The Filipino Food Thread
#62
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Join Date: Nov 2000
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Kusina de Manila - Des Plaines IL (NW burb of Chicago) very close to ORD
Best adobo I've had, ever:
I had seen this place from the street a number of times and made note to stop in for dinner sometime. Tonight was the night along with a friend.
Not a large place, we were greeted warmly and led to a table for two right in front of the piano where karaoke was going on, "the greatest love" "honesty" etc, you get the idea. Winston the owner, waiting on us and making sure we didn't have any questions. Also mentioned to us if we had suggestions for the person playing the piano, to go ahead and make them.
I had Adobong Kambing (goat meat adobo), this was simply outstanding, the spices, soy sauce/vinegar, pepper with bone-in chopped goat meat. (if not a fan of goat, other meats are available)
Friend had Lechon Kawali - fried hunks of perfect pork goodness. There have been numerous times where the lechon I've had in Filipino restuarants has either been old or very overfried so that the meat was dry. This version was VERY juicy and skin super crispy, cooked perfectly.
Plenty of other dishes to choose from, wish they had a website but they do have a FB page.
Kusina de Manila
632 W Algonquin Rd, Ste 100
Des Plaines, Illinois
(847) 378-8838
10am - 8pm (closed Mondays and closed from 3-4pm on Saturdays)
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/kusinademanila/
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I had seen this place from the street a number of times and made note to stop in for dinner sometime. Tonight was the night along with a friend.
Not a large place, we were greeted warmly and led to a table for two right in front of the piano where karaoke was going on, "the greatest love" "honesty" etc, you get the idea. Winston the owner, waiting on us and making sure we didn't have any questions. Also mentioned to us if we had suggestions for the person playing the piano, to go ahead and make them.
I had Adobong Kambing (goat meat adobo), this was simply outstanding, the spices, soy sauce/vinegar, pepper with bone-in chopped goat meat. (if not a fan of goat, other meats are available)
Friend had Lechon Kawali - fried hunks of perfect pork goodness. There have been numerous times where the lechon I've had in Filipino restuarants has either been old or very overfried so that the meat was dry. This version was VERY juicy and skin super crispy, cooked perfectly.
Plenty of other dishes to choose from, wish they had a website but they do have a FB page.
Kusina de Manila
632 W Algonquin Rd, Ste 100
Des Plaines, Illinois
(847) 378-8838
10am - 8pm (closed Mondays and closed from 3-4pm on Saturdays)
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/kusinademanila/
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#63
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: SFO
Programs: AY Plat, LH FTL
Posts: 7,374
Willie
Mark Bittman has an adobo recipe where you basically boil the meat in the soy/vinegar/garlic marinade for a bit, cover and refrigerate overnight, and then throw it on the grill the next day and reduce the marinade to make a glaze.
Don't tell my wife but that's the best adobo I've ever had...
Mark Bittman has an adobo recipe where you basically boil the meat in the soy/vinegar/garlic marinade for a bit, cover and refrigerate overnight, and then throw it on the grill the next day and reduce the marinade to make a glaze.
Don't tell my wife but that's the best adobo I've ever had...
#65
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: About 45 miles NW of MCO
Programs: Acapulco - Gold, Panama - Red, Timothy Leary 8 Mile High Club
Posts: 29,247
Panama City (FL) isn't that big a town but the Filipino population is significant. I notice them at church where they have a club, called Sampaguita. The Sunday's that they take over the church hall for a meal, the aroma is overwhelming. So, when one of my fellow parishioners started his own restaurant, Manila To Go, I was intrigued. (no web site but can be found on Yelp or Tripadvisor)
I asked the guy at the window to fix me a plate, as I didn't know what to order. I have no idea what I got although I do remember small eggrolls and fried rice. While the food was good, the garlic stayed with me for days.
I'm ready to go back, thanks to this thread.
I asked the guy at the window to fix me a plate, as I didn't know what to order. I have no idea what I got although I do remember small eggrolls and fried rice. While the food was good, the garlic stayed with me for days.
I'm ready to go back, thanks to this thread.
#66
Join Date: May 2015
Location: South Florida
Programs: DL Skymiles KE Skypass
Posts: 2,363
The many Filipino restaurants that I have been taken to by my wife and family all tend to do the same thing:
1. Cook ahead of time and then display in a hot buffet style. Usually not that hot by the time I look at it.
2. Some dishes are cooked to order, but they take a long time.
3. Fried foods are cooked, but tend to be very greasy like the temperature of the fryer is too low to cook it quick enough and the oil penetrates the outer layer.
I tend to want everything freshly cooked. I will only eat my wife's adobo as soon as she finishes cooking it. The rest of the family actually will come over hours later and eat it while it has been out for hours at room temperature.
However, the best Filipino food I had is a dessert:
#67
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: About 45 miles NW of MCO
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He has a short list of call-ahead, cooked-to-order items. I'm headed there for lunch today and will try something off that list if it's less than a 15 minute wait.
And that dessert is amazing. I don't think I could eat it, but it sure is pretty to look at.
#68
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2004
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I thought the local guy's fried items were overly greasy too. I think maybe you're right about the temperature of the oil.
He has a short list of call-ahead, cooked-to-order items. I'm headed there for lunch today and will try something off that list if it's less than a 15 minute wait.
And that dessert is amazing. I don't think I could eat it, but it sure is pretty to look at.
He has a short list of call-ahead, cooked-to-order items. I'm headed there for lunch today and will try something off that list if it's less than a 15 minute wait.
And that dessert is amazing. I don't think I could eat it, but it sure is pretty to look at.
#69
Join Date: May 2015
Location: South Florida
Programs: DL Skymiles KE Skypass
Posts: 2,363
You need to try Adobo, most common is chicken, but if you like Pork, some people know how to get the best taste out of it.
#70
Join Date: May 2015
Location: ATL/MCO
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#71
Join Date: May 2015
Location: South Florida
Programs: DL Skymiles KE Skypass
Posts: 2,363
Actually, no pudding, the majority is finely chopped or shaved ice, different jellies, fruits from the Philippines, different nuts or grains, finally topped with Ice Cream, usually a purple yam based one called Ube. I prefer it with chocolate ice cream myself. Halo-halo is actually translated in English as mix-mix as you are supposed to mix it all together before eating it. If you live in South Florida, there are two restaurants called Lutong Pinoy. One is on W. Dixie Highway in North Miami Beach and the other is on Pembroke Road near Douglas Road in Pembroke Pines.
#72
Moderator: CommunityBuzz!, OMNI, OMNI/PR, and OMNI/Games & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: ORD (MDW stinks)
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Willie
Mark Bittman has an adobo recipe where you basically boil the meat in the soy/vinegar/garlic marinade for a bit, cover and refrigerate overnight, and then throw it on the grill the next day and reduce the marinade to make a glaze.
Don't tell my wife but that's the best adobo I've ever had...
Mark Bittman has an adobo recipe where you basically boil the meat in the soy/vinegar/garlic marinade for a bit, cover and refrigerate overnight, and then throw it on the grill the next day and reduce the marinade to make a glaze.
Don't tell my wife but that's the best adobo I've ever had...
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#73
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,735
I can't say I've ever eaten in a filipino restaurant.
But when I lived in Hawaii, I worked for the Navy Exchange, which like the health care field in S. Nevada, is chock full of filipinos. That was where I came to the realization that white people just don't know how to potluck.
I like adobo, but pork guisantes............mmmmmmmm!!
But when I lived in Hawaii, I worked for the Navy Exchange, which like the health care field in S. Nevada, is chock full of filipinos. That was where I came to the realization that white people just don't know how to potluck.
I like adobo, but pork guisantes............mmmmmmmm!!
Two things I remember from Manila are the boiled peanut vendors and ordering milk and getting goat's milk, which is an acquired taste.
#74
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 2,055
As mentioned somewhere above; I'd give my left nut for a big plate of lechon kawali and garlic fried rice.
In general, I would agree that the PI likes their food "sweet" and greasy. I think the greasy has to do with not rotating the frying oil enough. The sweet is simply a palate issue.
One of the best dishes I ever had was a stew served in a deep fried french fry bowl. Yum!
(I want to go back to the Hobbitt House!)
In general, I would agree that the PI likes their food "sweet" and greasy. I think the greasy has to do with not rotating the frying oil enough. The sweet is simply a palate issue.
One of the best dishes I ever had was a stew served in a deep fried french fry bowl. Yum!
(I want to go back to the Hobbitt House!)
#75
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: SFO
Programs: AY Plat, LH FTL
Posts: 7,374
As mentioned somewhere above; I'd give my left nut for a big plate of lechon kawali and garlic fried rice.
In general, I would agree that the PI likes their food "sweet" and greasy. I think the greasy has to do with not rotating the frying oil enough. The sweet is simply a palate issue.
One of the best dishes I ever had was a stew served in a deep fried french fry bowl. Yum!
(I want to go back to the Hobbitt House!)
In general, I would agree that the PI likes their food "sweet" and greasy. I think the greasy has to do with not rotating the frying oil enough. The sweet is simply a palate issue.
One of the best dishes I ever had was a stew served in a deep fried french fry bowl. Yum!
(I want to go back to the Hobbitt House!)
Any tuyo fans? I usually leave the room when the wife and kids dig into that. I know it doesn't taste bad, but the smell. Ugh, in comparison, durian smells like a bouquet of flowers