[Philippines - Makati City] Buddy's - Lucban Food in Makati City

Chandelier- type decor
Buddy's in Makati City specializes in food from Lucban, Quezon province.


Today's post is a guest post written by my friend Steph.

Before I got to Manila, I naively thought that all Filipino food was the same.  But I quickly realized that this was not the case.  In the Philippines, different regions and provinces have specialized ingredients that, when cooked together, come alive in a distinct flavor unique to the place.


Buddy’s encapsulates such uniqueness.  Its food originates from Lucban, Quezon, a province Southeast of Metro Manila still located on the island of Luzon.  I’ll be honest, I didn’t know anything about the place prior to this restaurant, but after coming here, I would love to go and see it in person.
Pink rice "leaf"


When you walk in, there are numerous colored decorations hanging from the ceiling.  They are gorgeous chandelier-type decorations made with colored rice “leaves” and grain.  Apparently, during their province’s festival, Pahiyas, people whose houses are on the parade path get to decorate their place with these decorations, fresh fruit and vegetables, flowers, and any other colorful object they can find.  The house that is best decorated, wins a prize.

Pahiyas fesitval.

The restaurant atmosphere made me feel like I was in Lucban at the festival.  Everything is so brightly colored.  Those chandelier decorations were scattered about (the waiter even cut a “leaf” off of one of them so that I can see what it was made out of!).  Even all of the workers are from Lucban themselves!  I love when communities help out fellow members like that J

But that really isn’t the best part.  When you eat at this place, you MUST try three things: 1. Lucban longganisa, 2. Lucban pancit and 3. Sisig.

Longganissa is a small pork sausage that is a common breakfast food here in the Philippines (if you eat it with rice and eggs= “longsilog”.  Different provinces have different flavors; Lucban is known for having a lot of garlic in it.  While an order of the sausages by itself is available, my friend and I decided to get the kesong puti and Lucban longganisa pizza.  Kesong puti is a white cheese that is made of carabao milk.  While it does have a distinct flavor, it is not overpowering or anything like that.  I had absolutely no idea that this dish would be so good!  The cheese and the sausage come together perfectly, creating everything I ever wanted in a Filipino pizza.  Even though the size is like a personal pizza back in the states, it is just enough- especially if you order the pancit.



The pancit, a noodle dish with meat and other veggies, is an unusually large portion.  It is served on a banana leaf on a wooden place.  There are large chunks of pork mixed in (unusual even for me), and the noodles itself are dense and heave as they are made out of rice.  What is also interesting about this dish is that the normal calamansi or lemon topping is not used; they use vinegar as the sauce instead.  While it seems a little odd, it really tastes delicious!  A warning though: since the noodles and dense and this is quite a large portion, be wary of eating too much of it (although it is delicious!)


The reason for the above warning is that you must also try the sisig!  Sisig is a chopped up meat dish (usually pork) that is usually mixed with onions and peppers (it can be a little spicy).  It is generally served on a sizzling plate (in fact, only get it if it’s on a sizzling plate) and with a topping like egg, mayo, or pig brain.  This one comes with egg; they just crack it on top right before serving.  You have to mix it up right when it comes to make sure that nothing overcooks on the bottom.  It is so yummy!

If you’re looking for some delicious food, this is the place to go.  I shared all of the above with one person, and it cost us each 200php (about $5).  Win! J



*FTC Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which means, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a commission if you click through the links provided and make a purchase.*

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