Support Local: Pat-Pat's Kansi House (Multiple Locations)

Kansi Bulalo at Pat-Pat's Kansi House — *Kansi Bulalo* at Pat-Pat's Kansi House

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected billions of lives across the globe. Many have lost their lives or their livelihood. While I’m also having difficulties, I’m still blessed that I still have a job. With whatever little spare money I have, I give it away to bless others who are less fortunate than me. But I thought, “How else can I be a blessing to people? And now that quarantine is easing up more and more, how can I spur economic activity in my own little way?”

As a foodie, I’m really rooting for the food industry to bounce back. So how can I help my beloved industry? I decided to do this “blessing-the-food-industry” project/series called Support Local (I know it’s generic, but it’s what I’m encouraging people to do). The game plan is to order from my favorite food spots (and order a lot of food, one-time or staggered), feature them in my blog, and promote them to my friends. I will also be focusing on small and medium enterprises owned (or partly-owned, at least) by local entrepreneurs rather than food chains run by big corporations.

So far, I have featured Tanveer Halal Kitchenette (THK), Khao Khai Thai Chicken House, Señor Pollo, and PappaRam Malaysian Kitchen. Today, I’m featuring another local food spot. But first…

How Can You Help?

To make this project work, I will need your help. If you want to support this simple endeavor, you can help me S.P.O.T.:

Share. As simple as sharing my article or other related entries, we can spread the word.
Promote. Nothing beats a personal recommendation of the food spots to your friends. But this is best done when you have an experience of the food itself (don’t forget to share your experience and photos in social media; this will give the food spots extra mileage). If you haven’t tasted the food yet, then the next letter is for you.
Order. This is the most important of all, as we intend to help the food establishments. If you have extra money or the means, order from the food spots (and order as much as you can).
Tip. The staff are making risks to provide for their families by preparing amazing food. To help and appreciate them, I give a generous tip. So if you have the means, I encourage you to do the same. If you will have your food delivered, tip the driver or rider as well.

Let’s now talk about the food spot featured today.

The Food Spot: Pat-Pat’s Kansi House

Pat-Pat’s Kansi House is the place to go if you want a bowl of steaming hot beef soup that’s not Bulalo, the country’s most popular beef soup dish consisting of a bone-in beef shank (think of that creamy marrow!) and veggies. They’re originally from the Jaro district of Iloilo City, a city in the Western Visayas region. Now, they have several branches in the Metro. I’ve been to the Iloilo and Metro branches, and their soup tastes the same.

So what are they famous for? Well, the name says it: Kansi. They make a good version of it that it got the praise of the world-famous full-time eater Mark Wiens and the Filipino-French content creator Erwan Heussaff.

The Food

Aside from the kansi, Pat-Pat’s also serve other items, including grilled food, which I will feature in this article. So let’s now talk about the dishes I ordered, starting with the dish Pat-Pat’s known for!

Kansi

What exactly is a kansi?

Kansi (or Cansi) is a famous Ilonggo and Negrense soup dish. Let me give you a personification: Bulalo and Sinigang (the fam soup dish popular in the Philippines) married and had a child. That child is kansi.

But for me, kansi is unique in 2 ways. First is it’s simplicity. Unlike bulalo and sinigang, kansi doesn’t have vegetables (at least those that I tried). Second is the souring agent. Sinigang is traditionally made sour by sampalok (tamarind), sometimes kamias (bilimbi). But kansi is made sour by batwan, a sour fruit native to Southeast Asia, which gives the dish a fruity taste, as in the case of Pat Pat’s version. (This fruity taste is more pronounced in Pat Pat’s version, which I love, than in Sharyn’s of Bacolod. I’m not sure if it’s just Pat Pat’s or the Ilonggo version of kansi.)

There are 2 varieties of kansi in Pat Pat’s: Laman, which is purely beef chunks, and bulalo (P215; see cover photo), which has a bone marrow and is true to authentic kansi. I prefer the former because it has more meat. Whichever you choose, you’ll still have an amazing bowl of kansi anyways.

Kansi Laman (P185) — *Kansi Laman* (P185)

Boneless Bangus

Aside from kansi, Pat-Pat’s also offers grilled food. Frankly, there’s nothing spectacular with the items. But you can’t go wrong anything inihaw!

Boneless Bangus is made of milkfish that is deboned and grilled. It has a nice flesh and a subtle smokiness, perfect to be paired with a toyomansi (soy sauce and calamansi) dip. Mark Wiens loved it!

Chicken Inasal

To the uninitiated, Chicken Inasal is a kind of grilled chicken that originated in Bacolod City, a foodie destination in Western Visayas. The term inasal came from the Hiligaynon word asal, which means skewed. So an inasal is anything skewered. Unlike the typical Filipino-style marinade that’s made of soy sauce and calamansi, an inasal uses a different kind. While the marinade ingredients vary, I think the staples are calamansi, garlic, ginger, and sinamak or coconut vinegar. It’s savory in contrast to the typical sweeter Filipino barbecue.

True to its form, Pat-Pat’s version of chicken inasal is savory. But it’s unlike the ones I tried in Bacolod (check out my Bacolod chicken inasal crawl here). Rather, it’s somewhat garlicky, as there are garlic bits on top of the chicken, which I love. It is also juicy, tender, and hefty!

Grilled Pusit

Together with the kansi and boneless Bangus, Pat-Pat’s Grilled Pusit (squid) is another favorite of mine (and Mark Wiens as well). It’s nicely charred/smoky and rightly chewy, also good to be dipped in toyomansi. It’s simple but comforting!

Pork Barbecue and Grilled Pork Belly (Sold Separately)

If you’re looking for grilled pork, Pat-Pat’s also offers Pork Barbecue (skewers) and Grilled Pork Belly. I believe that it’s marinated with the same marinade used for the chicken inasal, which makes it yellow (maybe it’s because of atsuete or anatto oil).

Pork Barbecue (P40/stick) and Grilled Pork Belly (P120)

Granted, it’s not the best grilled pork that I have ever had. I wish it was more charred.

I hope that my article made you crave. If it did, then order from Pat-Pat’s soon! That’s the goal of this project/series! Let’s support them and other local food spots in this time of crisis!

Pat-Pat’s Kansi House

They have branches in Makati, Pasig, and Taguig. For addresses, operating times, and contact details, check their Facebook pages.
Social Media: Facebook (Makati branch) | Facebook (Pasig and Taguig branches)

Other entries in the Support Local series: Tanveer Halal Kitchenette (Mandaluyong City) | Khao Khai Thai Chicken House (Makati City) | Señor Pollo (Multiple Locations) | PappaRam Malaysian Kitchen (Marikina City)