Valentine’s Day means people would be lining up for restaurants and, yes — checking in their accommodations of choice.
While staycations at hotels are a popular choice, so are motels. And anyone self-aware enough to admit that they have done the occasional check-in at a motel would know that these lodgings are also known for another lucrative side business: their food. These motels have interestingly spawned cult followings for certain iconic meals, with some just as aggressively marketing their dishes.
Food content creator Ryan Reyes, best known as Ninong Ry, toured some of Manila’s most popular motels — namely Victoria Court, Sogo, and the Mahal Kita Inn — which all tout a signature dish, in time for Valentine’s Day.
In his video, Ninong Ry and his crew first visit Victoria Court, where the group books the Austin Powers-themed party room. They sample the motel chain’s crispy pata, a crispy pork leg served with a soy sauce-vinegar dip and a side of kropek or prawn crackers. Ninong Ry praises the crispy pata’s tender meat and gelatinous underside, saying that was an important feature.
Moving to Sogo, he then orders the motels’ famous half-fried chicken, a breading-less fried chicken with crispy skin. He remarks that the chicken dish is “inoffensive,” flavorful but with little hint of spice, and understands why it’s a popular order as it appeals to different palates.
For his last motel stop, Ninong Ry visits the Mahal Kita Inn, which is popular for its pancit canton, a saucy Filipino noodle dish of Chinese origin. Ninong Ry mentions that Mahal Kita’s pancit canton is known for its “cult classic” reputation.
After visiting the motels, the creator returns to his kitchen to recreate the dishes for viewers in case they couldn’t manage to check in.
“We will try to achieve the closest possible taste to these recipes — but it is possible that these would even be better because you’re the one cooking and deciding which ingredients and flavors go best together,” he says.
Viewers praised the creator for his content, saying he gave motels a better image.
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