Lola Helen is a family business owned by Ruben and Pacita de Guzman. Ruben lived his entire life in Sto. Nino while Pacita was from La Union. They both spent their married lives and grew a family on the second floor of their house, right on top of their very humble pancitan. When we asked Ruben why named their store Lola Helen, he said it was named after his mother. They have been around since the 80's and is still running a very strong business. To the guests, they are just your regular noodle house. But to us Marikenos, they are an institution. You are not from Sto. Nino if you have not eaten at Lola Helen.
Over the years, Lola Helen had transformed into something that no one had thought possible. They had improved a lot with their sanitary and their place, much brighter, compared to their dark noodle house when they first started. They have over nineteen staffs which includes their cooks, waiters, waitresses and a cashier. It is quite noticeable and impressive how fast their service is, considering the number of customers that visit them daily.
What I love about Lola Helen is that they don't pretend, well at least not with their food. There are no pretensions, just plain good food. We grew up eating the same food and they never failed to impress and satisfy us with goodness. Me and my friends were given too many good food that day that I do not remember most of their names. Here were just some of what were prepared for us that day.
Lomi is a Filipino-Chinese dish with a variety of fresh egg noodle, vegetables and chunks of crunchy lechon kawali. They have to buy their noodles from their supplier in San Juan because they cannot find that in Marikina. Perfect to be eaten when hot and paired with pandesal.
Tortang Macau (photo above: top right) is your simple torta dish but made with a Marikeno twist. Made out of singkamas strips (Mexican turnip), onion, celery, carrots, flour and egg. In Spanish, torta has a culinary meaning of a variant of a flatbread. In Marikina, Lola Helen made their own version and added Longganisang Macau. It is perfectly paired with a special mild sauce.
Lumpiang Shanghai (photo above: bottom left) is a dish made from ground pork, minced onion, carrots and lots of spices. It is wrapped in lumpia wrapper and deep-fried until it turned golden brown in color and crispy outside. Unlike other restaurants', Lola Helen's version is unusually short, but the taste is quite a standout.
Lechon Kawali (photo above: bottom right) is a favorite pork dish among the Marikenos which is usually prepared by slowly boiling the pork then deep-fried in an intense fire. Lola Helen's version of this traditional Filipino dish shouldn't be turned down. The pork skin's quite crispy and the inside's juicy and moist.
Pancit Bihon con Lechon is probably the best-seller in Lola Helen. A Filipino family celebration will never be complete without this noodle dish. It is stir-fried noodles mixed with lots of vegetables and pan-roasted pork. Big in serving yet the price is low. Great for pasalubong and perfect dish both for lunch and dinner.
A visit to Marikina will never be complete without dropping by Lola Helen's Panciteria. It has been a living testimony that the Marikeno people are hard-working and fond of eating. They believe in 3 things to become successful in food business: food should be delicious, clean and affordable. We would like to thank the entire staff and management of Lola Helen's Panciteria for having us. Your service's truly fast and excellent. Visit their store at 425 JP Rizal St. Sto Nino with telephone number 682-5918.
