If I ask you to pick your favourite dish from Japanese, Mexican, or Italian cuisine, I’m sure you will be flooded with options. Ramen or sushi? Tacos or enchiladas? Pasta or pizza? However, if I ask you to think of your preferred dish from the Philippines, you will most likely not be able to come up with a single dish. Though five years ago, food writer Andrew Zimmern predicted that Filipino food would be the next great cuisine, its flavours are still largely misunderstood by most people. A perfect example: food stylists continue to place chopsticks next to Filipino dishes, yet Filipinos use forks and spoons.
However, it appears that this neglected cuisine is no longer being ignored. This year, Bloomberg noted that Google searches for “Filipino food” have doubled in six years, and searches for “lumpia near me” have skyrocketed 3,350 per cent. Noted food magazines are listing Filipino restaurants in their best new restaurants lists, and Pinoy food is attracting numbers of loyal customers across the U.S. and Canada, especially in Los Angeles, which has the largest Filipino community outside the Philippines.
Filipino food is the original fusion cuisine, a mix of Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Western, and Pacific Islander flavours that shows the country’s rich and varied cultural history. While the popular Filipino dish known as adobo uses a Spanish term, and kare kare (oxtail stew) gets its name from “curry” from its Indian heritage, Filipino food is entirely its own. It has no dairy or gluten, which makes the cuisine friendly to restricted diets. It is eaten family style, with heaping plates of sharing dishes. It uses vinegar instead of Western sauces full of sodium and fat. While its dishes are pork heavy, seafood and tropical fruit are made into light dishes that are far from bland. And it is full of acids and sweetness more than any other cuisine.
Since most of us are still novices when it comes to this cuisine, let’s explore some of its most popular dishes. Lechon, or whole spit-roasted pig, is crunchy on the outside, and tender on the inside, with a sauce made from vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of liver. Pork Longganisa, a sausage made of ground pork), is a savoury dish, and Jollibee-style spaghetti (pasta with a sugary tomato sauce) is sweeter than you are used to. The flavours don’t blend, but sit like layers, with one tangy, one salty, one sweet. There’s mango and tomato salads dressed with tart calamansi juice and bagoong, a Filipino fermented fish sauce, and tilapia sinigang, an exquisite soup made with the poached whitefish with water spinach and bok choy in a sour tamarind broth, adobong dilaw or vegan empanadas, stuffed with beef, egg, and bean sprouts, fried dilis (sun-dried anchovies) sprinkled with spicy white vinegar and layered on top of thick slices of avocado and black rice, chicken tinola, steamed free-range chicken simmered in ginger rice broth with chili leaves and green papaya. Not all Filipino food is fried or saucy.
Since our palates have been expanded by the flavours of cuisines from around the world, it seems that now is the time we can finally appreciate the layered and nuanced flavours of Filipino food.
Source: Vogue.com
Featured Image: Instagram/@platitotoronto
Which are your favourite Filipino restaurants? Let us know in the comment!
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Everyone is still buzzing about the grand opening of Jollibee in the GTA. As excited as we are, we also wanted everyone to appreciate all the incredible (non-chain) restaurants that serve authentic and delicious Filipino food spots we have in Toronto. The cuisine draws inspirations from Chinese, Malaysian, Indian, Spanish, Japanese and American cultures, which bring together world favourite flavours that accommodate everyone’s taste buds.
1. Lamesa
This contemporary eatery has unique and inventive Filipino-inspired dishes and is open for dinner and weekend brunch.
Location: 669 Queen St W
2. Tinuno
This traditional family-style Filipino restaurant is known for their feasts which incorporate a variety of traditional dishes into a complete smorgasbord, served on banana leaves and eaten with your hands.
Location: 31 Howard St
3. Lasa By Lamesa
A casual eatery with a modern meets tropical vibe, serving traditional Filipino meats, seafood & stews. It was opened by the same people as Lamesa and has a very laid back setting with takeout options.
Location: 634 St Clair Ave W
4. Casa Manila Restaurant
Tropical decor complements the Filipino homestyle restaurant with authentic flavours. They even offer vegetarian and gluten-free options and are welcome to those with allergy sensitivities.
Location: 879 York Mills Rd
5. Islas Filipino Bbq and Bar
You can expect great food with generous portions, excellent service and chill ambience, with more than reasonable prices. They even have a creative cocktail list to choose from.
Location: 1690 Queen St W
6. Kanto (by Tita Flips)
Enjoy homemade servings of Filipino favourites like ‘Lechon Kawali’ (Crispy Pork Belly), which this street booth is most well-known for.
Location: 707 Dundas St W
7. PINOY Foodtrip
This Filipino feast is a mouthwatering assortment of grilled meats, seafood, grilled veggies, fresh fruit and rice served on top of banana leaves.
Location: 3790 Bathurst St
8. Sampaguita Village Family Restaurant
This traditional Filipino eatery offers favourites including crispy pork, fried noodles & spicy shrimp. Its prices are very affordable too, with dishes around $10 – $15.
Location: 322 Wilson Ave
Featured Image: Instagram/@mmmindilicious
Are there other delicious Filipino restaurants that we’re missing? Let us know in the comments.
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There’s no denying that Toronto is full of amazing restaurants; the city has a roster of talented chefs that are sure to blow your mind time and time again. But one of the issues with living in a metropolitan city is that things can get expensive, and that includes dinners and nights out.
Luckily, Toronto is full of hidden gems and within each pocket of each neighbourhood is one to discover. The latest find? A Filipino feast for just $15.
Tinuno Restaurant is the brainchild of Cathy Ortega & Gerald Quintey. The two opened the restaurant with the desire to bring the city authentic Filipino food without the price tag of an air ticket to the Philippines. The result is Tinuno. Located at 31 Howard St. in Toronto, the restaurant serves up traditional Kamayan feasts. Each feast is served on a banana leaf laid out on top a table with rice covered in pork, fish, okra, eggplant, squid, mussel and shrimp. Here, eating with your hands is the mainstream route and utensils are optional.
What’s best about Tinuno is that the prices are good. The cost to experience their Filipino fare is just $15 per person. There’s just one catch – you’ve gotta make a reservation first. Get Tinuno’s number here and make sure you book a table soon — you won’t regret it!
Until then, take a peek at their offerings below.
Featured Image: Instagram/@mollyleiutin
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