Lasang Pinoy, St Albans by Big Fil

Filipino restaurants are pretty thin on the ground in Melbourne, and the one or two I've previously tried hadn't really impressed me.  In some ways that's not so surprising, even eating out in the Philippines I wasn't that wrapped in the food.  Ruby Grapefruit, our resident Pinoy Australian, has always maintained the home cooked Filipino food is best and she may well be right.  Still, Lasang Pinoy is the one Filipino restaurant in Melbourne I've tried I would be happy to return to.

On a Saturday afternoon staff were preparing large amounts of food for a major singing event that night, but surprisingly we were the only ones there for lunch.  The restaurant itself is nice but fairly casual, with tiled floors and red and white checked table clothes.  The food is mainly served out of the bain maries, where you choose a couple of dishes with rice for $9 (from memory).

Best of the mains on the day, in my humble opinion, was the kare kare.  Stewed ox-tail in a rich, moderately spiced sauce, the meat was absolutely fall apart tender and flavoursome, like you normally only get from straight off the bone. 

Also popular with most of us on the day was the chicken adobo, small pieces of chicken cooked in vinegar and soya sauce.  Adobo isn't restricted to just chicken, one of the other dishes we sampled was the pork adobo, and is very popular in the Philippines.  One thing I did think about the adobo here, confirmed by Ms Grapefruit, was the sauce was sweeter than I'd seen it before.  Not unpleasant, but without the slight vinegar taste I was expecting.  It's a dish with regional and individual variations, I guess this was just the cook's way of preparing the dish.

The main reason I'd go back though, and the reason Ms Counting her Calories was immediately planning her next visit, two glorious deserts.  The first I didn't get the name of, as I'd not seen if before and MCHC had done the ordering, but it was reminiscent of a thicker bubur cha cha.  Fresh pieces of fruit, ube (purple yam) and sweet potato in a warm, starchy sauce, it's rich and comforting and delicious.

Better though, the halo halo.  The serve here was enormous so we suspect it was intended for two, packed with ube, caramel flan, fruit, green jelly and other assorted treats, piled on top of shaved ice topped with ice cream over which evaporated milk is poured.  If you've ever had ais kachang, just think of the best you've had and this was better.  Good enough to demand two photos!

Overall

A friendly, family style place serving a type of food you don't see that often, well worth a visit if you're keen to try something a bit different.

Verdict

Food - 7.5

Ambience - 7

Service - 7

Price - 7

Address

12 Victoria Square

St Albans VIC 3021

Tel: (03) 9364 1174