Ka Domeng's Pares

Nothing spells a good, old-school meal like some beef pares and mami, served and eaten on a bench at a random pares house along the road in the wee hours of the morning.

We discovered and frequent such a place called Pares ni Ka Domeng, a small canteen-like spot beside the Petron gas station at Fairview. It serves the usual, simple stuff like tapsilog (and all varieties of it), siopao and siomai, a wide variety of mami, and of course, its house specialty, beef pares served with some garlic rice. 

the menu board

Open 24 hours, it's the best place to sate you hunger (and drown your angst) after a bad case of overtime late into the night, or before heading off the work early in the morning.

For being a fairly small establishment, they actually have pretty good service and complete, ah, amenities. You plop yourself down on the stool by the long counter and give your orders, and while they bustle around in the kitchen, you're given anything you will need for your meal.

You start off with a basket of condiments, utensils wrapped in paper napkins, a pitcher of cold water and glasses, and some broth, all on the house.

a plastic basket containing all the condiments you'll need: soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil, ketchup, patis and even toothpicks

 The broth is made from the same soup used in the mami, and is nice, rich and warm, prepping you for a good meal ahead.

some broth while you wait

Eventually you'll be served your orders. I usually go for their Beef Wanton Mami for Php50, which is a yummy, noodle-based soup with lots of shredded cabbage, siomai pieces and big chunks of beef. Admittedly it's not too different from the usually mami served everywhere else, but it's good for the price and works really well in giving you a full tummy and satisfied feeling, not to mention chasing those blues away on a cold, tiring day.

mami is best eaten hot, with lots of chili oil

Ka Domeng's specialty, though, is their Beef Pares, which is a traditional Filipino street-food composed of a beef stew with rice and some broth of the same flavor, hence the name (pares translates to 'pair'). Priced at Php58, the meal includes a saucer of the pares, which has that familiar sweetish flavor and soft, almost melt-in-your mouth, pieces of meat. The accompanying garlic rice is about a cup's worth, which, unlike most 'garlic rice' served in some establishments, is actually pretty generous with the garlic.

nice, succulent beef in a thick, flavorful sauce

garlic rice. order another one for your pares for that belly-bursting finish

For the drinks, you can stick to the house water, or order from any of the usual softdrink products available.

old-school bottle of coke

 What I like most about this place was that it was simple, no-fuss and as quiet as you can get at a food establishment beside a main road. It's fairly clean and safe, and the food is good for price you pay for them, enough to leave you fully satisfied when you leave.