Since I moved here 5-ish years ago, one of the main complaints I had was that there were no Filipino sit-down restaurants around me. And there was just no way I would be driving South in traffic to get to one. Sure, you would think I would not be craving Filipino food. I mean, you would think that I can just cook the dishes myself. However, there are some dishes that I have no idea how to cook. Or I have looked at the recipes online already and I just have not the courage to try cooking yet.

Imagine my happiness when I saw this restaurant, Filcuisine, during a grocery shopping trip one weekend. I just have to try it out. Because the last time I was at a sit-down Filipino restaurant was when I visited SoCal a few months ago. So I tried this restaurant out with my roommate and we couldn’t be anymore happier.

First Order: Crispy Sizzling Sisig. This was made with morsels of savory roasted pork, with onions, jalapenos, and citrus juice, topped with freshly cracked egg, and served on a sizzling hot plate. This dish was always a staple for me when I go to a Filipino restaurant. Let me tell you, this was so good. I definitely prefer this sisig over the dish served at a popular Filipino chain restaurant. I would come back for this over and over.

Second Order: Crispy Kare Kare. This version of the classic kare kare was made with crispy lechon kawali slices paired with the classic kare kare peanut sauce, and of course, veggies. It definitely looked attractively good. And I was tempted to eat some, but I had to restrain myself. I am allergic to some of the ingredients in this dish, as well as the bagoong (shrimp paste) that you eat this dish with. I would have to take my roommate’s word for this. She said she loved it. I watched her eat this nonstop during our lunch, I’d say it was really good. And yes, I am currently researching how to make this dish Roma-proof. Because I miss eating this one.

Third Order: Pork Adobo Fried Rice. It was fried rice, with chunks of pork adobo, egg, and green onions. This fried rice was flavored with savory adobo seasoning. It was good. I mean, my favorite Filipino dish was adobo. So no surprise that I would like this fried rice. And I also forgot to take a picture of this one. Fail on my part. Let’s just say that I was too hungry and I just wanted to dig in.

Fourth Order: Laing. This dish was made of taro leaves simmered in coconut milk. For me and my roommate, this was the star of that lunch. We could not stop eating this. It was that good. Very rarely that I see this dish served at Filipino restaurants, I do not know why. I do not understand it. Regardless, this was the dish that we had to physically tell ourselves to stop eating because we wanted to take home some leftovers. And yes, I also want to learn how to make this dish at home.

The serving size I got for all the dishes were regular sizes. Pretty decent sharing portions, and we still had leftovers after. So we got to enjoy the dishes for dinner at home. Were we in a food coma after? Yeah, a major one. Would we come back? Hell yeah, we would. It was just about making sure to go there right when they open or after the lunch rush. Because the place could get really crowded. I mean, the food was really good, and the demand was high, so I was not surprised that this place was poppin’!