The situation these days is far different from when the Covid-19 pandemic began. I was appalled with the sea of people in the mall even on a weekday. Since it's summer here, the temperature can be a high 35 degrees (or even higher). Maybe the crowd was window shopping while enjoying the cool AC. Or perhaps there's really a need to replenish their pantry and just like us, we decided to have lunch to celebrate my mother's birthday.
In the past, she would prepare a number of dishes for the family. I may not be a good cook but I know the hustle of going through it. Besides, there is an abundant of restaurants nearby to make this occasion less stressful for the celebrant as she heartily enjoy the food.
Kuya J Restaurant never failed us. We ordered their kare-kare bundle. The main course was cooked to perfection. The beef kare-kare was very soft. It's peanut sauce, rich and thick. The chicken sisig was bursting with so much flavor. It was tender, crispy and quite spicy. Their version of pinakbet, was a bit hard. Maybe we can request to have it cooked thoroughly next time.
Their espesyal (vanilla flavor) and ube (yam) halo-halo were very good. Unlike most restaurants who offer this dessert, the ice, milk and sugar are all mixed separately. Kuya J's is uniquely different - the milk and sugar were incorporated into the water; frozen then shaved, giving a very smooth texture to it. Overall we had a very satisfying meal.