FROM SIDEWALK VENDOR TO RESTAURATEUR
Every day, she would deposit P20 in her kitty. It took her a decade to raise money for a new location while supporting her children
She began with a small table of pater, a Maranao staple of rice and minced adobo, wrapped in banana leaves. Today Noron Sharief Macatanong, 57, leases a two-story building for her restaurant, June-Nairah (“good luck” in Maranao) in the Muslim town, Quiapo.
When Noron was 15, their family took a boat to Manila to escape the poverty in Lanao del Sur in 1976. Her parents tried to make ends meet by selling pater or ice cubes.
“They made a lot of sacrifices for us,” she says.
In 1993, the enterprising Noron would make two dozen pieces of pater and sell them for P5 each along Globo street, near the Golden Mosque. Every day, she would deposit P20 in her kitty. It took her a decade to raise money for a new location while supporting her children.
With a capital of P3,500 in 2003, she found a small space with four tables. Noron started a simple eatery and continued selling pater on the side. After three years, she found a place which was double in capacity.
In 2012, Noron found her present location along Elisondo
Street, Quiapo. The restaurant is painted in yellow and green. The walls are lined with Muslim blessings.
Noron makes the most of the selling area. Outside of June-Nairah is a stall that sells plastic boxes of Maranao sweets — tamokonsi, chewy dough twisted into a pretzel; and broas, spongy cupcakes made of flour, milk and egg and its donut version. A box costs P100 for 20 pieces. The sweets are complemented with plastic containers of durian jam and palapa, a staple condiment made of caramelized shallots, ginger and chillis.
Beside the restaurant is her take-out counter for pater. Now priced at P10, the pater comes with a free cup of broth.
In typical carinderia style, the food is displayed on glass-covered shelves. The tilapia comes in several versions — fried, grilled and topped with shredded turmeric and chilli. There are bowls of Maranao comfort foods: chicken garnished with palapa; balbakwa or beef oxtail stew, bakas piaparan or seafoods and fowl simmered in coconut milk and turmeric.
The shrimps are also stewed in coconut milk and flavored with onion leaves. The adobo is not chicken but carabao liver. Its version of rendang is chicken liver instead of beef with coconut milk, curry flavors and turmeric flakes.
The Maranao omelette is a triangular layer of eggs with tomatoes and onions. The shelves are also lined with tunas, black squids and shrimps, all topped with grated turmeric.
The items cost an average of P100. The pricey ones are the heads of the tuna and mudfish which can cost P550. No one is complaining because the portions are generous.
June-Nairah has a seating capacity of 60. Instead of cheap monobloc chairs, the place is furnished with orange and metal chairs — castaways from a demolished Jollibee — and black glass tables.
Customers believe that food is tastier when eaten with bare hands instead of cutlery.
Noron recalled seeing President Ferdinand Marcos eating with his bare hands when he had lunch with then Lanao Governor Ali Dimaporo.
Today, she no longer cooks. She took Abdul Jelan Palawan, then 16, under her wing when she opened her first eatery in 2003. He now cooks the meals, including Noron’s personal dishes.
The second floor is the dormitory for her staff of 15. Since the operating hours run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., the staff works in two shifts. “There are no holidays for us,” she says.
To this day, she has kept the habit of putting P500 to P1,000 daily in her kitty. Noron is supporting five grandchildren. She shares the same household with her husband’s second family. Noron says polygamy is accepted in their culture.
Noron owes her success to her staff which has been preparing the tasty food. June-Nairah has been a popular eatery among the Muslims.
“God saw my sacrifices and He has shown mercy,” she says.
Noron recalled seeing President Ferdinand Marcos eating with his bare hands when he had lunch with then Lanao Governor Ali Dimaporo.