The return to Luyong Chinese Restaurant
June 26, 2007
Filed under Food trips & events
I can’t remember the last time we ate out on Father’s Day. I don’t think we ever did in the 15 years that Speedy and I have been married. I always cooked his favorite dishes and ate at home. Restaurants are always full on Father’s Day and we’re not exactly enamored of large unruly crowds. We don’t like eating in a rush either. You know, because those next in line are giving us the looks already as if to say, “Will you hurry up? We’re starving!”
This year, however, we did eat out. June 17th was the last day of the kids’ summer break and we needed to buy new school shoes for them. I don’t remember why we put it off until the last minute. Probably because most schools opened on June 13th and we figured that the back-to-school shopping crowds would have dissipated by June 17th. Or, perhaps, we were busy with other things during the previous weekends. Or we were broke after paying the kids’ tuition fees.
Whatever the reason, we did go out on Father’s Day. Because we did not want to shop on an empty stomach, we decided to eat lunch first. We knew that every restaurant in the mall would be full at 11.30 a.m. so we decided to take a short detour to nearby Marikina and enjoy a very Chinese lunch at Luyong Restaurant. We had been there twice before and we enjoyed the food both times.
So what did we order?
Speedy suggested birds’ nest soup but I wanted wonton soup. We asked the girls and he was outvoted. Wonton soup it was…
The broth was great, as usual. There were just enough wonton to satisfy everyone. Speedy and I both had second helpings.
Then, there was camaron rebosado — whole shrimps dipped in batter, deep-fried and served with sweet and sour sauce. It’s a staple for the girls whenever we eat in a Chinese restaurant but it’s a dish that I hardly ever touch because of an allergy.
We also had salt-and-pepper pork spare ribs and yang chow fried rice (above), and broccoli in oyster sauce (visible in the topmost photo). The spare ribs were a bit disappointing. The pork was bland and had way too much fat. We had to eat the pork with the sweet and sour sauce that came with the camaron. Causeway Seafood Restaurant’s salt-and-pepper pork spare ribs is much, much better. I was thinking that, perhaps, with the volume of diners on Father’s Day, the cooks at Luyong were in too much of a rush to properly season the food. Perhaps.
A tip: If you’re planning on eating at Luyong on a day that you expect to be crowded, like Father’s Day, come early and get a table as far away as possible from the entrance. We arrived after 11.30 and the only vacant table was the one nearest to the entrance. Aside from the diners and those waiting in line to be seated, there were a lot of customers ordering take-out. Most of them came with their young kids who were naturally bored with waiting. Bored kids are not exactly the most well-behaved people on earth. They kept bumping into our chairs and their screaming was, at times, too much to bear. Of course, if you’re the type who can ignore all those inconveniences, you can still enjoy the food.
Comments
About Pinoy Cook
- About the author
- Cooking philosophy
- Food photography
- The noche buena section
- Product review policy
- Terms of use
- Privacy policy
- Recipe archive
- Published articles
- Food from all over
- E-mail the author
Readers
Noche Buena
- Home grilled pork barbecue
- Fresh tropical fruits salad
- Spaghetti with longganisa (sausage) meatballs
- Roast duckling on New Year’s eve
- What to do with holiday leftovers: make a pie, a soup and Oriental fried rice
- Ox tongue with gravy
- Rice pudding with custard topping
- Christmas ham from Majestic
- Rolled porkloin with bacon, basil and rosemary
- Chicken, pesto and yogurt salad
School lunchbox
- Butter-fried fish and corn
- Honey-lemon-ginger chicken
- School lunch: chicken, chayote and spinach
- Creamed pork, ham, carrots and celery
- Pork barbecue fried rice
- Back to school again
- Pinatisang bangus (milkfish soup with fish sauce)
- Crispy chicken strips with sweet and sour sauce
- Chicken and asparagus fried rice
- Ground pork and vegetables frittata
Side Notes
-
Order now!
-
In focus
Oh my gosh! I love LUYONG! I remember going to their restaurant as a little girl back in the late 70s and early 80s. Camaron rebosado is my favorite! Last time I ate there was in 1986 after my elementary school graduation! My parents have gone back there quite a few times whenever visiting the Philippines. From what I recall, my dad knows the owner — they were tennis buddies or something.
HI!
where in Marikina is Luyong located? is it the one near the Marikina Sports complex?
christine, i didn’t realize that luyong has been there that long! wow! :wow:
erleen, it’s along J.P. Rizal in Concepcion, Marikina.
My family in Marikina are regular Luyong customers also. Our favorites there are their specialty miki bihon pancit
( it has pieces of crispy lechon ), tortang hipon, crispy pata, fried spring rolls, ampalaya con carne, etc. I can almost taste it, thanks so much for sharing the nice photos and for another feature on Luyong! Makes me feel like I’m back home.
sorry to post this message here, trying to find ways high and low on how to contact you. =)
I rarely log in to the Pinoy forum and seems that my username is inactive. May I know how I could activate my username?
thanks a lot.
regards
malou
saan exact address luyong restaurant…i need to try all their mouth watering food…
Malou, ako din na lock-out eh. Loss my password. Peterb emailed me new details pero haven’t tried the new settings.
You can try registering a new account.
emilie, J.P. Rizal lang alam ko. But it’s beside the new Robinson’s Supermarket.
guys, ang luyong sa J.P. Rizal street sa tabi siya ng KC supermarket. Ang sarap don.
for those who aren’t too familiar with marikina, luyong is located along j.p. rizal st., concepcion. malapit siya sa landbank, kc supermarket and barangay hall. accessible nga siya from batasan kasi may san mateo-batasan bridge na. and from UP katipunan area naman via tumana bridge. in both cases, you simply have to turn right after the bridge and chug along j.p. rizal while dreaming about the food. hehe…
kabisado ko “no? favorite din kasi ng family namin ang luyong e.
p.s. last time we were there, we tried their bangus belly ala pobre, sisig and inihaw na pusit. grabe, sarap! lambot ng pusit!!!
Yup…they’ve been in Marikina for as long as I can remember! I’m going to the Philippines at the end of the year and I hope to eat at Luyong’s.
hey guys napansin ko sa luyong now is di na ganun kasarap ang food nila minsan dinala ko tita ko from states sabi pa namn namin masarap, then ng matikman namin grabe wala ng sarap. un lang masasabi ko at di na ako mauulit kuamin dyan
luyong has several branches, handled by different families…that’s as far as i know…so far, the luyong in concepcion, along jp rizal is the best…maganda na yung resto nila unlike the rest..other branches i am aware of are in a. tuazon, near sta lucia mall, one in sto nino near the sports center, one in san mateo…subukan ninyo…pag paminsan-minsan, okay siya…wag lang linggo-linggo…i wonder if they use msg? sana hindi…sakit sa ulo!
Just got back from the Philippines. My family and I ate at Luyong’s in Marikina. The owner (he and my dad go way back…) even sat down with us and entertained us with his stories. Sarap pagkain doon! He even shared some of his cooking tips with us. Yuummmy…
Hi!
This is a part of my childhood that I missed soooo much! I even tried to search for “luyong” in the internet just to find out where it is still located.
I remember, my family would celebrate certain occasions in the sto nino branch. nauna kasi yun sa jp rizal branch. I always liked the tokwat baboy. it was filled with tausi back then. now i hope meron pa ring ganun. i am just wodering why that meal is no longer mentioned in blogs about luyong. baka wala na. huhu..
ill be visiting this weekend… im putting my hopes up