Mang Larry's Isawan: U.P.'s tourist attraction

Mang Larry's isawan is commonly referred to as "yung isawan sa U.P.". It's so popular that the isawan easily made it to Wikipedia's definition of what an "isaw" is.

from Wikipedia:

Isaw is a street food from the Philippines, made from barbecued pig or chicken intestines. The intestines are cleaned, turned inside out, and cleaned again, repeating the process several times. They are then either boiled, then grilled, or immediately grilled on sticks. They are usually dipped in kurat (Filipino term for especially made vinegar with onions and other flavour enhancers) then eaten. They are usually sold by vendors on the street corners in afternoons.

While popular throughout the Philippines, Isaw has taken on an iconic status as a campus staple at the University of the Philippines Diliman. The UP Isawan (Isaw stall) is used as a regular setting comic book artist Manix Abrera, in his daily KikoMachine comic strip on the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

See? 

I'm sure every university has an isawan across the street, along their sidewalks, beside internet shops, etc. But Mang Larry here, is comfortably situated inside the University of the Philippines' campus under Cart #11, under the shade of trees, at the corner of an empty lot. 

Street food such as fishballs, and kikiam have a reputation for being dirty, a free access pass to hepatitis. Because of its affordable price, street foods cater mostly, if not all class C, D and E. Urban legend says that whenever these classes eat street food, the stick (which functions as a fork when eating street food) is consistently dipped inside the sauce (sweet, spicy, or vinegar) canister, which we could all agree is unhygienic. It's like eating straight from the serving plates using your chopsticks, but this time, everyone on the street participates. 

Since street food are sold along the streets, pollution from car engines, factories, constructions etc contribute to the germs that feast on the street food along with us. So it wouldn't be surprising if we end up in the hospital after a week of street food, and street fruit shake, and beer, and chicharon, and balot, and...moving on.

Mang Larry's stand veers away from all these factors. Aside from the parochial location (trees, grass, and if you listen very carefully, you can hear chickens too), Mang Larry provides each customer his/her very own cup for their choice of sauce. Thus, narrowing down the cause of hepatitis to the improper food preparation. 

***

When we got to U.P., a line of at least twelve people was waiting for us. Three ihawans are manned by five men, a lady by the cashier, another guy by the display counter, and one more guy by the sauce tumblers. And they were all busy. These are Mang Larry's menu:

isaw manok (chicken intestine) P3

isaw baboy (pork intestine) P3

atay (pork liver) P6

buchi (chicken intestine) P3

pork bbq P10

tenga (pork ears) P6

isaw baboy special (special pork intestine) P6

goto (pork tissue) P3

balunan (chicken gizzard) P6

Aside from these delicacies, they also sell softdrinks and water. 

Compared to other isawans, Mang Larry's food come in very small servings, hence the very cheap price. So it wouldn't be surprising to see one person order more than ten sticks (me). 

Service was surprisingly fast, considering the number of people, and the number of food they order. What I like about Mang Larry's isaw is that he uses brown paper bags for your order. Aside from it being environmentally friendly, the paper bag absorbs the excess oil from the food.

***

Overall, the taste was forgettable, but the experience wasn't. And for that experience alone, I think I would come back to Mang Larry. I've had better isaw's and barbeque's, but I had more fun eating them the Mang Larry style. Sitting on the street, one stick on my right hand, and the sauce cup on the other. 

For twelve sticks, and a softdrink, I paid P99 and went home 99% happy. 1% goes to the bland marinade, and sometimes, overcooked isaw. =(

UST's flood to Thomasians is similar to Mang Larry's isaw to UP students. It's like an initiation rite to the university you go to. It's something you have to experience in order to prove your Tiger blood, or your UP blood (I don't know how to adress U.P. students, scholars ba? Sorry.) Congratulations Mang Larry! 

Food:         **
Ambiance: *****

Service:     *****

Servings:   ***

Mang Larry's Isawan: Cart #11, UP Diliman, Quezon City