Located at Wilson and Bathurst an area synonymous with Filipino restaurants and businesses. Sampaguita Village is a Filipino/Chinese restaurant that leans much more to it's Filipino side and that makes me happy.
It's a no nonsense place that does traditional Filipino dishes the justice they deserve. Most Filipino places have all of the choices precooked and are served as part of meal (think Manchu Wok). Sampaguita is a sitdown meal with wait staff serving full dishes of made on order food (think Chinese restaurant).
The dining area is simple an array of large and small tables. Some bamboo details, a mural of Filipino life and 2 tv's. It's an open kitchen which means that the smell, the smoke and the chatter from the cooks flows throughout the space.
The best part about this place is the food. It's always busy and I can understand why. We tried some Filipino favorites and enjoyed them thoroughly. Lechon Kawali (crispy fried pork), pancit canton (thick egg noodles w/ veggies in a tasty sauce), beefsteak (thinly sliced beef w/ onions in a rich sauce) and the best Garlic rice I've ever had (think Chinese fried rice w/o all the soy sauce just lots of garlic).
The prices are reasonable you can feed 4ppl for a little over $40. If your alone they have a lunch menu ($10) that includes rice and meat entree with a little steamed bok choy. We do take out all the time and plan to get some party size dishes made for our next party.
Next time your in the area or shopping at Yorkdale (it's not far) and are looking for something different (or craving for that familiar taste) try them out.