Let's face it... No one gives a shit about Filipino grub in this one horse town. Most pedestrians don't even know what a Filipino is. Seriously, just pick some schmuck off the street and ask them what a Filipino is. I once heard someone ask in a totally oblivious tone questioning themselves if that was some sort of musician. I was like, yes, they play the piano... But only at night because they are a nurse during the day. So many dummies, so little ammo.
But anyhoo, let's get back on track here... It is very hard to find decent Filipino chow in this one horse town and there is less than a handful of places that offer anything that resembles their cuisine which is heavily Spanish inspired. You got Estrellita, Kamayan, Kuya and Adobo. We will skip the last two because Kuya is in the food court at the old Assi market which is barely Filipino and Adobo pop-ups are hard to track down and they only do bulk pricing... No fucking way I'm doing all that work to be disappointed.
Let's take a look at the two sit down restos and see if they will be a Flip or Flop... Get it? Since, they love chinelas aka slippers.
ESTRELLITA.
Located in Grant Park in a tiny space next to Manny's, this little shop always has a decent crowd. With all this hype they must be doing something right. The Pouch is at Manny's every Tuesday night for bike night but never had the chance to make it into this teenie weenie joint... But I went in early one weekend night to see what all the fuss was about. Let's sample a few dishes...
Lechon Kawali, pork belly, slow brined in Filipino flavors, $16. It looked great at first glance but upon further inspection every single piece was pure fat, about 90% fat, 5% crispy skin and 5% meat... That sounds exactly like my body composition, just pure fat, uncanny! After two pieces, I had enough. Even the Mang Tomas did nothing to enhance these fat blobs. Total disappointment.
Located in Grant Park in a tiny space next to Manny's, this little shop always has a decent crowd. With all this hype they must be doing something right. The Pouch is at Manny's every Tuesday night for bike night but never had the chance to make it into this teenie weenie joint... But I went in early one weekend night to see what all the fuss was about. Let's sample a few dishes...
Pork Adobo, pork belly sauteed onions, garlic and potatoes, slow simmered in classic adobo flavors, $17. When this came out, I was like "Bro, I don't work here, I think this family meal bowl belongs to the guy in the back corner picking his nose." Seriously, this entree was the size of a normal rice bowl you use at home. They charged $17 for this ridiculous bowl of slop. It had 4 pieces of fatty pork and 3 pieces of potato that tricked you into thinking they were pork. Maybe the two bay leaves were $5 a piece. There was no sauce and the pork was overcooked and dried out. It was like chewing fake dog poop. This was one of the worst adobos I have ever had. Skip it. I wanted to take off my slippers and smack someone for these two dismal specimen of iconic flip grub or at least that fly that kept landing on everything.
Filipino Fried Chicken (half), brined in citrus umami marinade, $16. That is a lot of loot for half a cheekan but after the first two abysmal dishes, this was a god send. The crust was super crispy and it wasn't thick, either. Just a perfect crunch and the meat was tender and juicy, maybe a tad on the greasy side. The banana ketchup was a nice touch for the fries. This was literally the highlight of the Filipino grub on this visit. But I ain't going back just for the cheekan because Popeyes is still better.
Verdict: FLOP! After spending $60+ for this disappointment, I would never come back here ever, again.
580 Woodward Ave DE
Atlanta, GA 30312
KAMAYAN.
There has been a lot of hype with this Atlanta pop-up favorite since 2018... They finally landed a brick and mortar in Asian Square in the old Mary's Fresh Juice which you would think does fresh juices but it was basically an Asian bodega selling slippers, cosmetics, laxatives (jars of Ensure proudly stacked up), humidifiers, gadgets, knick-knacks, cell phone accessories, etc.. Let's face it, they were fencing stolen goods. Thank god a real restaurant took over the space. I heard good things about this place, but the Pouch is always skeptical when roundeyes brag about an Asian grub... Yes, they think Filipino cuisine is just like Chinese, Japanese or Korean grub. Whatever... It can't be as bad as Estrellita... Let's go all in!
Just a quick note- I like the space and how they decorated it but their ordering system is strange (almost fobby) and some will not like it. They have over a dozen staff members but no one will take your order, you scan the QR code that is specific to your table and order and pay on your phone/online and they bring the food out. I prefer to have a real menu because I'm sick of reading menus on my shitty tiny phone screen. It's time to get rid of the scan-the-menu on your phone bullshit.
Pork Lumpia, sweet chili sauce, $6. Spring rolls should never cost $2+ a piece like at most places which usually turns out to be total garbage. But these lumpia were a decent size, really crispy and addictive. The chili sauce is not spicy but you gotta dip your roll in something and it does the job... And the pineapple is just a nice side note that shows they care about what they put out from the kitchen. This is a good start!
Lechon Kawali, crispy pork belly, Mang Tomas, $16. Holy FUCK... Look at this glorious plate of chunky fatass pig. Shit, if they put lipstick on this, I might just start hoggin' again since that one party at college... Wait, I'm the fatfuck with low self-esteem waiting to be taken advantage of... The Pouch needs loving, too. But seriously, look at this sexy beast... Let's take a closer look...
Glamour close up shot... Shiiiiit... Just fucking gorgeous. Each giant chunk of pork belly had the perfect ratio of fat 10%, meat 80% and crispy skin 10%. What's that little tube stuck into that chunk you ask? Vinegar, of course, to cut down what little fat it was in those golden pork belly chunks. I must admit, this could be just a one off that I got lucky on this portion at this particular time and others could have gotten all fat and no meat. But I don't care, this is in front of me now and I'm eating the fuck outta it. This is one of the best lechon in this one horse town. Will see if this perfect execution will be repeated on the next visit. And of course the pineapple is just a nice bite to break down the fattiness on your palate. I'm still dreaming about this dish... Because I'm fat.
Baguio Beans, chilis, Philippine lime, $5. Is this for real? Five-fucking-dollars for all this? Whatever y'all do, DON'T fucking change a goddamn thing on this dish. It was perfectly crisp, juicy and dericious. The fried shallots and garlic on top gave it that extra kick in the tastebuds. This proves that fatsos eat veggies... And pineapple, too.
Chicken Adobo, soy sauce, sugarcane vinegar, peppercorn, bay leaves, $15. When the the server brought this out, I asked her if this was the adobo, she said, I don't know. I looked at this thing and said, I don't know, either. But yes, this was the adobo. With everything else looking and tasting so damn good so far this was kinda a let down. I know everyone and their lola's have their own family adobo recipe but this was way too watery. In my version, I reduce the soy and vinegar to a nice glaze to coat each piece of the protein (usually cheekan) of your choice and I add extra vinegar at the end just to give it an extra kick. The flavor of chicken was nice but it just didn't wow me like the other dishes so far. You will need a lot of rice to sop up all that brown juice. You know they fucked up when it didn't come with pineapple... Anyone have a Pen? Apple? PPAP?
Pak Pak Patis, Rufina fish sauce $8. Overpriced wings are fucking everywhere... Even when the prices of wings have came back all the way down to pre-VID levels. The supply chain for wings is back up and running but restos will continue to milk the idiots who continue to pay these ridiculous prices and keep the scam going as long as they can. I usually don't pay over a dollar for a regular old wing but if it is jazzed up with fish sauce and topped with vibrant garnish I can do it once and see if it warrants a second time. In this case, it does. There's 5 wings under all that garnish. They were crispy, pretty fat and seasoned well... I coulda used more fish sauce but you can ask them for a side of it to splash it on like cologne. You know it's good when it comes with pineapple!
Ube Flan, $5. Holy shit, look at the gorgeous color of this flan and the girth, too... That's what she... Eh. It was silky smooth and tasted like heaven pillows... This is heaven, Larry, heaven. Only if it came with two pineapple to finish me off... Pump Pump Squirt.
Verdict: FLIP! I spent about the same amount here as with Estrellita and I got way more food here that tasted amazing and was fully satisfied. This will be on my regular rotation indefinitely because I need to try every dish on the menu. Lord, why am I so obeast?
5150 Buford Hwy NW
A230
Doraville, GA 30340
https://kamayanatl.com/
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