A couple of days before Valentine’s, Mela and I met at Friends & Family Express at The Podium in Ortigas. It was really sweet of her to give me something for my birthday even though it had already been almost a month ago. Thank you, Mela~

And I was so glad that she also liked the simple things I got for her. She’s wearing one of them here – the Island Girl necklace! 😊
Anyway, it was a day of lots of chats and laughter, as well as good food from Friends and Family Express.
This was what Mela had…

And this is what I had. I was told that their Laing was their bestseller!

I hadn’t had rice since October and @friendsandfamilyexpressph broke the streak! I just could not say no to their Bagoong Rice… 🤤 I blame you, Mela! 😂
I am not proud of it but if that made me break my diet, don’t you think it was that good?
I literally could live on bagoong alamang back then. Walang ulam? Basta may bagoong alamang, puwede na! We’d either buy ready-made ones in jars or just get the ingredients in the market and cook it ourselves.
I’m not so sure if Friends & Family makes their own bagoong alamang. But if I were to take a wild guess, I’d say that they did. And if they did, I would give them a 💯. For someone who looooves alamang like a long long long friend, theirs is definitely for keeps.

Their Chilli Garlic Laing… dude, I swear, it’s suuuuper good! For me, this dish is quite complicated since the taro/gabi leaves could make our mouth or tongue itchy if not prepared properly. I love its smooth texture, with the right creaminess of the coco milk and the well-cooked dried leaves. It’s seasoned perfectly, too. I love the crispy garlic that gives contrast to its richness. It’s quite hard to find a Laing that could pass my promdi taste. I’m not ‘laing’ (get it? 😉😜)
And their Melon juice? It was just like how my Nanay would make it back in the day. I could taste the true melon flavor, not like the others that are just sweet because of too much sugar.
Their Tokneneng was coated in a crispy batter that’s seasoned just right. 👌🏻 (Kulang na lang yung sweet sauce plus suka na may pipino hahaha!)

But I’ll be very honest with you, I had to make hataw with my workout. 😅 I even had to fast the next day because I had rice. Pero I don’t regret it. That meal was worth having! I loooooved it!


Visit Friends & Family Express at The Corner Market in Podium Mall. Pasok na pasok sa panlasang Pinoy! 👌🏻
Check them out on Instagram: @friendsandfamilyexpressph or @friendsandfamilyph
Have you tried their Laing, too? If not, what did you or would you have at Friends and Family? Share it with me in the comments!
Have a happy tummy this Friday!
Always,

Let’s be friends!
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Spread happiness!
-rix★ϟ
Ah, this one! 🙂 I saw this stall the last time I ate at Corner Market; F&F Express replaced that old concessionaire selling tapas and sangria. From the queues, I think it’s popular among the Ortigas lunch crowd.
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Ooooh! It was my first time lang sa Corner Market. Kumusta ung tapa before? Have you tried it na F&F na?
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Hi! 😀 Barcelon de Calderon pala yung name noong dating occupant haha! I’ve tried their calamares platter before, and OK naman (though I’m not a fan of the mayo dip na kasama.) Mas specialty nila yung paella na may solo size.
Noong Friends & Family Express na, I haven’t tried it yet – mahaba yung pila! D: I read another post dito sa WP noon – apparently, its main branch is nasa BGC.
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Ooo interesting ung paella! San kaya meron nun…
Yep sa BGC nga yung main branch. In fairness naman kasi masarap talaga ung food ng F & F. Ugh sana matapos na ‘tong COVID hahaha
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Yung main resto (Calderon) is located in San Juan, sa Little Baguio raw. 🙂 Truth be told, miss ko na ring kumain sa Corner Market!
I usually get:
* Ca Phe Saigon (their fresh and fried spring rolls are good!)
* Birdhouse (for my fried chicken fix)
* Easy Tiger (I recommend their pad thai and Thai milk tea)
* La Taqueria del Chupacabra (mainly for their horchata)
Indeed, sana matapos na nga!
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Oooh thanks for the reco! Sana nga nang ma-try ko rin kahit malayo xD Thanks!
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Sure thing!
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