Food and the city..the hags are here to eat and then tell you about it!

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

LUTONG PINOY


10, Kenway Rd, London, SW5 0RR
Telphone: 020 7244 0007

Nearest Tube: Earl’s Court

shop frontInside

This restaurant was recommended by the prince consort’s Filipino friend at work. She said that Filipino people come far and wide from all over London to eat here. We are always on the lookout for great gustationary experiences and who better to ask for advice than from the people who grow up with the food and eat it everyday. Bar

The streets leading up to the restaurant is a treat. There are about three Filipino/Oriental supermarkets selling their wares.I have to caution you though, their prices are quite dear when compared to the prices of outer London shops. Some of the veges and fruit they were selling looked quite bizarre – certainly nothing I’ve seen before.

The restaurant itself is quite simple. A bar on the left as you enter in and stairs leading up to a platform with more seating. There were only three other full tables (with Filipinos), but then again it was nearly 9pm on a Sunday night. A whiteboard propped up on a chair announced the specials of the day. Once given the menus, we wasted no time in ordering. Three of us ordered the coconut juice. Disappointingly it came in a can. We were expecting the Vietnamese version (I don’t know why), where it can be found in Oriental supermarkets in the form of a frozen block. This juice was slightly sour with little bits of coconut floating in it. Not recommended. Have a beer instead.

Specials

Coconut Juice

The Escabeche Isda Lapu-Lapu (£8.00) translated into sweet and sour deep-fried fish. This was very tasty and was attacked at all angles with vigour.

Escabeche Isda Lapu-Lapu (sweet and sour deep fried fish)

Manok Na Adoba Sa Gata (£5.50) was steaming hot, straight from the wok chicken cooked in soya sauce, vinegar and coconut milk. It reminded me of Cantonese food with a twist. But then again, I guess anything cooked with soya sauce reminds me of Cantonese food.

Mank Na Adoba Sa Gata (chicken cooked with soya sauce, vinegar and coconut milk)

As always we try to push the envelope when it comes to trying new things. That evening’s culprit was the Bopis (£5.00) – mixed pig’s lung with red pepper cooked in vinegar sauce. It certainly didn’t disappoint, nor did it catch me heaping it onto my plate enthusiastically (although certain others did try to for me – thank ya kindly). It had a chewy, not quite cartilaginous texture, something that I was unprepared for. I was bracing for something more mushy and squishy. I’ve come to the conclusion that if you’re going to take an animal’s life, you might as well use every organ and body part to account for its existence. The boys loved this dish.

Pig's lung

Tortang Talong (£5.00) was delicious and was basically an egg omelette with aubergines. This was done in a home-style way.

Tortang Talong (Fried aubergines in egg batter)

Pansit Palabok (£5.25) was a large plate of rice vermicelli with boiled eggs, crackling pork, smoked fish and garlic. What a wondrous combination of contrasting textures and tastes. The sweet with a hint of sourness. The softness of the smoked fish with the crunchiness of the crackling pork.

Pansit Palabok with shrimp (rice vermicelli with boiled egg, crackling pork, smoked fish and garlic)

They forgot to serve us the Sitsaron (£3.50), the pork crackling we had ordered. We didn’t mind though. What we had ordered was well enough to feed five ravenous hags. As always, to make sure we covered all nooks and crannies we had to order at least one dessert to share. After much thought and debate we decided on the Ginatanng Bilo-Bilo which was a steaming bowl of sago and yam in coconut milk. A challenge for one person, I think, especially after such a large and satisfying meal, but perfect to share. The couple besides us were savouring the Halo-Halo which came in a massive milkshake vessel. It again seemed to be coconut milk based with all sorts of Oriental goodies floating inside, served cold. I must come again to try this out.

Ginatanng Bilo-Bilo

I haven’t the experience to compare this restaurant to any other Filipino restaurants, so I can’t comment on the authenticity of the food. I can only say that we did thoroughly enjoy savouring the food. If people come from all over London to eat here, they can’t all be wrong, can they?

HRH

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7 Comments:

Blogger Culinary Hag said...

Yes, the lungs weren't exactly my favourite but hey, its all in the name of adventure!

Good jobbie.

TOH

8:04 am

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

interesting review, makes me want to try this this restaurant!

Halo Halo is a really nice dessert it is milk based, not coconut milk, so it is refreshing without being as heavy as the ginataan.

4:24 pm

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i am a filipino myself and been to this restaurant a couple of times.but unfortunately,there's nothing special about the food.the service is utterly bad.i am expecting more of the service like what i get from a typical english or french restaurant in london.the ambiance is so imformal,people are loud and just not something i would like my recommend, im sorry.

6:38 pm

 
Anonymous rowdy said...

try going to tacloban fish better and other dishes nice cant help thinking when in philippines you get good service london is designed for fast food in all restaurants so enjoy try phil shop in high street bywalthamstow and try thai restaurant pub by imperial war museum elephant and castle its well manoured cheap and the best name of restaurant pub ive thong

4:08 pm

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Major Fail. Food is so bland if not nasty. Service are provided by people who seem to hate being there. Food prices are very expensive considering the standard. From what I have recently heard from the Filipino community, this restaurant recycles food . Yuck.

11:31 pm

 
Anonymous Glenda Ramirez said...

Beware. Cashier/Waitress named Glo from this restaurant charged us more than we ordered. When we complained about it, we were accused of refusing to pay our bill. We asked for the manager but the manager also insisted that we pay the erroneous bill. Our bill was almost 20 pounds more than it should me. We decided to just pay as we are late for an appointment. Never again and hopefully others will take note of this warning.

12:06 am

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a mistake. We were supposed to eat at the restaurant next door where there is a remittance office but they were filled up and the waiting time is more than 30mins. We settled to eat at this restaurant thinking that worst would be an average food. We were very surprised that this reaturant is still open. The food is horrendous. I dont think they are even using the right ingredients as they tasted very different. The place itself is very dirty. Tables are not wiped clean after a customer leaves. Me and my friends did not even finish the food and we just left. It is unbearable the way they kept the restaurant.

12:11 am

 

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