The very first time I heard about Luyong Restaurant was through my foodie friend Joanne Tuanquin. She was raving about how good the Lumpiang Shanghai (deep fried egg rolls) at this restaurant. At the time, my initial reaction was, "For a mere Lumpiang Shanghai, you'd be willing to travel all the way to Marikina? But Lumpiang Shanghai's so easy to do--you can do it even at the confines of your own kitchen, why bother to go to this restaurant called Luyong's? What is it about Luyong's Lumpiang Shanghai that keeps my friend from coming back to this restaurant?"
All of my questions above were finally answered when I myself found my way to Luyong's quaint Cantonese restaurant located in the heart of Marikina (just a few blocks from Rodriguez Sports Center and Savemore Supermarket). Call it serendipity, I was in Marikina to accompany two of my good friends as they were looking for a house. We decided to grab some snack at Luyong's and as a foodie, it was probably my time to taste and savor their well-known deep fried Lumpuang Shanghai rolls.
Luyong's Menu wasn't exactly impressive because it only had (apart from the best selling Lumpiang Shanghai rolls, of course) a variety of pancit, namely: bihon, canton, miki-bihon, bihon tostado, lomi, but what has intrigued me the mosts are these two called pinagulong, and alanganin. Too bad, we didn't have enough time to try these 'pancit pinagulong' (which literally means 'rolled') and 'pancit alanganin'. I promised myself that the next time I'd visit Luyong's, I'd order these two 'uniquely named pancit' and get to know the difference.
Aside from pancit, Luyong's offer a wide variety of soups to start off your meal, all sorts of viands one can do with Lapu-lapu fish, some rice toppings, fried dishes like Lechon Kawali, Camaron Rebosado, Fried Chicken, beef, liver and pork steak, Macau longganisa, buttered chicken, pinsec prito, sweet and sour stuff, a slew of vegetable based viands, and even bottles of beer on their beverage choices.
But overall, Luyong's could easily be classified as 'Binondo-type' kind of restaurant that offers authenitic Cantonese fare. I actually find Luyong's as a bit pricey considering the restaurant itself doesn't offer a much cozy ambiance. What they have are simply what I can classify as authentic Chinese comfort foods. And, oh, I now understand why my friend went loco over Luyong's Lumpiang Shanghai rolls! For 12 small rolls at Php180, it's pretty expensive. But Luyong's have all the right to sell them at that price---for it's worth your every bite. Luyong's Shanghai rolls had the crunchiest rolls stuffed and filled up with the finest tasting meat inside. Every morsel of such heavenly lumpia pieces are enough to make you do cartwheels. That's how good those Luyong lumpia rolls are! Now, I no longer wonder why people would come and flock this small yet quaint Chinese restaurant in Marikina, their shanghai rolls alone rocks! 'Nuff said!
So if you're craving for some authentic Cantonese casual dining, try Luyong's Restaurant in Marikina. Don't you forget to order their Shanghai rolls--don't be surprised too if you could eat the entire plate in one sitting!
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