2.13 Barrio Fiesta
Posted on April 23, 2008
Filed Under Best of the Best, Filipino | Leave a Comment
Sorry about the lack of updates, I’ve been on vacation! I’ll catch up. In the mean time here’s a big Filipino food entry.
I was very excited to go to Barrio Fiesta with my Filipino friends Isabel and William. I had very little exposure to Filipino food before, so I was mentally pumped to try all the new stuff they were going to throw at me. Let me say it now, I was not disappointed. The restaurant is on the East side of Eagle Rock Blvd in Eagle Rock. The parking is a bit tough, as the good-sized restaurant only has a small valet lot. There’s plenty of street parking in the residential zones a block away — but the downside is that you have to breathe in the incredible smell of food as you walk to the restaurant.
Gulaman at Sago — Drink: Filipino gelatin and tapioca seeds topped with crushed ice and brown sugar syrup. We ordered this just as a drink and I really liked it for its variety of textures and flavors. It’s sweet, tangy and refreshing. Use the spoon to dig out whatever sweets you like and then drink the deliciously sweet nectar!
Tahong (Mussel) Soup — Mussels in clear soup spices with ginger: This was a really simple mussel and spinach soup. Mussels tasted fresh and the soup had great flavor and a homemade taste. Very mellow, easy soup
Fried Squid: This is a big plate of very fresh squid lightly battered and fried to a crisp. The accompanying vinegar, garlic and salt sauce was excellent and enhances the flavor of the squid. By the way, vinegar, garlic and salt makes a fantastic and healthy alternative to butter when you’re eating crabs.
Pancit Malabon — Filipino fried noodles with shrimp, pork, squid. Peanut and tofu sauce: This was the star of the show! The noodles were chewy and it picked up the peanut sauce well, which gave it a more complicated and pleasing texture. The pork and shrimp and squid gave it a really rich flavor, complex and hearty. I must’ve gone back to this plate 4 or 5 times, it was so good.
Kare Kare — Beef, oxtail, tripe, vegetables in peanut gravy served in clay pot: The beef was very tender and the peanut gravy was so creamy and smooth. I kept on thinking this was curry but the taste was lighter and more smooth and mellow. The tripe was a bit too chunky for my tastes — it was entire sheets of stomach lining. I think I would’ve ate some if it was cut up a bit more. Overall a good dish.
Sisig a la barrio — Dice fried pork on sizzling platter: Do I need to say more than fried diced pork on sizzling platter? Well, there were bell peppers and onions tossed in for good measure, there were chewy pieces of pork fat mixed in with pieces of great flavorful lean pork. Fantastic textures and really interesting to eat. It’s a bit on the salty side so I’d recommend eating it with the Adobo rice.
Inihaw na bangus — Broiled milkfish stuffed with vegetables: This was a tough dish to eat. The fish had a good amount of bones in it and you have to be careful when you take a bite, I spent a good minute picking out the small bones from the bite I took. The flavor is pretty good — a bit on the fishy side, the texture wasn’t all that pleasing, though, so next time I might try something else.
Adobo Rice — Rice fried in adobo sauce: This was not all that impressive after all the other hard core stuff, it was a little on the bland side and I can’t remember eating much of this.
Halo Halo special — Fruit and bean preserves topped with ice cream and rice crispies: Mango ice cream, red bean and jack fruit. I like the flavor of jack fruit but it’s not for everyone. It’s a wonderful dessert, I love the amount of contrasting textures here, crunchy shaved ice, smooth ice cream, chewy jackfruit and soft red bean paste.
Service was very attentive and very friendly, the atmosphere is… well, festive, with very colorful walls and decorations. We were there on a Sunday afternoon and there was a violinist playing along to a CD, he wasn’t very good and I wished they just had something else for music… because, really, I don’t need to hear a violin version of “Like a Virgin” when I have hard core authentic Filipino food to keep me occupied. I will certainly be back to try more stuff, the menu is extensive and I know we barely scratched the surface. Big thanks to Isabel and WIlliam for being our guides!
Barrio Fiesta
4420 Eagle Rock Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041