I had a craving for Filipino food after work, so I decided to finally make a visit to Fiesta Filipina Cuisine. I have been driving past this place and I was curious to try it.
I walked in and first noticed the shelves full of baked Filipino goods. I was really tempted to pick up several packages of kutchinta (orange sticky rice flour cake) or puto (white rice cake), but I had to refocus and remind myself why I was there.
I was there for fast, to-go Filipino food. And that is what I got. I was immediately greeted by the friendly lady behind the counter and she knew what I wanted. "Combination platter?" Yes, please.
Out of the 12 or so dishes, I chose my usual favs: kare kare (peanut sauce stew with oxtail/beef) and sinigang (a tamarind sour soup with beef and vegetables). I also got suckered into a large piece of toron (fried banana egg roll).
The food overall was pretty good. I can't help but compare it to my mom or lola's cooking. The sinigang was the best of it all. I'd go back for that alone. I was kind of disappointed that the kare kare didn't have tripe in it, but I can't blame them keeping it out for mainstream purposes. And the toron was a little burnt, but the taste wasn't bad.
In the end, I would return here to fulfill a spontaneous Filipino craving and to purchase some of those desserts on the shelves. I also saw that they have crispy pata, which really excites me. I wanted to order it then, but I couldn't justify buying that large delicious hunk of fried crispy pork all for myself. ...or can I?