I think this is the only full-service Filipino restaurant in the Northern Nevada region. Please, correct me if I'm wrong because I'd love to try another spot. Drove all the way from Genoa to satisfy some cravings. Got there on a Monday afternoon and it was packed! We were able to get a table outside which was fine. We ordered a number of items:
- Pork Adobo
- Vegetable Lumpia
- Pork Pansit
- Crispy Pata
- Chicken Lumpia
- Tofu Sisig
- Ube Creamsicle (drink)
- Asim Kilig (drink)
- Halo Halo
Service was struggling that day. It took over 20 minutes just to receive our lumpia gulay. And that took us 30 seconds to eat. Probably another 10 min before the main dishes appeared. And even by the time we got them, they were lack luster. The main gripe is that majority of the savory dishes lacked UMPH! The dishes were bland, not with just salt, but with flavor. Filipino food is very savory and full of umami that you need that rice to balance it out. I can't say any of the dishes other than the crispy pata possessed any of that. Of all the dishes we got that could have been the star, was the Tofu Sisig. This was my fave, but needed so much more of that mayo. The dish was dry. I ended up dipping the tofu in the sawsawan that came with the crispy pata.
Another detail that bugged me was that we ordered their vegan pansit, but requested to add pork to it. Instead of having small bite sized pieces of pork that you can pick up with your fork and have noodles, veggies, and protein in one bite, they just topped it with the same huge chunks of pork they use for their adobo. The dish was difficult to eat and I felt the ratio of noodles to veggies/protein were off. In other words, it was more veggies/protein than noodles.
For some positives, the mocktails we got were good. And I particularly enjoyed the Halo Halo. I believe they used coconut milk and/or regular milk in place of evaporated milk. It was much lighter in texture, less rich, and much less sweet compared to a traditional one which I very much appreciated. I also got subtle hints of lemongrass in there too which was such a great touch. I typically feel bloated from all the sugary sweetness of a typical Halo Halo and I never finish it, but theirs was light and refreshing - i finished the whole thing.
Service was polite, but despite that they were busy that day, I don't think there is an excuse to get a deep fried appetizer, that only contained 3 pieces, 20+ minutes after it's ordered and then have another 15 or so minutes to receive the main dishes.
The only way I would go back is if someone wanted to try it and I would just tag along. I would not come back on my own accord. read more