Strangely, I have never been to Quiapo, despite having lived in Manila for my whole life, so some time ago, my friends decided to take me on a Quiapo adventure. We visited a few churches, took a look at some fascinating ancestral houses, shopped for handmade souvenirs under a bridge, and also dropped by the Muslim mosque as well as the neighboring shops. I was eventually led to this quaint little eatery, Mofara's Halal Food Haus, that served halal Maranao cuisine. Something new and different? Excellent!
(Fun facts: Maranao refers to the people of Lanao, a predominantly Muslim region in Mindanao.)
Mofara's, a small open-air restaurant that's the exact definition of "hole-in-the-wall", also served non-Muslim, regular cafeteria fare, but why would we want to try that? We quickly ordered several exotic-looking dishes to try by pointing them out in the display case in front of the store, and eagerly took our orange seats to wait for our orders.
