Bulacan may be a big province, but tourists will – admittedly – have a harder time looking for places to visit here. Unless you’re into hard-to-reach natural wonders, or churches, churches, and even more churches.

There’s something surprising in Bulacan, though: that is, there are actually a lot of not-bad dining venues there… which was what led us to discovering Project Steak.

How was the place for us?

@outragemag Lost in #Bulacan and looking for okay #food? We checked the #steak #fishandchips of @projectsteakbaliwag in #baliuagbulacan for this #LGBT ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Una, Bulacan is a big province, so if you’re nowhere near Baliuag, you may find this place too hard to go to (particularly if you’re not driving). This is over an hour away from the City of Manila, passing through Obando, Bocaue, Guiguinto, Malolos, Pulilan, et cetera… so yeah, this isn’t the most accessible place to go to.

Ikalawa, the actual resto is actually small; seriously small. Luckily, there are two seating areas, so to speak. The resto itself has an airconditioned room that can only seat a handful; and a non-airconditioned area that it shares with Mimi’s, the café beside it. The airconditioning isn’t that cold naman, so staying outside may make sense particularly for those who are claustrophobic.

Ikatlo, keri naman ang personnel, able to explain what’s on the menu.

Ika-apat, how was the food?

• The Fish and Chips (₱300) was actually good, comparative to those from delis in – say – some suburb in Australia. The fish wasn’t malansa, was properly battered, and was well cooked. The chips – or fries – naman were of good quality, not disintegrating to the touch.
• The Meatballs Tomato (₱250) was so-so; that is, the meatballs tasted nice, but the pasta was just too sweet. Ganito: If you added more pasta, the sweetness of the sauce would still overhwlem.
• The Signature Ribeye Steak (₱550) was a bit small, though not surprising considering the asking price. Ordered MR, it was properly done, with the meat still juicy. You don’t get a lot of accompanying veggies; though the eggs we ordered in place of the potatoes were well done.
• The Surf and Turf (₱650) was basically a Ribeye Steak… with grilled shrimps. For both steaks, if there’s a major comment, it’s the lack of seasoning. Yeah, you can just add salt and pepper; but it tastes different when meat is seasoned before or during cooking since nanunuot ang lasa. The mashed potato was too margarine-y, and so was so-so. The shrimps were good even if they were somewhat small.

Is it worth to dayo, to target Project Steak? If you’re nearby and are looking for affordable steaks, perhaps. The ambiance is good, the offerings are presented well (check the plating!), and so on. But if it’s too far for you, and if there are other options for the same price wherever you may be, stay there na lang. That way, walang sisi.

Otherwise, join us as we look for more lafang venues.

Project Steak is located along Doña Remedios Trinidad Hwy, Baliuag, Bulacan. For more information, contact 0939 708 7839 or 0923 631 2559.

One way for Filipinos who are able to travel overseas can tell how bad our public transport system is, is by comparing the trains. We were invaded by White people in 1521, but – even now – we still only have three train lines.

@outragemag Check #LondonUnderground #trains in #London, aware it could be unsafe for #LGBT ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

UK, as an example, has the London Underground. Managed by Transport for London, this started in 1863 as the world’s first underground passenger railway. It now has 11 lines with 250 miles (400 kilometers) of track, with its 272 stations serving around five million passengers every day.

This isn’t a perfect system. Obviously, this is London-centric. It only serves the Greater London area, and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. This is like saying na wala ngang LRT or MRT sa Bulacan o Cavite o Antipolo eh, and this lack highlights the exclusion of those also in need of proper public transport.

Looking at London’s train system through the LGBTQIA+ lens is actually disheartening… particularly if we talk not only about possibly meeting booking while riding trains. In 2023, London TravelWatch released a report that revealed that when LGBTQIA+ people used public transport:

• One in five (21%) experienced hate crime in the past year while travelling on public transport in London
• Four in five (82%) respondents changed their behavior or appearance to ‘fit in’ so they avoid abuse or harassment when travelling
• 65% of those who experienced abuse or harm when travelling in London said bystanders witnessed the incident but did not intervene

Lesson learned lang din: that even in spaces that better people’s lives, like a working train system, there are minority sectors that could be disadvantaged. And so this must always be considered to make sure all spaces are truly inclusive.

But off we go for more LGBTQIA+ rampa…

In London in 1666, fire broke somewhere in Pudding Lane, with the blaze raging for days to – basically – gut the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, though eventually extending past the wall to the west of London, and then swallowing almost the entire city.

@outragemag Heard of #GreatFireOfLondon before? #London has #TheMonument for that even if anti-minority (including #LGBT ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

The death toll, or yung dami ng namatay, is still contested even now. But some things are generally accepted as true, including:

• How the fire started in the bakeshop of the king’s baker, Thomas Farriner. So  he is now eternally blamed for the fire, kahit na baka naman nakatulog lang siya dahil sa pagod sa trabaho. His boss nga eh, the king, did not know a single day of work because his position of power and wealth that came with it were inherited.
• The mayor at that time, Thomas Bloodworth, actually hesitated to make moves to stop the fire, though this is something we already expect from our politicians who – surprise, surprise – still manage to get elected anyway.
• There was blaming of the “others”, including immigrants, homeless people, and so on for causing the fire; this blaming of non-Whites is still common in the UK even now, even if the real abusers are those in positions of power as they make us fight among each other while they live in abundance.

Anyway, to commemorate what they now call as the Great Fire of London, and to mark na rin the rebuilding that followed, they established the Monument to the Great Fire of London. Also called as The Monument, it’s at the junction of Monument Street and Fish Street Hill.

Designed by Robert Hooke, and completed in 1677, The Monument is a column built of Portland stone, with a gilded urn of fire topping it. There is a viewing platform near the top, na ma-a-access through a narrow winding staircase of 311 steps.

Sa Pilipinas, wala nga tayong great fire, but we have the never-ending ultra-great floods. Our politicians don’t care, too, focusing sa pagpapayaman through nakaw. But we don’t have markers; instead, we just have ruined lives. So yung lessons all the way from 1666, all the way from London, walang nakakarinig, as we all just look at the monuments and not their lessons…

But off we go for more #LGBTQIA+ rampa…

The Monument is located at the junction of Monument Street and Fish Street Hill in the City of London.