worldlyman Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 OK, so Houston's not San Diego when it comes to Filipino food...but H-town sure is way better than Cincinnati (presumably), Boston (I heard there's only one Filipino restaurant there), Miami, Tampa, Phoenix, Indianapolis, New Orleans and a bunch of other great cities in America.Sometimes, I wish Filipinos in Houston could put that in perspective.I read that even Seattle with its good size Pinoy population has "only" six Filipino restaurants.In Houston there's:Oriental Cooking (Bissonnet/Kirkwood)Sammy's Bakery (mostly breakfast stuff but it's on Bissonnet/between Boone and Kirkwood)Filipiniana (Bissonnet/SW Fwy)Pampanga's Finest (Veteran's Memorial somewhere)Mel's Kitchen (Hwy 6 somewhere)Tuff Pinoy (Veteran's Memorial somewhere)Gold Ribbon (Holcombe/Kirby)Go-Do, formerly Gold Basket (on Fannin in the Med Center environs)Sweets N More, now with a new name that I can't recall (on Bellaire, east of Synott).and there are like three more near Kemah/Clear Lake whose names I can't remember. And there's maybe one more in the NW side that I'm missing, I'm sure.Filipino food is sort of Asian soul food, a mix of Spanish, Chinese, the native Malay and a dash of American influences. It can be greasy and rich...yet there's the "clean" stuff, like soups.The rich stuff is kare-kare, slowly cooked pork hocks in a type of peanut butter sauce. Dinuguan, cow's blood that's cooked. It's actually quite tasty but hard on the arteries. The beef afritada is very good. It's a bit spicy, cooked straightforward, with some grease. The sinigang soup is the best, healthwise. It's a bit sour but with lots of flavor. There's the beef, pork and seafood that has some tamarind in the stock. I like it better than Chinese soups. Keeps you full longer than Vietnamese pho.Noodles are called pancit...it's not too different than the Chinese version, though I like the Chinese style better.Egg rolls are called lumpia, and they've got a thinner wrapper compared to the thicker Viet and Chinese stuff. Lumpia is loaded with ground beef with slivers of carrots and other veggies, sometimes raisins (yuck, good with Raisin Bran but not with egg rolls!). Though I like lumpia better than the Chinese or Viet counterparts, it's deep fried in spades, so that's a health caveat.Lastly, the national dish of the Philippines is called adobo. It can consist of beef, pork and usually dark meat chicken that is sauted in a soy sauce base. It's great over rice. Simple but very filling.There's no Houston Filipino restaurant as excellent as San Diego's Maharlika (but try and see if anyone can get good AUTHENTIC Pakistani, Indian and Cajun food in San Diego!)...nonetheless Houston's got some choices there compared to most other metros in the US. Filipino food is not as well known as other Asian fare like Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese but it's fair and there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Is there a recommendation in there?I'm big on Malay and Thai, never had Filipino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomv Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Dinuguan, cow's blood that's cooked. It's actually quite tasty but hard on the arteries.You almost had me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worldlyman Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 Is there a recommendation in there?I'm big on Malay and Thai, never had Filipino.Yeah, Gold Ribbon there on Kirby/Holcombe. Take a right on Holcombe if you're northbound on Kirby from the Rice Village.It's a big, fairly open place, nice for "first-timers" or non-Pinoys. It's a fairly sizeable place that's not a hole in the wall and the service is good. Try the adobo, pork or chicken...or maybe get some sinigang (beef, pork or seafood) to go and make sure to get some rice with it.Or if a sweet cool dessert is what you're after, try the halo-halo. It's shaved ice topped with ice cream and mixed Asian fruits.Gold Ribbon is known for its baked goods. It used to be called Goldilocks, a reknowned Filipino chain all over California and other states, but some scandal forced the franchise to change its name among other things.Filipino food is sort of this mix of various Asian and Latino. Not quite so "stylish" as Thai or Malay but it's a different cuisine to check out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metro Matt Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 You're missing one, its off the Eastex Freeway & 1960 in a shopping center. Tuff Pinoy off Veterans Memorial closed up last I heard.I've had Fillipinana & its very tastey One of my good buddys has a friend that owns 2 seafood restraunts in Clearlake & they are Pinoy, I don't know if those are the ones you were reffering to or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worldlyman Posted September 2, 2006 Author Share Posted September 2, 2006 You're missing one, its off the Eastex Freeway & 1960 in a shopping center. Tuff Pinoy off Veterans Memorial closed up last I heard.I've had Fillipinana & its very tastey One of my good buddys has a friend that owns 2 seafood restraunts in Clearlake & they are Pinoy, I don't know if those are the ones you were reffering to or not.That's too bad that Tuff Pinoy closed...but at least Eastex and 1960, there's another.I know of a Pinoy-run or owned place near Kemah called Captain Wicks...but it's pretty much a standard seafood buffet. Kinda pricey for the quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phooks Posted September 2, 2006 Share Posted September 2, 2006 Captain Wicks will cook what you want if you order it specifically. Their food is ok. That's too bad that Tuff Pinoy closed...but at least Eastex and 1960, there's another.I know of a Pinoy-run or owned place near Kemah called Captain Wicks...but it's pretty much a standard seafood buffet. Kinda pricey for the quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metro Matt Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Captain Wick's in Seabrook is the one owned by my friends parents, they also own another seafood place down the road from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyechas Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Thanks for providing the list, worldlyman. I'll start checking some out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worldlyman Posted September 5, 2006 Author Share Posted September 5, 2006 Captain Wick's in Seabrook is the one owned by my friends parents, they also own another seafood place down the road from there.Is that other one down the road serving Filipino food or is it seafood as well? According to some ads from a year ago or so in Manila Headlines, there's like another Mel's type of place...a grocer that also serves food in the Kemah or Clear Lake area.And to skvechas, happy eating to ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtown 4.2 Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 The other Pinoy place in Clear Lake is called "Tia Lolengs" . . . on hwy 3 between Clear Lake City Blvd. and Eldorado blvd. it's a combo grocery / cafe / video rental kinda place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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