A Tale of Two: Pares at La Loma, Quezon City (Jonas vs. Original Pares Mami House)
Pares at Jonas (left) and The Original Pares Mami House (right)
Good things come in pairs.
This is true in the foodie world. In my experience, there are duopolies for a certain dish or locations where only a couple of dishes dominate the food landscape. So I thought of launching a new series called A Tale of Two, which are made up of articles that compare and/or appreciate a pair of dishes or food establishments. I’m excited about this series because I get to try two of everything. And if there’s a winner between the two in the case of comparisons, my tummy emerges as the ultimate winner! LOL.
This article is about 2 Pares (PAH res) in Quezon City’s La Loma district, which proudly claims itself as the “Lechon Capital of the Philippines.” (Lechon is the Filipino version of roast suckling pig. But I’m siding with Cebu, an island in Central Philippines, in claiming the title for lechon capital.)
The 2 pares spots featured are Jonas and The Original Pares Mami House.
Criteria
Before we talk about the criteria, let’s talk about what a pares is. Literally “pair”, pares is a “pairing” of beef stew (sometimes called beef pares), fried rice, and soup. The stew is made by braising chunks of beef in water, soy sauce, brown sugar, spices, and its most prominent flavor, star anise. Some pares spots even serve siomai (pork dumpling) to go along with the meal.
I judged the pares with these:
Beef Stew: It has to start with this, of course! The beef has to be tender and flavors have to be balanced (some tend to be overly sweet). I’m disregarding the consistency of the gravy because I realized the pares spots will have its own take. Some makes their thick while others soupy.
Fried Rice: This is a difficult one. I guess the rice has to be fluffy and garlicky.
Siomai: Both the featured pares spots don’t serve siomai together with its pares; it’s sold separately. But I want this to be a complete paresio (pares-siomai) experience. I just looked for meatiness and good taste.
Take note that I did this review way long before the pandemic and lockdowns. So I had the pares for dine-in. It’s the freshest that it could be.
“History”
Before we dive in to our review and comparison of the two pares, I want to talk about the interesting story of Jonas and The Original Pares Mami House.
I did some reading and found out that The Original Pares Mami House isn’t “the original”. The story goes that Lolita Tiu opened an eatery in 1979 that served pares. The eatery is Jonas. According to rumors, its cook begrudgingly left his employer and opened his own eatery a few blocks away, which is now The Original Pares Mami House. That cook is named Jonas! So Jonas (the cook) doesn’t own Jonas (the pares spot) but The Original Pares Mami House that isn’t original at all! Whut?! LOL.
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Let’s now start with the first one…
Jonas
Aside from the dish, the term pares also originated from Jonas. Customers of old would often order the beef stew and the fried rice together. Eventually, the pairing was referred to as the pares we now know.
At Jonas
Here’s what I think of Jonas’ pares and siomai:
Beef Stew: The beef is tender but not melt-in-the-mouth. But this lack of tenderness is offset with a generous layer of fat, which adds to the flavor. Their stew has a soupy gravy instead of a thick one, and also on the salty side.
Fried Rice: The rice is fluffy and has a nice flavor coming from the onion.
Siomai: Honestly a letdown, as it is unusually sweet.
Beef Pares (P168) and Siomai (P58)
The Original Pares Mami House
Original or not, this spot is an institution in the Retiro Street, which is now N.S. Amoranto Street. That’s why this pares place is also referred to a “Pares sa Retiro” (pares in Retiro). It’s also hard to miss, as it is housed in a red and white building…and always packed with customers from all walks of life.
The Original Pares Mami House
Before the pandemic, the spot was always packed!
Now, let’s talk about the unoriginal pares of The Original. LOL.
Beef Stew: I will right away describe it as balanced. The gravy is nicely thick, rightly sweet, and perfectly flavored, with not one taste overpowering another. And the beef? O man! Both the meat and litid (tendon) are amazingly tender!
Fried Rice: The fried rice is fluffy, mixed with egg and chorizo bits and generously topped with crispy garlic.
Siomai: It’s packed with meat and tastes good.
Beef Pares (with fried rice and soup: P115)
Siomai (3 pcs.: P45)
The Verdict
It’s obvious: The Original Pares Mami House! It’s just the perfect pares meal for me. And in a rainy season, this will be the ultimate comfort food.
The unoriginal defeats the original! LOL.
Jonas
Address: 561 Mayon St. cor. Malindang St., La Loma, Quezon City
Operating Hours (During Pandemic as of October 26, 2020): Daily, 9AM-7PM
Social Media: Facebook
The Original Pares Mami House
Address: N.S. Amoranto (formerly Retiro St.) cor. Dr. Alejos St., La Loma, Quezon City
Operating Hours: TBA
Contact No.: 8749-5913
Social Media: Facebook
Other articles in the A Tale of Two series: Pork Krapow in Poblacion, Makati City (Krapow MNL vs. Samyan) | Fried Chicken Sandwiches in Bonifacio High Street (Fowlbread vs. Shake Shack)
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