If you’ve been to Vietnam, you’d know that some of the best places to eat at are in those neighborhood eateries; their versions of karinderya, in a manner of speaking, where locals prep good lutong-bahay Vietnamese offerings sans the classy places of expensive restos. Here, the focus is always the food, never the blings.

So when we came across Facebook posts on Pho Viet Nam, located somewhere in San Pablo City in the Province of Laguna, we sort of expected to encounter what was experienced in Vietnam.

@outragemag Looking for #Vietnam food while in #SanPabloCity in #Laguna? We #LGBT checked #PhoVietNam ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Una, this is not the most accessible place even for those with vehicles from Metro Manila. This is because you still have to travel for over an hour (if you’re lucky traffic-wise), and spend on your gas and the toll and so on.

Note that when you’re also along Apolinario Mabini Street, the resto isn’t apparent. It is located at the back of another resto (Joy), so it is very easy to miss. There is, BTW, a small entry at the side of the resto, which leads to an outdoor parking space.

Ikalawa, the actual resto is cheap-looking – e.g. plastic décor, running lights here and there, and so on. Very karinderya; cheap karinderya, for that matter.

Ikatlo, the servers were okay naman; they knew what was on the menu, and – after making quick recommendations – kept you undisturbed to enjoy what you ordered. The orders took some time to be prepped, however; I was even able to order bad-tasting fries from the other resto due to the waiting time.

Ika-apat, how was the food?

Both the ₱245 Beef Noodle Soup and the ₱245 Seafood Noodle Soup weren’t bad naman; but they weren’t good either. You get enough properly-cooked meats, the noodles are sufficient, and so on. Taste-wise, though, they were bland, and no amount of the prepared condiments helped in changing the flavor.

The ₱190 Rice Paper Roll sufficed even if, by and large, it was tasteless. The saving grace: the satay dip since it was rich and nutty and all that.

The ₱160 Meatloaf and Egg Sandwich (the banh mi kep thit va trung) had enough meat naman… and yet was also bland.

Considering the asking prices of this place, you sort of expect a lot, too. Add to that the popularity of the place – e.g. look at all those who dine there, kinukuyog. Alas, the realities when already there are harsher.

Heading to San Pablo to check this place led us to the nearby Dagatan Blvd. surrounding Sampaloc Lake, a must-check place in these parts. So we sort of do not regret heading to San Pablo.

But buod: No, Pho Viet Nam is not worth the dayo; not worth for you to intentionally seek this place out. The food wasn’t bad. But it’s not great, or even good either. It just suffices. And so, particularly for non-locals, the additional expenses for the gas, toll, et cetera make going there not worth it… sorry.

But off we go for more LGBTQIA+ rampa…

Pho Viet Nam is located at 130 Apolinario Mabini Street, San Pablo City, 4000 Laguna.

Seriously considering Larsian to try grilled goods in Cebu City, a friend recommended for us to try, instead, Matias BBQ. “It’s cleaner,” she said, adding: “And yummier, of course.”

So we checked… and how was the visit to Matias BBQ for us?

@outragemag #Mandaue City’s #MatiasBBQ is worth checking as your #LGBT alternative to dining in the open in #Cebu ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Una, the place is NOT in Cebu City. It’s in nearby Mandaue City. We didn’t check where the BBQ place is, exactly; we just took a Grab and pinned the address. We just noted that the travel took a while, and yes, the fare wasn’t cheap (LOL).

Ikalawa, this is an open-air venue, similar to Larsian, though the difference is, here, there’s just one vendor (Matias BBQ). Maarte people beware: this isn’t for you.

Ikatlo, the servers were friendly… a pleasant surprise considering the number of people they had to serve. They knew what to recommend, and quickly dealt with some concerns (e.g. replace what was deemed stale rice).

Ika-apat, how was the food naman?

• The chicken – including the ₱85 pecho and ₱95 paa – were well-seasoned and well-cooked, remaining moist and not dry. Lasa-wise, they were smoky and sweetish.
• The ₱16 chorizos were actually good, properly cooked so that we were still able to taste the meat and accompanying sahog of garlic and the likes. This made us realize that when deciding to cook longganisa from Cebu, consider grilling instead of frying in oil. It just tastes better that way.
• The ₱165 balbacua (beef rind and oxtail soup) served to us was already cold, so was already greasy. The collagen-rich cuts were soft, and there were okay-tasting veggies, but the broth was already slimy from being oily.
• The ₱12 pusô was inconsistent; some were already stale (perhaps old stocks), and the others fresh. It’s hard to ascertain which is which since you’d be served with a lot. Order freshly-cooked rice if apprehensive… though this takes away from the overall experience of eating in a place like this.

Here’s the thing: our total bill was cheaper than the fare we paid to Grab to go there.

And so, for us, if this is accessible to you, consider this an alternative to, say, the likes of Larsian. That the food is good has to be emphasized, done in an outdoor setting that’d remind you of eating in the probinsiya.

But off we go again, in search of more LGBTQIA+ lagangan venues…

Open from 11.30AM to 8.00PM, Matias BBQ is located along A.S. Fortuna St., Banilad, Mandaue City.

In the past, if you wanted to grab some of the food associated with Cebu, you headed to – among others – Larsian, this place not too far from Fuente Osmeña Circle. It wasn’t necessarily popular with the locals who saw (and still see) it as unhygienic, but it’s this easy-to-access BBQ place that’s open 24/7.

Starting 2025, however, a new place was opened to serve as the one-stop culinary and cultural hub of Cebu City: the Pusô Village.

@outragemag Checking out #Cebu's all-in-one dining location, the Pusô Village (#pusovillage) that may simplify eating out but seems to forget our desire to see diverse #foodie ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Una, developed by Cebu2World/Megawide as part of the Carbon Market modernization, this place’s name drew inspiration from the pusô rice cake that’s served when you have meals in Cebu. There are, therefore, design elements that’d remind you of the pusô – e.g. those octahedral shapes on the entrance. Inside, there are attempts to beautify by borrowing elements from Bahay na bato Philippine architectural style; most are fake, though, such as those painted-on verandahs you’d see when you look up.

Ikalawa, there are over 100 food stalls and retail outlets here… though more of the former than the latter. They’ve been “properly” structured, so that the lechon vendors are on one side, seafood sellers on another side, and so on.

Ikatlo, we tried some of the offerings to ascertain how good they are.

The unlimited lechon is popular, providing an opportunity particularly for non-locals to cheaply enjoy this Cebuano treat. Taste-wise, the lechons vary little, some saltier than the others. The “approach” in serving is similar, though. You get an okay portion when first served, and the portion gets smaller the more you return. Noticeably, by the third refill, the vendors become grumpier when serving you, some even ignoring you, or stuffing fatty parts on your plate. Business greed in action.

Though cooked the same way (i.e. buttered), the seafood platters are inconsistent. You could get some shrimps or crabs now and then, though most times, you’d just get mussels.

Then there’s the tuslob-buwa, pig’s brain cooked under maximum heat to then become dip for pusô. We’d say this is acquired taste… but there’s not much to taste. So this is a costly to-try food.

Only open until 10.00PM, Pusô Village offers those in Cebu a venue to try as many of the local goods as possible. For that, alone, this is a must-check. You are sure to find a few stuffs you’d like.

But the city still has a lot of venues offering local culinary and cultural goods, and they deserve to be also checked. And so off we go for more LGBTQIA+ rampa…

Pusô Village is located at M.L Quezon Blvd., Sto. Nino, Cebu City.