We first got a hankering for Filipino cuisine with the opening of 2nd City, a ‘Filipino taqueria’ in New York’s West Village. It’s a fast-casual eatery specialising in Filipino flavours in Mexican form. There’s everything from Adobo-rito, a soy-braised chicken burrito, to tamarind ‘slurry’ (starch) ‘bi-curious tacos’. On the refreshments side, it’s all about the calamansi (Filipino citrus fruit) margaritas.
But it’s in LA that Filipino food has really hit the trendscape, with a handful of second generation Filipinos doing their take on their home-grown cuisine. Standouts include Eggslut’s Alvin Cailan, who, earlier this year, set up Amboy (Tagalog slang for American born Filipino), a straightforward takeaway window serving no-fuss grilled meats, adobo vegetables and steamed rice atop a banana leaf. Now, he’s partnered with Filipino-American brothers, Chef Chad Valencia and Chase Valencia in their new venture, LASA, which champions modern Filipino food via a seasonal, four-course prix fixe menu. For something simpler, try Ricebar, by Charles Olalia (of fine dining Patana), serving a range of traditional rice bowls made from heirloom grains imported from the Philippines.
Now London has gotten a taste of the Southeast Asian cuisine, too, first with pop up Luzon and their Brit take on Filipino cuisine – Longganisa (pork sausage) scotch eggs and inasal wings (chicken wings marinated in lemongrass and calamanasi) — and now at Hawksmoor. Until October 13, head to the steak house for ‘The Filipino Burger’: a grilled pork patty topped with their take on traditional pork adobo, buffalo mozzarella and banana ketchup.
