Street Food Challenge: The Search for Philippines' Best Isaw Pt 2

Last September 2010, my friend Abbey took me to an Isawan place in UP which she claims is much better than Mang Larry's. Indeed they sell better tasting isaw but I went back to Mang Larry's to confirm.


Mang Larry's Isawan (a place where they sell isaw or intestines) is the famous isawan in UP Diliman. In fact, we have even seen some celebrities drive all the way to Mang Larry's just to satisfy their isaw craving. Abbey calls this the "commercialized" isawan in UP. Haha.

For about a month, Mang Larry's even extended its operations to Katipunan (near Mini Stop) but sadly, it ceases to exist there. They are, however, very much alive and much more systematic now in UP Diliman. 

Unlike before, Mang Larry's Isawan follows a very systematic ordering system: 
Step 1: State how many pieces of isaw manok (Php3), isaw baboy (Php3), tainga (Php6), balunbalunan (Php6), barbeque (Php10), atay (Php6), goto (Php6) or botsi (Php6) you want. (translation: intestines of a chicken, intestines of a pig, ear, barbeque, goto.) 


Upon payment, your name will be asked and an order slip will be given to the cooks. By the way, they have increased their prices so their signs aren't accurate. I'm not sure if this applies to all but the isaw manok is now priced at Php3.50 or Php4.00 per stick. Also, the cup for the sauce costs Php1 if I remember correctly. 


Step 2: Wait for your isaw to be grilled. They already have two long grills as opposed to one long grill in my last visit. 

Step 3: Wait for your name to be called and get the paperbag of goodies :) Yaaay! RJ and I ordered 10 sticks of isaw manok that day.

Step 4: Get a cup of sauce on the side. You may either choose to get the spicy or the sweet sauce. I prefer the sweet sauce just because I don't think the spicy sauce is spicy enough. 

Step 5: Eat! Most students park their cars nearby and eat there. While, commuters like me usually eat by the parked mini jeepney that supplies the electricity in Mang Larry's Isawan. 

As opposed to the isawan near UP International Center (the isaw with a reddish raw form), Mang Larry's isaw is pale looking in its raw form. 

They also look thinner in their cooked form. During our visit, the cooks burnt some of my isaw sticks so they were really dry, small with a burnt charcoal taste. Boo. 

The well cooked ones were delicious but I must admit, I like the isaw of the other isawan more. Of course, I'm not sure if the redness and plumpness of isaw have any nutritional and food safety implications but in terms of taste, they are so much juicier. Yum yum! 


So for now, I must say that the Best Philippine Isaw is by our challenger, Isawan near International Center. Yaaaay! 


Any other challengers? Feel free to share other great isawan places. :)


More Info on Mang Larry's Isawan:
Address: Laurel Avenue, UP Diliman, Diliman, Quezon City
Map: Click Here
Landmarks: Along the street to the left of Philippine Post Office in UP, near UP Shopping Center
Operating Hours: 3PM until supplies last, I think usually until 7PM
Budget: Php50/head 
Attire: Casual


For other entries on Street Foods, click here.


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