Netong's is a popular batchoyan in the middle of the Lapaz Market. But it is also turo-turo with more than 20 dishes on display but that didn't distract from the order I actually came for - pata or linaga. Actually, I had my tastebuds set on on their pata but it wasn't available until 3pm that day, so I had to settle for linaga. Equally appetizing and cholesterol laden ... I am not quite accustomed to linaga being cooked in large "kalaha" or frying pan that I looked for deep kalderos in the area until the server pointed that big kawali as the container for linaga. It didn't quite look appetizing at first that I thoughts of cancelling my order and opt for their batchoy instead. But the linaga started to have it's familiar look as the server got a piece of beef then cut it into bite size pieces.From an almost cancelled order to an appetizing bowl of slow-boiled beef, Netong's linaga instantly became a favorite and wouldn't mind having another bowl or eating there for the next few straight days. The beef was very soft but you'd still have to bite in it giving it a contrasting texture. The broth was very good that "sabaw pa lang ulam na". At times there are bony parts attached to the beef but they are quite edible that I had fun crunching them. It was so good and delicious that even two cups of rice wasn't enough, but I had to stop at two. I finished my rice with still a third of the linaga left in the bowl to which I savoured every "strand" of the beef and every drip of the broth. Almost a surprise when the bill came that this bowl of linaga was only Php35! And with two servings of rice, that one delicious lunch was only Php51. Now, Netong's is not only a place where one can have Lapaz Batchoy but also a good bowl of linaga. And I hope I'll catch their pata next time I drop by the Lapaz public market for there's definitely more than batchoy in Lapaz!
It was only today that I remembered buying a pack of ready-to-cook pancit Molo. Locals are fortunate to buy them at groceries here saving them time, money and effort in the tedious preparation of pancit Molo. Anyway every pack of the RTC pancit Molo has the balls and the lang-lang . Its the balls that entice the buyers and the lang lang that "dictates" the price and weight. For this blog entry, I opted for the AR brand (150 grams for PhP 21) since they had the more photogenic combination at that time though I'm more partial to the Cares brand. Separating the contents makes you realize that what you actually bought but for that price, it's already a bargain, can be cooked in many ways and can serve 2-3 people. It is then up to you what you can make out from a pack or more. For this preparation, I used 2 chicken broth cubes and just estimated the amount of water. Upon taste test I added a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper and few drops of soy sauce. I boiled the lang