There are a lot of good food finds in Manila if you know where to look; malls, social media, newspapers, magazine or even by word of mouth and this is one of those rare food finds that you won’t find online… yet.
I was contacted by a Senior When In Manila contributor and was asked if I’d like to try some ribs. Who wouldn’t want to try something different (case in point: delivered ribs within Quezon City and Pasig, hopefully expanding to Makati and Taguig soon, as well) and since I’m almost always game, why not give it a try?
So I got the number of Genevieve, the entrepreneur behind Shop Club & Co who started delivering amazing food finds door-to-door and in this case, pre-cooked boned baby back ribs. We met up at a gas station along EDSA one Saturday morning, exchanged pleasantries and got the items. It was quick and systematic that you’d think we were doing something illegal.
I immediately went home and preheated my trusty rotisserie cum convection oven cum turbo broiler to 250ºC, boiled some baby potatoes, chilled a bottle of wine and prepared the meat from Shop Club & Co.
I was told that it can be cooked in many ways and the seller’s favorite way was by pan searing. Since it is already pre-cooked, all you need to do is heat them up and pan searing will give you that wonderful crust. However, if you are a bit lazy like me, baking is the way to go. 200ºC for 10-15 minutes is all you need.
Top tip: Always preheat your oven to ensure even cooking and for your food to cook through!
You’d be surprised how much Php400 will get you. I mean, if you ordered a kilo of ribs in a restaurant, it will easily set you back more than a thousand pesos, not even including your other items. A pack of this ribs will easily feed 6 persons or 3 very hungry individuals and that is not yet counting your potatoes! Add some bread and that will easily serve ten! That is like Php100 each for a decent and filling meal.
What can I say? Delicious. The deboned ribs were tender, juicy, flavorful and with a bit of know-how, crunchy. It had a texture of slow cooked pulled pork that I wish I had some buns or even sliced bread. The serving was overwhelming for 2 persons that I was porked out.
All I can say is that it was a very interesting experience. A bag of pork ribs delivered at your door especially for individuals that just don’t have the time to cook a meal or residents of small apartments or condominium units. Just order a bag or two, chill some beers and have some friends over for movie night and serve food that is truly impressive, of restaurant quality and does not cost an arm and a leg.
Keep your eyes peeled, your ears open and your stomach empty since there are things that is not found in social media these days; and sometimes, those are the really, really good things.
I still do keep in touch with her since I’ll help host a dinner party soon and Shop Club & Co. will definitely be a part of it!
Pork got you thinking of bagnet? Check out Balai Ilocos in BF Homes: Home of Authentic Ilocano Food, too. 🙂
Shop Club and Co.
https://www.facebook.com/ShopClubandCo/
09175180919
