If you are unfamiliar with Chef Tim’s work, you can check out our post on our Bay Area Sisig Search where our final stop for sisig was at Chef Tim’s previous restaurant, Poleng Lounge. Ever since that day, we recommended that restaurant to our friends. Sadly, due to poor economic conditions, Poleng Lounge closed its doors in January of this year.

It was a relief to discover that Chef Tim would continue his work at a new restaurant named Attic. When this new restaurant in downtown San Mateo was announced, I was sure others were excited to try it. Sure, Attic takes a few cues from Poleng Lounge, but more importantly it remains a canvas where Chef Tim would be able to display his interpretation on Pan-Asian and Filipino cuisine.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I thought the meal would only consist of a few select dishes. Our dinner that evening was more than that. Chef Tim showcased almost half of his menu, which left many of us pleasantly surprised and excited.

Sinigang Chicharon

Bangus Lumpia Cigarillos

Sweet Potato Fries

Crispy Adobo Wings

Chilled Tomato Water Sinigang

Mixed Heirloom Tomato Salad

Walu Kinilaw

Beef & Bone

Jasmine Garlic Fried Rice

Crispy Kare Kare

Red Horse Shortrib Caldereta

Sizzling Sisig with Egg

Coconut Ube Tapioca

Just like you attended a Filipino birthday party – there was plenty of food around and you were left full afterwards.

After leaving Attic, I wished to myself for more success to those who are a part of this Filipino food movement, whether if they were restaurants, food trucks, or carts. I, like many other Filipinos, want Filipino cuisine to stand tall with other Asian cuisines. I want people to see our food as flavorful, deep, and complex. I want stereotypes of Filipino food to be broken. Call me selfish, but I strongly believe this should happen. With Filipino restaurants like Attic, as well as the many others in the Bay Area serving as the stepping stone for others who are unfamiliar with Filipino cuisine, I feel that it is possible. It is their craft that will help Filipino cuisine become a part of the culinary spotlight.

Attic
234 South B Street
San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 342-4506
www.atticrestaurant.com

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About Ovarian Cancer:
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women. The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,650 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2008 and about 15,520 women will die from the disease. It is an insidious disease that can strike without warning or cause.

To support the awareness for the OCRF even more, Foodbuzz is donating $50 for every post about Banana Splits with the Top 9 Takeover. With the Top 9 Takeover, Foodbuzz will be showcasing 9 blog posts that feature the same theme. We wanted to support the cause, so we decided to join in.

To get into the spirit of summer, we decided to come up with a Filipino style banana split. Instead of regular bananas, we used Saba Bananas that have been wrapped in egg roll wrappers and then fried. These little fried banana rolls are called Turon in Filipino cuisine. The classic Filipino Turon adds in jackfruit to enhance the sweetness of the bananas. We opted to use Nutella Spread instead of jackfruit in our recipe, for that hint of chocolate.

Ingredients
Egg Roll Wrappers
Saba Bananas
Nutella Spread
Water
Brown Sugar
Vegetable Oil
Ice Cream of Your Choice

Steps

First, divide the bananas in half, and slice them again, sort of into long strips. Next, begin wrapping the bananas in the egg roll wrappers.

Spread a little bit of Nutella inside the egg roll wrapper before placing a slice of banana inside. The inspiration to use the Nutella in our Turon comes from having Turon from Patio Filipino in San Bruno, where they use chocolate in their version. Take a slice of the banana and coat it in some brown sugar, place it inside of the wrapper, and roll.

Seal wrapped bananas with a touch of water so that they don’t open up when you fry them.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, fry the wrapped bananas until they are golden brown on both sides. This should take about 2-3 minutes. Remove them from the skillet and place them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Keeping in with theme of the Filipino Banana Split, we paired the Turon with a scoop of Ube – purple yam and Mango Ice cream. Both of these can be found at your local Asian Market.

Just drizzle on some melted Nutella spread and sprinkle some nuts of your choice to top it off. And there you have it. Our twist on an American classic, summertime favorite…

If you too feel like joining in to support awareness for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, you can build your own banana split on Kelly Ripa’s website. For every virtual banana split submitted, Electrolux will donate $1 to the OCRF.

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Not your average roasted turkey, but Chicken Relleno – a deboned roasted chicken, stuffed with ground pork, Filipino hot dogs, and eggs. We usually cook Chicken Relleno during the holidays. After Thanksgiving settles down, we’ll have the recipe posted for you to try at home.

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Chicken. You can fry, bake, barbecue, or broil it. You can serve it in a soup, with a sauce, or by itself. Every culture or region in the world has their own specialty dish that uses chicken as the main ingredient. From Chicken Kiev to America’s own Southern Fried Chicken, we can agree that you can prepare chicken countless ways.

In the Philippines, several restaurants have made millions of pesos off of severing chicken dishes. Jollibee, Max’s House of Fried Chicken, The Aristocrat, and Classic Savory Chicken are a few restaurants that have followed this path. Let me tell you that my visits back home to the Philippines include a stop at one of these destinations just to get a taste of their chicken dishes. Returning back home to the West leaves me craving for more Filipino food, but luckily there are a few places around me that can do I feel like I’m back home Filipino dishes. It was only the other week that I went to a spot that a co-worker recommended. What I didn’t know was that they would be serving memories on a plate.

Chicken D’Lite holds a special place in my heart for one reason. Eating here reminds me of the Philippines. When you first approach the restaurant and look at the menu, you will notice that they serve two styles of chicken. That’s when it hit me. They served chicken similar to Classic Savory Chicken’s fried chicken and The Aristocrat’s barbecued chicken. It sparked a I get to try two styles of my favorite comfort food that’s supposed to taste like the ones from restaurants in the Philippines, here in Newark, without flying across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines!? feeling. Sign me up.

The first style of chicken offered is a Classic Savory Chicken style, fried chicken that is served with a gravy sauce on the side. Savory style refers to the mix of spices that season the chicken, which the Classic Savory Chicken restaurant is known for. Juicy and tender meat is tucked beneath the crispy skin. Dipping into gravy adds just a touch of more flavor to the meat. The best part of Chicken D’Lite’s fried chicken is that it isn’t overly oily.

If you aren’t in the mood for fried chicken, you can sample on The Aristocrat style, barbecued chicken. Chicken D’Lite’s marinade used to flavor the chicken is similar to The Aristocrat’s. It has a much sweeter taste than the Savory style fried chicken, and is served with a peanut sauce as opposed to the gravy. The peanut sauce reminded me of a pork asado sauce, which contains some flavors of brown sugar and soy sauce. The Aristocrat style chicken remains as juicy and tender as the Savory style. You can’t go wrong with either.

Chicken D’lite offers an unbelievable value for the price you pay for their combination meals. Along with your choice of chicken, you receive a small cup of a rich macaroni soup (sopas), three pieces of meat egg rolls (lumpia Shanghai) with a sweet and sour dipping sauce, and on top of that, a heaping serving of rice.

It was a very satisfying meal. I left with a smirk on my face knowing that a little bit of the Philippines was this much closer to home.

It’s a spot for dates because…
For days that you have a craving for Filipino style chicken, you can look to Chicken D’Lite to meet your needs. Chicken D’Lite offers you a great value for the quality you receive.

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My overall experience with Filipino restaurants has been mixed. I’ve been to “turo-turo” restaurants where you had to pick out your choice of food ala Panda Express style, to more traditional home styled restaurants. One day I was craving for some Filipino food. I could always head home to Monterey to experience a real home cooked meal, but I wanted to explore what the Bay Area had to offer. Patio Filipino remained on my list of spots to dine at. I took my craving as an excuse to check them out.

When we stepped inside Patio Filipino, I was impressed with how the restaurant was set up. My first impression was that it seemed fancier than your average Filipino restaurant. It’s a spot that I would love to showcase to my friends and family if they want to experience Filipino cuisine. After being seated, we took a look at the menu and noticed the wide selection of dishes. They had plenty of classic Filipino dishes.

Here is a rundown of what we had:

We couldn’t end the night without trying some of their desserts. We had one order of the Leche Flan. It was very sweet and creamy. Slices of strawberry and a blueberry topped this dish. I was surprised to see the fruit because I had never seen that done with Leche Flan before.

The Buko con Seta was the other dessert we ordered. We first got a glimpse of it when the table next to us had two orders. I thought to myself, this dessert must be good. The presentation with this dessert was unique. You have a young coconut shell with coconut jello inside. You could scrape off real pieces of coconut out of the shell, which was a great touch. Throw in a scoop of ube, which is Tagalog for purple yam, ice cream, and you have yourself a great end to a meal with this dessert.

One quick reminder if you are planning to dine here. Everything is served family style. This will allow you to share with others and it gives you an opportunity to sample different dishes.

It’s a spot for dates because…
You will be surrounded by a warm and comfortable family like atmosphere. Combine this with one of the Bay Area’s best Filipino restaurants and you’ll experience a wonderful meal.

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Chicken Joy – This word automatically lights my eyes up and makes me picture the Philippines. Every time I go back home to the Philippines, I must make a stop at Jollibee. Over in the Philippines, Jollibee is the leading fast food restaurant. They serve your traditional burger and fries, but the gem here is the fried chicken known as Chicken Joy. The chicken is served with rice and brown gravy. Already, you can tell that Jollibee isn’t your traditional fast food spot.

You don’t have to travel to the Philippines to get a taste of Jollibee. They have expanded their operations and have opened branches in the United States. The Union City, CA branch is the closest to where I live. If you are close to one of their branches, you can try their fried chicken. Another recommendation to try is the spaghetti. They add a twist to the spaghetti, making it Filipino style, which has a much sweeter flavor to it.

Did I mention that the desserts are tasty too? The Peach Mango Pie puts McDonald’s Apple Pies to shame. And if pies aren’t your thing, cool off with some Halo-Halo. So, if you’re short on time and have to grab fast food, Jollibee’s variety in its offerings just might make it your pick.

It’s a spot for dates because…
Jollibee’s menu offerings are a nice change from the traditional fast food spots.

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