Señor Inasal At Iba Pa: Fresh Fusion of Filipino Favorites at the Best Kept Secret Restaurant in Tomas Morato and Timog Area
When in Manila and in the mood for a fresh fusion of Filipino favorites but with a tight budget and fondness for homey atmosphere, you have to try Señor Inasal At Iba Pa; it is easily the best kept secret restaurant in Tomas Morato – Timog Area. Not only do they serve some of the best quality chicken inasal out there, the “At Iba Pa” part of their restaurant’s name is equally important as they serve this humongous repertoire of delicious and affordable dishes, which will surprise you as they’re coming from a very humble and simple restaurant.
While it is already interesting to learn that Señor Inasal At Iba Pa is in the middle of other larger giant restos in the Tomas Morato – Timog Area, equally intriguing is to learn that the owners of the restaurant are some of the most fascinating people I’ve met in all of my WhenInManila features.
Where else can you find a restaurant owned by a SK Kagawad who is also 75% Spanish, 25% Ilocano, but 100% Pinoy?
Mari Rodriguez, restaurateur/owner of Señor Inasal At Iba Pa is of Spanish lineage (which also explains the Señor part of their restaurant’s name, which is named after his father Señor Antonio). He and his family lived in the Isabela (North Luzon) area and are passionate for Filipino food.
The Rodriguez Family – with Señor Antonio himself!
When I interviewed Mari, who looked mestizo and foreigner at first glance, he surprised me by speaking like an ordinary Pinoy with no foreign accent (he even spoke Ilocano to my friend who speaks the language, too!); he has all the makings of any Pinoy you know: sense of humor, penchant for drinking and pulutan, deep family-ties, and love for Pinoy food. He acquired J. Lo Inasal last year and renamed it Señor Inasal At Iba Pa just months ago. And now with his brother Chippy, Mari has been doing an excellent job for being able to feature a wide array of everybody’s favorite chicken inasal, Filipino food at iba pa!
Let me give you a gallery of mouth-watering dishes that they offer in Señor Inasal At Iba Pa.
WARNING: Do not view with an empty stomach as these photos will make you feel hungry. Or better yet, run immediately and hail a cab and rush to Señor Inasal At Iba Pa!
Round One: The Appetizers (aka Pulutan)
The first dish served on our table was their Crispy Tenga with Tokwa. Not only were the pig’s ears crunchy to every bite, the soft-inside-but-crunchy-outside tokwa was also mixed with pork liempo slices, topped with sili and freshly cut onion rings. Served with vinegar-based sauce, the only thing you might want next is your favorite beer!
Enter Calamares with its crunchy coating and your favorite mayo-ketchup dip. Perfect for whetting your appetite!
Another thing that makes Señor Inasal At Iba Pa special is that they serve Isabela Longganisa, which comes all the way from Northern Luzon. Personally, it’s one of my most favorite among the varieties of longganisa. It’s very garlicky and crispy and really great for your -silog breakfast!
And the most popular appetizer, as it was the dish that was gobbled up really quickly, was the Chicharon Bulaklak, cooked very, very crispy, unlike other restaurants which cook theirs still awkwardly chewy in the middle. If you don’t have high blood pressure (or if you have one and want to be a daredevil), you have to try this!
Sidenote from Mari while we were munching our appetizers: they’re actually reconsidering changing their restaurant’s name from Señor Inasal At Iba Pa to House of Crispies (or was it Crunchies?) because they love serving food which will make your teeth happily munching and muching.
I hope you still have space in your stomach because ready or not, here comes Round Two: Veggies!
Ilocanos are very proud of the way they cook their vegetables. Hence, Mari was proud to tell us about the special sauce of their version of Pinakbet. Señor Inasal At Iba Pa uses anchovy type of bagoong and has all the veggies crunchy and fresh.
My favorite between the two Round Two dishes is the Chopsuey. Like all of their dishes, this dish is MSG-free, hence you can taste the delicious sauce with the crisp, fresh vegetables, topped with crunchy garlic bits (which Señor Inasal At Iba Pa loves to put on all of their major dishes) and quail eggs. Delicious!
Round 3: The Meats!
Of course, Mari had to serve a classic Spanish dish in their roster of great dishes. The Authentic Spanish Callos of Señor Inasal At Iba Pa is 100% Spanish as it is a hand-down recipe from Mari’s parents. Mari shared with me that their Callos is cooked for more than a day, hence when you bite the tripe and cow’s pata, the meat just melts in your mouth. And that chorizo is 100% authentic Spanish. This is a must-try, everyone!
Adobo has been a staple food in many homes, but Señor Inasal At Iba Pa offers a unique twist because theirs is Adobong Kambing. The goat meat is tenderized with their special marinade that will surely make even a non-goat meat lover a fan.
Their version of Crispy Dinuguan is flavorful and a bit spicy, thanks to the siling labuyo and healthy toppings of crunchy fried pig parts.
Mari is also particularly fond of their Grilled Liempo because it is cooked with the simple salt and pepper method. The result is a flavorful and tender meat. This is served with atsara and vinegar-based sauce.
Finally, we have their special Bacolod-authentic Pecho Inasal. They use special sauce for this one. I love the saltiness of the sauce as well as the perfectly grilled chicken meat that makes their Inasal simply one of the best in the metro.
And you thought it’s over already? Round Four: Seafood Specials!
The Sinigang na Hipon soup of Señor Inasal At Iba Pa is done really well with its just-right sour hot soup with generous servings of shrimp. Other restos usually have only about two or three pieces of shrimp in their sinigang, while Señor Inasal At Iba Pa has enough pieces of shrimp to feed an entire family of six.
Their Grilled Pusit is fresh from the grill and you can feel the tenderness of the squid meat with every bite.
And finally, we had their Inihaw Boneless Bangus. The quality of the bangus is topnotch as it doesn’t taste muddy as some bangus could be, and being boneless, you get to just enjoy the milky goodness of the meat. Just look at the size of the bangus, and you would agree with me that Señor Inasal At Iba Pa really wants their customers to leave with happy stomachs.
Just look at how full our table was. Hahaha! Señor Inasal At Iba Pa served us a FIESTA worth of dinner. Everything was fantastic!
The staff and crew of Señor Inasal At Iba Pa are very hardworking and nice people; believe it or not, one of the servers is an SK kagawad and several of them former barangay tanods working with Mari and his wife, Mayene, who is actually an incumbent Kagawad of their district..
The staff and crew with owner Mari and his brother Chippy Rodriguez. Thank you very much, guys! We hope and pray for the success of Señor Inasal At Iba Pa! We will definitely come back with our family and barkada to enjoy your amazing and affordable food!
When in Manila, head over to Scout Santiago cor. Scout Limbaga, Quezon City (near Timog Avenue and Tomas Morato Area) and enjoy the fresh fusion of your favorite Filipino food at Señor Inasal At Iba Pa.
Señor Inasal At Iba Pa
Scout Santiago cor. Scout Limbaga, Quezon City (near Timog Avenue and Tomas Morato Area)
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You can contact them directly for deliveries and reservations at 709.4761
They’re open on Mondays to Saturdays; 11AM – 2 PM and 5PM – 11 PM
