The food of the Philippines truly offers something for everyone. From crunchy lumpia to hearty lechon, and sweet banana turon, a bounteous Pinoy spread knows no bounds. From chef-driven restaurants to fast-casual staples,here now the essential Filipino restaurants in Los Angeles.
1. Ninong's Cafe
A diner-focused Filipino option does lots with ube, from pancakes to cookies to milkshakes. They also served straight-up egg and longanisa plates, and dinnertime plates of spaghetti.
2. Lilian's Bread and sweets
A restaurant that serves Filipino seafood and pancit.
3. Bamboo Bistro
This Panorama City staple is known for its excess, where guests can dine on endless isaw skewers, whole fried tilapia, kare-kare, and more. Best of all, the whole meal is served family-style over tables lined with banana leaves.
4. Tatang
The Filipino food movement has made a major push into North Hollywood thanks to relative newcomer Tatang. This is a more formal affair than the fast-casual options that are booming across the city, with composed plates of longanisa-inspired meatballs and free-range chicken skin and thigh sisig.
5. Kusina Filipina
Eagle Rock’s legacy as an enclave for Filipino-Americans is well deserved, and continues today at places like Kusina Filipina off Eagle Rock Boulevard. The few-frills spot is a gathering place for families of all stripes across lunch and dinner, as well as lots of off-site catering.
6. Oi Asian Fusion
Though Oi Asian Fusion isn’t afraid to lean on the fusion side of its name, ultimately this is a place for reliable options like tapsilog and adobo served over rice. The Canoga Park location has been bustling for years, and additional outlets in Hollywood and West LA are now turning over lunchtime crowds as well.
7. Ma'am Sir
Ma’am Sir is both a critical darling and a financial success for chef Charles Olalia and partners Wade McElroy and Russell Malixi, thanks entirely to Olalia’s thoughtful modern comfort fare. The lumpia topped with sea urchin graces nearly every table in the restaurant.
8. Spoon & Fork
Purveyors of modern Filipino fare Spoon & Pork opened a brick-and-mortar location last year. The 1,300 square foot Silver Lake restaurant serves Ray Yaptinchay and Jay Tugas’s reimagined take on Filipino food. Order the adobo belly nigiri, slow-cooked pork belly with an adobo glaze served over rice, and the chori burger featuring house-made Filipino pork chorizo on a toasted Hawaiian bun.
9. Dollar Hits
This street food meat skewer specialist has earned a strong cult following and it’s not hard to see why. Items are priced low and meant to move, which is exactly what happens when late nighters stop by in droves looking for flavorful takes on barbecue chicken, pork, blood, and lobster balls.
10. Pondohan Restaurant
In the Philippines, pondahans are makeshift gathering places where locals catch up on news and gossip over home-cooked meals. When Lelizabeth Crisostomo opened Pondahan Restaurant in 2007, she aimed to capture the casual and comforting spirit of the pondahan in the community of West Covina. Focus on the pork-heavy dishes like sisig, a wonderfully gelatinous jumble of pig’s head and liver seasoned with calamansi and chile peppers, and the crispy pata (deep-fried pork hock).
Original Article by:
Mikhaela Javier
www.mikhaelajavier.com
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