You would think with the large Filipino-American population (the biggest Asian-American minority) in California that Philippine cuisine would now be as mainstream as Thai and Chinese food in the Golden State but there is still a large portion of the state that is still unaware of Filipino food like balut and humba.
In recent years, however, Los Angeles has seen an increase in its number of Filipino food establishments, proving that there is a market for this underappreciated food culture. These are a few as compiled from a list from Asian Journal and KCet:
Ricebar
This is a tiny carinderia-style eatery known for their dilis frito, special pancit luglog and pork longanisa. Managed by Manileño Charles Olalia, it was just opened in summer 2014.
Max's Restaurant
A homegrown restaurant chain in the Philippines, this is the go-to place for those who want to be introduced to Filipino food as it has very traditional items in its menu: Filipino fried chicken, kare-kare, pork sisig, chicken adobo and crispy pata.
LA Rose Café
Try their bestseller, the lumpia shanghai (Filipino spring roll), along with their sinigang (pork stew with the right sour kick), dinuguan (pork blood stew) and Cebu-style lechon (roast pig). This is probably one of the more prominent Filipino restaurants in the Los Angeles area.
Pondahan
Apart from having a sizable Filipino population, West Covina also takes pride in being the seat of one of the most popular Filipino restaurants in this side of California. Pondahan, which means "hang out" when translated to the local language, is famous for being a place for those who want home cooking. Their most popular dish? The crispy meat platter, a shareable dish composed of fried chicken, lechon kawali (crackling pork belly) and crispy pata.
Dollar Hits Food Truck
Want a taste of Filipino street food? This food truck's unconventional setup will delight you. All around the sidewalk, heated grills are put in place so customers can heat their food up whenever they want.
