I hadn't seen Pach in over a month so we decided to revive our weeknight dinners by meeting up for really good sisig last night in our childhood favorite: Aysee. Little did we know that June 20 was actually this shabby eatery's 27th anniversary. (Guys, Aysee is just two years and a four days older than me!)
In fact, shabby might be an unfair description since Aysee has actually expanded through the years, so I can only imagine how much it's actually making. The original site was replicated literally just two establishments away along the same road to keep up with the demand for its yummy, affordable sisig; a third site is now in Eastwood in Quezon City. Not bad for a pseudo-restaurant that has a restroom with a window to the kitchen. That sounds gross, but it actually adds to the charm. And perhaps the flavor? Ha!
Aysee is just a 10-minute walk away from St. Paul College-Pasig--or maybe 15 if you consider that most of the way is uphill--and has the best sisig in the vicinity. Most students from our school, even those from really well-off families who usually wouldn't be caught dead eating in anything resembling a carinderia, have tried this specialty at one point or another. (During our time anyway; I've heard that the kids who go to SPCP now are much more ~posh.) This is why we can't help but eat their sisig with a bit of nostalgia these days.
Aside from the bestseller, I also tried their beef steak for the first time upon Pach's insistence. The meat was tender, we had to wonder if it was double-dead. Which is stupid, because double-dead meat is usually tougher. Whatever that meat was, it was delicious.
Catching up over really good but cheap food was a great way to cap off a long working day. Pach and I made a pact to keep doing this every week, and to only pick places with good food that aren't too pricey. Definitely something to look forward to in the next few weeks.
Halfway through our meal, we noticed that the staff and some customers were getting really loud and rowdy near the kitchen. Turns out the place had a photobooth for the day! We couldn't leave without posing a couple of times:
Feel free to lol. In the rightmost shot, Pach is holding up the complimentary Judge bubble gum. How's that for childhood nostalgia? Too bad I wasn't able to post this yesterday; it would have fit #tbt!