Quezon City Street Food: Amazing Grilled Balut And Scallops

Most Quezon City street food looks just like anywhere else in the Philippines.. You will find your grilled meats like intestines and chicken parts, pares joints, turon, and banana-cue on almost every street corner. But one location does do a unique take on some classic Filipino street foods. Brace yourselves, because the name of this locations is a bit long-winded: “Grilled Scallops in Quezon City BASTA KULOT SCALLOP”. And the name tells you exactly what they do.

They also do a grilled balut which is also a unique take on the fertilized duck eggs that are world famous. It doesn’t end there, they also serve hungarian sausages, grilled shrimp, and whatever else Ate Patricia and her husband Jeff feels like grilling that night. So let’s take look at the unique Quezon City street food that is the talk of the town around SM North Edsa.

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About Grilled Scallops in Quezon City BASTA KULOT SCALLOP

Grilled Scallops in Quezon City is a relatively new start up. The began selling grilled balut and scallops back in April of 2023. The emphasis was on the balut where Jeff and Patricia had special grates made to fit their grills to hold each balut. Then the epiphany happened. They realized the holes in the grates made for the balut was the perfect size to accommodate scallops on the half shell. And thus was born the famous Basta Kulot Scallop.

Now before we go any further, let’s address the whole Basta Kulot Scallop idea. If you’re Filipino, you recognize right away this is a play on words. If not, this play on words refers to the Filipino saying “basta kulot, salot.” Which is a jab at curly-haired people for being troublemakers or pests. But make no mistake, Ate Patricia isn’t taking jabs at anyone. As someone with a head full of curls herself, she took the phrase that had been used against her for many years and turned it into a branding and marketing opportunity. She’s now the curly haired grilled scallops queen.

So while the name might be a joke, the food isn’t. What started as a clever fix for grilled balut turned into a Quezon City street food operation with a life of its own. The grilled scallops have since built the legend but call it what you want. A branding stunt, happy accident, or street food with a punchline. Just don’t show up late and expect there to be scallops left.

Grilled Scallops

This is what stops traffic.

Each scallop gets buried under a pile of cheese before it hits the grill. To be honest, I have no clue what is underneath the cheese. Garlic, butter, black magic? You don’t taste the ingredients individually. You taste smoke, salt, and fat. And holy hell are they good.

I can say the cheese is the versatile kesong puti. A Filipino white cheese that is usually made from carabao milk but can also be made with goat or cow’s milk. Kesong puti is often used in place of mozzarella in caprese salads in the Philippines; it can be marinated like feta, and it melts extremely easily.

The scallops are grilled shell-on in massive batches, laid out like poker chips on a hotplate. Ate Patricia moves trays like she’s on autopilot, but the pace doesn’t kill the flavor. You still get the sizzle, the crust, and you burn your fingers grabbing one too early.

Forget portion control. With this unique Filipino food, you start by ordering twenty. Why? Because the price is unbelievable, that’s why. For more than two years Ate Patricia kept these scallops at ₱10 each and refused to raise prices despite everybody telling her she should, including me. On June 3, 2025, due to market prices she increased prices to ₱12. For the western readers, as of this writing, ₱12 works out to $.22 USD each.

And when I tell you she is moving scallops, I’m not joking. Jeff and Patricia are moving about 2,000 scallops in the few hours they are open in the evenings. They have literally cornered the pica-pica food market.

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Grilled Balut

Balut is the king of exotic Filipino food, without question. If you haven’t been living under a rock or surviving on nothing but sugary cereal, you already know what this is. But for the numpties out there, balut is a partially fertilized duck egg. You read that right. It’s a duck egg that is partially developed, so you are eating something that resembles a baby bird. Gestation times vary, so it may be like eating an ordinary hard boiled egg with no noticeable development to the bird. Don’t get me wrong, you definitely notice the embryo is there, but there is no noticeable development in the texture. Other times you may get some feathers, a beak, or even bones.

Usually balut would be boiled or steamed and eaten like a normal hard-boiled egg with an addition of salt and vinegar. At Basta Kulot Scallop, they take it a step further and grill the balut on those special grates. The balut is opened on one end and then topped with minced garlic that’s been soaked in vinegar. Plop them into the holes within the grates and grill away.

I love balut, but I really love it grilled like this. It gives it a smoky flavor and the broth boils up so it’s like drinking a hot chicken soup. The garlicky vinegar adds a nice spicy, pungent, and sour element to it that mixes perfectly with the savouriness of the duck egg and embryo.

If you have never had balut, live a little and try it. Had it before and love it but have never tried the grilled version? Oh have I got news for you. You will never want to eat it any other way.

Extras You’ll End up Ordering Anyway

There are only a few other items on the menu here. You have to remember we are talking about street food here, not a sit-down Filipino restaurant. The entire setup is right in front of their home, with a large covered area where they cook right at the road. A couple of tables, literally two or three set up right along the roadside. That’s it.

But the few extras you will find on the menu are the traditional Filipino red hot dogs, hungarian sausages, cheesy grilled potatoes, and grilled shrimp. To be 100% honest I didn’t try any of them. Em did have a hot dog but I couldn’t tell you how it is because I am not a fan of them. That’s not a knock on Patricia or Jeff. I don’t like them anywhere. My entire night here was spent with scallops, balut, and more Red Horse than any man should ever have.

Scallops on Me

My first experience with Patricia and Jeff was when I decided to film here. One of my viewers had told me about the location and I convinced him to come out for the shoot. The premise of the video is anybody that approached Grilled Scallops in Quezon City, I would buy their food and drinks, including alcohol, if they agreed to be in the video. Some people were too shy to be on camera which is understandable, but many people stop being shy when you offer to buy their meal.

Needless to say, there were many scallops consumed and probably even more Red Horse and Pale Pilsens. One of the participants approached me with phone in hand to show me he was already a subscriber to my channel. He then proceeded to tell me his family owned a chicken inasal location nearby and invited me to come try there as well. I of course obliged and that location is none other than [Nano’s Tsiken Inasal.]

I have no idea how many scallops I bought that night because it’s a blur with the amount of Red horse I consumed. But I also bought several balut and even got Ate Patricia to eat one with me since Em won’t touch for them anything in the world. I do know how much money I gave Patricia, but I won’t be telling you that.

All things considered, it was a ton of fun, I got to meet a lot of new people, and we basically turned the street into a block party. You’re really not going to find a better atmosphere looking for Quezon City street food.

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Watch: Quezon City Street Food at Basta Kulot

Hyper Local and No Tourists

Grilled Scallops in Quezon City is located in Barangay Bagong Pag-Asa and adjacent to Barangay Bago Bantay. Outside of SM North Edsa mall and Grass Residences, you won’t find people who look like me around here. That’s not a criticism, that’s just reality. I lived in Grass Residences for awhile, so I became very familiar with these two areas of Quezon City while wandering around looking for street food.

This is where you find real Filipino street food. Not the curated stuff they are trying to pass off in BGC or Makati. But that’s what makes it even better. You have the opportunity to eat what everyday working locals eat and meet new people. And if you’re lucky, you’ll have the opportunity to pound some Filipino beers and eat a boat load of grilled scallops and balut.

Grilled Scallops in Quezon City: Prices, Hours, and Location

Scallops are now ₱12 each. They were ₱10 for the longest time, but Patricia finally gave in and raised prices on June 3, 2025.

Grilled balut go for ₱30 each or 4 for ₱110.

Hungarian sausages, grilled shrimp, and cheesy potatoes are ₱60 per order.

Filipino red hotdogs are ₱20 each

Hours:

• 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM Tuesday–Sunday

Location:

Basta Kulot Scallop – 140 Rd 1, Quezon City, Metro Manila (in Bagong Pag-Asa)

Quezon City Street Food Final Thoughts

This is Quezon City street food without the filters. You’re eating scallops in front of someone’s house for twelve pesos a piece, surrounded by smoke and beer with price points that are stuck in 1995.

Seriously, grilled scallops this cheap shouldn’t taste this good. It’s absurd. It’s also the kind of pica pica food that proves why the best Filipino food isn’t hiding, it’s just not trying to impress you.

If you’ve been here, drop a comment. If you know a spot that can top this, I’ll go film it. Fair warning, if it doesn’t live up to Ate Patricia and Kuya Jeff’s standards, I’m blasting the shit out of it for the world to see.

Quezon City Street Food FAQ

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