LASA

Los Angeles, California

I guess I have joined into the Filipino fare phase in Los Angeles. Somewhat recently, multiple restaurants have opened featuring this cuisine. Many are "home cooked" style. Hearty. Comforting. However, LASA was opened with the intension of elevating the food.

The ambiance is sparse and elegant in the small space tucked into an outdoor mall in LA's Chinatown. It seems that many good meals in Los Angeles are found after passing through an unpretentious entrance.

Lumpia Sariwa

brown rice flour crepe, black kale, shaved cabbage, caramelized cauliflower, peanut soy vin

The crispy crepe allowed pieces to be broken from it, which then combined with the soft vegetables below. I enjoyed the peanut flavor throughout the dish, but found the consistency of the vegetables too uniform. Nonetheless, it was tasty.




Sunfed Ranch Beef tongue
smokey eggplant, charred green beans, tatsol, roasted peanut, and bagoong aillade
This dish was remarkably tender, especially considering that it was tongue. It played beautifully with the various textures on the plate that were accented by the various flavors ranging from smoke to char to peanut. I found this enjoyable and interesting to eat. Delicious.




Rockfish Kinilaw
lemon cucumbers, radishes, patismansi, crispy dilis, pickled frescos

I really wanted to love this dish because typically I enjoy fish and it sounded so interesting with the different preparations and vegetables. Unfortunately, I found it to be like a plain, but nicely prepared, sashimi dish that is tender, but not containing powerful flavors.

Beef Kilawin

flat iron tartare, patis aioli, salt and vinegar taro chips

This was delectable as my mouth watered as the bite of the vinegar combined with the crunchy texture of the chops. I found it to be a delightful bite when scooping up the tartare. For me, this was akin to the classic tartare dish, but with the punch of vinegar, which I appreciated.

In general, I think I thought I would find more exotic dishes at LASA, but instead it reminded me of American style appetizers with minor twists. After talking to others who had visited the restaurant at another time, it appears that this may have simply been the menu at the time that I visited. Nonetheless, an admirable and unique place to experience Filipino food that was anything but simple.

Eagle Rock Kitchen

Eagle Rock, California

The little authentic Filipino kitchen was begun with a family and chef pairing their knowledge and passion for providing both authentic and healthy Filipino food to the community. The first year of business was filled with the creation of a menu, the chef deciding to move from this business, the family's mother quitting her job as a nurse to take the place of the cook in the kitchen, and then gradually perfecting a small menu. This has been a labor of love for the entire family. One of the sons, Matthew, now is the primary server in the restaurant and he exudes passion and knowledge of each dish that is served, willingly providing a thorough explanation of any proposed question.

Pancit
This dish can be served in several different bases, the rice noodles being what I selected and also as the most traditional. A mild vinegar and salt was the flavor on the noodles, almost too gentle for me to detect. Matthew explained that many restaurants cook this heavily in soy sauce, but they allow their patrons to add soy to taste, keeping it healthier in the form that it is served to the table. It is garnished with lemon wedges to squeeze on it as well. The light sauce allowed for the cooked vegetables to be tasted to add that flavor. This was too plain in taste for my palate, overall unremarkable for me, but I thoroughly appreciated that it was healthy and could be seasoned to taste.

Bangus
Fish was flavored in vinegar and lightly fried to allow a crispness to it that was then dipped into a vinegar served on the side to add posture back to it. Garlic was also provided as a fried garnish along with garlic rice. The fish was a meaty texture rather than being a soft white fish. I enjoyed the variation of flavors played between the vinegar and garlic. Also, the crispiness of the fish was decidedly necessary since the other textures on the plate were all smooth without other contrasting textures.

BiloBilo
This dessert is a warm sweet soup. They do not always serve it during the hottest months of the year, but I was lucky enough to try it when I was there. It was pleasantly and gently sweet, and was certainly a comforting dish with a lot of texture due to the pearls of tapioca floating in the coconut milk, but with the interesting mix of jackfruit, sweet potatoes, and bananas. A lovely finish to the meal without feeling sickly rich, as desserts can be at times.

What a memorable experience due to the nature of being family run with meals served from the heart. My favorite thing was that it felt like I was being welcomed into the family, just getting a little table in a large room instead of right in the kitchen as the dishes were being made by Matthew's mother.