Hunt for “that” Fresh Lumpia
The hunt ended where It begun.
It was one lazy afternoon in Raon, Quiapo. Tired after the almost a day stroll and price-haggling, we paused in the midst of a caravan of “kariton” of a kaleidoscope of cheap goods. We were getting hungry. We had lunch at Ma Mon Luk (Quiapo) so we need to find a different place for the afternoon merienda. Could it be that “pritong siopao he missed last time?…. no ….. pansit? …. no ….. dit dit dit dit dit dit dit …… dah dah dah dah dah (I could see from his eyes, he was thinking while his radar was beeping) ….. “would you like fresh lumpia?”, he asked me. (Ako pa? eat-all-you-can nga di’ inaatrasan, lumpia pa?) … and the thought of that sweet brown sauce with garlic and peanuts crispy on the bite and with a certain sting from freshly minced garlic …. I agreed! and walked we go. Followed where my tongue leads me ….
He walked … backed … forward …. U-turn …. left …. right …. hmmmm …. he’s lost (so I thought) …. low batt na ….. my feet were starting to get sore from the hot pavement (or was it my hunger, that pushed me to) … “are you sure this is the place?”, I asked ….. He was sure, he said. And that he clearly remembers the place as just by the Raon overpass ( oooohhhhh …. as If it was just last week that he came to the place. He just said that It was during his heydays that they frequented this “famous” lumpia house … he could’nt even remember the name of the place, and to make It more difficult, the backdraft of kariton, displays, and ant-like-wave-of-people camouflaged and blocked our low-range eyes.
Finally, he saw something on the sidestreet. Yes, a small door, about two feet wide with a small glass display wall … “It’s there!”, he said. “What?!” All I see was that small door … unlikely to be a food place (after all these years, could it still be that place?) … Nearing the sidestreet, I saw a guy inside with a green-leaf-hanging-by-the-stainless-oval-shaped plate … still, unconvinced, I kept my foot behind.
Walking inside the small door, it was a not-so-a-big-place. Both side walls fitted with stretched tables just enough for the stainless plate and a Pepsi. Customers seated back to back with enough space for people to pass through.
As we walked to find a space, I peeked through shoulders to shoulders to find the elusive missing piece of that hanging green leaf, but the heads were bowed down eight inches to the table. Difficult and no place to see.
Seated, I stretched by neck and arm to find a waiter hoping it’d catch his attention and ask if we have found ”the place”. As soon as I did, I found someting familiar …. droppings on the table! …. brown droppings … aha! the missing piece …. this should be a brown sauce!
Triggered and undistracted by skepticism, I could now smell the freshly minced garlic and ground peanuts … it must be a lot for it smells heavenly inside. Still … I got to taste to believe.
We ordered two servings of fresh lumpia each and two bottles of regular Pepsi (they were not serving regular Coke … “Pepsi products only, sir!” sabi ng waiter). And we braced for the wait … but it didn’t take long for our orders. A flick of a finger and the waiter was back. So good, so fast! (the place is small, remember).
Yes, the lumpia was definitely fresh and delicous! “It has never changed”, he said! … “eh naman, pareho pa rin?”, I curiously asked while wiping my mouth with that definitely differently-good-garlicky-sweet-peanut-crunchy brown sauce … I believed him. We have arrived … this is Globe Lumpia House of Raon St.
Only he, knows well … this is his arena. My dad is a great Quaipo food guide. His radar never failed. Burp!
Location: Raon St. Quiapo, Manila (At the overpass, facing Raon from Quezon Boulevard, at the left side of the street by the corner (where burger resto is) near the newspaper stand and electronics store …. Ma mon luk is just a walk from the same corner on the Quezon Boulevard side ).
Tip: They use stainless plates and drinking glasses. Casual place. Careful with pickpockets.
(No photo. I did’nt have a camera or camera phone that time … and snatchers might be in wait for a prey).
Quiapo through Google Earth
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