly pedestrian friendly places in the city but problem is most of the restaurants are on the expensive side.  At least there’s Market Market but finding cheap, good quality food is a hit and miss game.  You often get what you pay for so it’s a source of gleehappinessjoy when I find affordable delicious places fit for a frugal family of four.    

Affordable means around the P300 price range per person.  Below that would be great but not putting my expectations up, just surprise me.  Over P400 is stretching it. Over P500 and somebody else is footing the bill.

The list is quite short but give it time and it’ll grow:

1. Moshi Koshi in Market Market
2. Suzhou in that building beside Starbucks that has a drive through near Home Depot
3. Seoul Express at the Fort Strip
4. Brothers Burger on High Street
5. Pancake House in Market Market and High Street
6. Mad for Garlic on High Street

When my husband and two sons go back to China and I’m left alone, I usually end up eating in Moshi Koshi at least once a week.  It’s my to-go-to staple like Yoshinoya was when I lived across Robinson’s Galleria during my single days.  Folks at Moshi Koshi already know me because I also order delivery.

My husband has learned not to expect anything from Chinese restaurants here in the Philippines because they are eons away from the “real thing”.  So we avoid it in general except if we suspect something might be good.  Suzhou at the Fort is one such delightful discovery.

There are a lot of Chinese fast food around but most are disappointing.  I remember when North Park was new; it was worth going out of your way to enjoy.  When they opened branch after branch becoming accessible everywhere, the quality diminished. I don’t know if it’s them or if it’s because my taste in Chinese food changed drastically after living in China but I haven’t enjoyed any recent North Park foray.  My husband’s critical taste buds when it comes to Chinese food in the Philippines rubbed off me and I can spot “fake” as well as he could.  When we took my husband’s family visiting from China to Hap Chan, it was a disaster!  Even if they had asked for pepper and spices, they could not correct the taste.  And don’t even mention Chow King.

Excuse the digression.  Back to the list.

Seoul Express sticks out, a sore thumb in a crowd of high-end restaurants that’s why we were drawn to it.  I have to refresh my memory of the food in that place because I made a mental note then to go back.  I remember the Korean owner was a very nice man and we savored the ending of the yummy Korean green melon ice cream. 

A recent trip to Brothers Burger caught me off-guard because I thought the quality would not be as good since chains have that tendency to deteriorate over time though there are exceptions.  I loved the burger wrapped in lettuce but it was just darn hard to eat.  I felt like bringing my own pita bread and re-wrapping it. 

Pancake House I go for the taco and any of the salads. 

Looking at it from the outside with its glass walls of swanky wine bottles, I thought no way would a meal here fit the budget but if you take the strategy of ordering the cheapest entry from each food category on the menu, the goal is attainable.  Split among three people and it fell right within range but the tastes went way over thus it was good value for money. 

With the opening of SM Aura, hopefully there’ll be a few more to add to the list.  There are other places I want to check out like that Japanese carinderia looking place at South of Market and a dedicated fish resto in one of the office buildings several blocks from Burgos circle.