I recently brought a large group of fellow Filipino food fans to one of my favorite restaurants, Tito Rad’s Grill, the OG (since 2006), real-deal, pinoy restaurant at 49-10 Queens Blvd in Woodside, for a sumptuous repast. Since Filipino food is one of my favorites, I particularly enjoy introducing it to folks who want to learn more about it first hand. Here are a few of the delicious dishes we enjoyed on this occasion and from past visits, in no special order.

(Click any photo to view in glorious high resolution.)

Lumpia

Spring rolls, sprung originally from China. A savory appetizer or snack filled with chopped vegetables and sometimes meat, they’re deep fried and crispilicious.

Lumpia Sariwa

Lumpia are usually found fried. This version, Lumpia Sariwa (sariwa means fresh in Tagalog), springs from China’s popiah, and since I always take the road less traveled, we opted for these. Sautéed vegetables and chicken wrapped in a lettuce leaf that itself is rolled into a soft wheat flour crepe, served with peanut sauce.

Ukoy

Bean sprout fritters with shrimp and vegetables served with a spicy vinegar-garlic sauce.

Sizzling Sisig

One of my all-time favorite dishes, Filipino or otherwise. Chopped pork belly simmered until it surrenders into tenderness, grilled with onion and a little hot pepper until it achieves ultimate yummitude, served on a sizzling platter and topped with a raw egg. Take that photo fast, then stir in the egg while the dish is still hot so it cooks and brings its ineffable richness to the party. (Yes, that means I liked it.)

Belly Lechon (Before)

A stunning presentation, this is the “Before” picture. Slow roasted pork belly marinated with lemongrass and spices in all its crispy, porcine glory; this porky miracle has to be ordered a day in advance. Unless I’m mistaken, a collective gasp was clearly audible as the roast was reverently borne to our table. A hush fell over the assembled diners as we closed our eyes to take our first bite. And of course there was no loss of decorum as we scrambled to snatch up the ample leftovers. Of course.

Belly Lechon (After)

The “After” picture, a study in pulchritudinous rhizanthous verisimilitude. Looks like a pretty flower too.

Inihaw Tuna Belly

Inihaw means grilled. Inihaw Tuna Belly means decadent. This one must be ordered in advance as well; it’s available in three sizes, large shown here. Plays happily in the company of rice; excellent dipping sauce and achara (Filipino pickled green papaya) on the side.

Inihaw na Panga

Alternately, you might want to take a deeper dive with Inihaw na Panga, Grilled Tuna Jaw. Also an advance order, it comes in three sizes – small, medium, and large. Don’t be intimidated by the jaw (or by the double basses you imagine you hear playing menacingly in the background 🦈). Even if you’re not familiar with tuna anatomy (tunatomy?), you’ll find it pretty easy to navigate and actually kind of fun. Did I mention that it’s delicious as well?

Ginataang Langka

When you see ginataang on the menu, that’s your cue that the dish is made with coconut milk; langka is the Tagalog word for jackfruit, in this case green, unripened jackfruit where it functions more as a vegetable than a fruit. And yes, there’s pork in this delicious dish, too, because even a vegetable side dish needs pork.

Palabok

Steamed rice noodles lurking under a cover of shrimp sauce, garnished with hard-boiled egg, crumbled crispy pork rinds and scallions.

Pinakbet

Ampalaya (bitter melon), calabaza squash, green beans and more, plus pork (of course), in a shrimp paste sauce. Another great dish from the Filipino repertoire.

Dinuguan

A rich stew prepared from pork in a luscious gravy that includes vinegar and pork blood. Now, don’t go running off! I’ve said it before: Numerous cultures are at home with it – blood rice cakes in China, blood pancakes in Sweden, in addition to sausages from Great Britain and Ireland, morcilla in Spanish speaking countries worldwide, boudin in France, and so many more in Northern and Eastern Europe. Pretty much everywhere actually. And you also know that I only recommend truly tasty food; I have never been one to embrace the sensationalism of “Look what gross thing I just ate!” No. This is genuinely delicious. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

Sinangag

Garlic Fried Rice. Just what it sounds like, and it’s the perfect accompaniment for dinuguan.

Bicol Express

Another classic Filipino dish. Vegetables simmered in spicy (only slightly so here) coconut milk; we ordered the version with meat because I’m incorrigible. Named for the Bicol Express, a passenger train that ran from Manila to the Bicol region in the Philippines, I guess you could think of this dish that’s both creamy and spicy as running from one terminus on the flavor route to another.

Crispy Pata

In this context, the Tagalog word pata, as in Spanish, refers to an animal’s leg. Pig knuckle/trotter/hock, massaged with ginger and garlic, deep fried until the skin is crispy and the meat is falling apart tender, accompanied by a spicy dip and always served impaled on the best implement to rend it asunder.

Laing

Made from taro leaves and coconut milk – gotta get your greens, right?

Humba

Braised pork in a sweet fermented black bean sauce (the defining ingredient) with mushrooms and onions. And a hard-boiled egg.

Beef Kaldereta

Kaldereta, from the Spanish caldereta or cauldron (note the serving vessel), refers to a stew. This example is a mildly spicy rendition with beef, olives, potatoes, and other vegetables.

Lechon Kawali

The undisputed king of crispy deep-fried porky goodness, fried pork belly. Lechon is roast suckling pig and kawali refers to the way in which it’s prepared, deep fried in a wok (kawali). It’s sliced into delicious chunks and served with a vinegar garlic dipping sauce usually made with (but not really tasting like) liver. Crispy skin, meltingly tender pork belly – I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t love this dish!

Masarap!
 
 
Tito Rad’s Grill is located at 49-10 Queens Blvd in Woodside, Queens.
 
 

There’s excellent Filipino food waiting for you at Lahi, 51-24 Van Loon Street in Elmhurst, Queens. I initially encountered them as vendors at the Queens International Night Market in 2017 and I’m happy to report that their brick and mortar establishment is top notch. Folks who know me are aware that I’m totally hung on this cuisine and since it’s my mission as ethnojunkie to get others hooked on amazing, delicious ethnic food, I’m posting a series of photos (in no particular order) to pique your interest from various lunches and dinners we enjoyed there.

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Sizzling Sisig. Baboy is Tagalog for pork, and these folks know how to do baboy, baby; look closely and you can see the sizzle and steam. Crispy chopped pork belly with onions served on a sizzling cast iron platter. Sisig originated in Pampanga, a province in the Philippines northwest of Manila, where it’s made with pork offal: pig’s ear, jowl, shoulder, and often topped with a fried egg. The chef at Lahi prefers fried pork belly for its flavor and texture. One of my very favorite Filipino dishes and a must-have.

It’s easy to think of sisig solely as delicious sizzling crispy pork parts, but this mouthwatering dish comes in a many varieties. Here’s Sisig Bangus, chopped crispy milkfish with onions floating on a sizzling hot plate. I’m especially partial to their presentation; it leaves no doubt as to what you’re about to dive into!

Kare-kare (a cognate of the word kari, i.e., curry) is a classic Filipino stew: oxtail, tripe, and veggies in a savory, creamy peanut sauce. Pass the rice, please!

Here’s Lahi’s version of another Filipino classic, and one of my favorites, Bicol Express. Crispy pork belly stewed in coconut milk infused with shrimp paste and laden with green chilies. Named for the Bicol Express, a passenger train that ran from Manila to the Bicol region in the Philippines, I guess you could think of this dish that’s both creamy and spicy as running from one terminus on the flavor route to another.

Chami, a cognate of chow mein. Yellow miki noodles (fresh thick egg noodles) stir fried with shrimp and veggies in a sweet and mildly spicy sauce. You don’t see this one everywhere.

Two delicious vegetable (but not vegetarian) dishes:
Pinakbet. Sautéed veggies with pork and shrimp in shrimp paste, and…

…Ginataang Sitaw at Kalabasa. Ginataang means it’s cooked in coconut milk, sitaw are the beans, and kalabasa is the type of squash used here. Factor in some sweet red pepper and shrimp and that’s the dish. Both are delicious, but I have to admit that I’m cuckoo for coconut!

Lumpia are spring rolls, sprung originally from China. A savory appetizer or snack filled with chopped vegetables and sometimes meats, they’re deep fried and crispilicious.

Chicken Adobo, from the Spanish word adobar, to marinate. The protein can be almost anything – chicken, pork, seafood, even vegetables – but finessing the adobo is the critical part; the marinade consists of four key ingredients, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and black pepper. Some folks say that adobo is the Philippines’ national dish – but there are so many unique dishes to choose from! Suffice it to say, it’s a great cuisine.

Lechon Kawali. Lechon is roast suckling pig and kawali refers to the way in which it’s prepared, deep fried in a wok (kawali). It’s sliced into delicious chunks and served with a sauce usually made from (but not really tasting like) liver. Crispy skin, meltingly tender pork belly – I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t love this dish!

Like I said about the folks at Lahi: they know how to do pork! In this context, the Tagalog word pata, as in Spanish, means an animal’s leg, and Crispy Pata is one of my absolute favorite Filipino dishes. It’s a pig knuckle/trotter/hock, deep fried until the skin is crispy and the meat is meltingly tender, accompanied by a soy-vinegar dip. Here, it comes to the table topped with crunchy fried noodles, a garnish I’ve not seen elsewhere which perhaps gilds the lily a bit, but I’m not complaining. One day, I’ll eat a whole one of these by myself, even if somebody’s watching! (Although they might want some too. 😉)

Inihaw na Bangus. Inihaw means grilled, broiled, roasted or barbecued (in other words, using direct high heat) and bangus is Tagalog for milkfish, the Philippines’ versatile national fish. Stuffed with chopped onions and tomatoes, this straightforward simply grilled dish provided a delicious contrast to some of the richer fare.

Kalderetang Kambing. Kambing is the word for goat (in Indonesian and Malay languages as well) and a kalderetang, from the Spanish caldereta, is a stew. Succulent goat meat in a tomato based sauce with potatoes, carrots, olives and a little spicy kick.

Dinuguan. A rich stew made of pork offal in a luscious gravy. Yes, the gravy contains pork blood, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! One of the diners at the table described it as chocolate pork – and everybody loved it. You will, too!

Tortang Talong. Eggplant omelette with onions and tomatoes.

Turon: crispy fried banana roll, served here with coconut milk syrup.

Halo-halo, Tagalog for “mixed”. Over-the-top, famed Filipino shaved ice dessert with something for everyone: sweetened beans, agar jellies, fruits, ube ice cream, and leche flan, sprinkled with crunchy pinipig (pounded toasted rice).
 
 
Lahi is located at 51-24 Van Loon Street in Elmhurst, Queens.