607306 Fri Mar 27 10:16:45 -0700 2009 31 18 Manhattan 0 4543811 Hello, I am in search of the best, authentic filipino food around. Price is not of importance, as long as the food is delicious. I'm excited to hear your responses. Thanks in advance! Fri Mar 27 10:16:46 -0700 2009 50568 AmbianceMe 1 4544874 There aren't many options in Manhattan. Grill 21 on 21 St is good. I haven't been to Banyan Cafe on 45 St. They are both small. Your best options is 69 St in Woodside, Queens. Krystal's, Perlas, Renee's and Ihawan are within a block of the 69 St station on the 7 line. Fri Mar 27 15:26:41 -0700 2009 4543811 268231 MahatmaKanejeeves 2 4544983 definitely Ihawan; sometimes you just gotta travel a little bit! Krystals in east village is alright in a pinch. Fri Mar 27 16:30:10 -0700 2009 4544874 12656 bigjeff 3 4545068 Didn't Krystals in EV close more than 2 years ago? Fri Mar 27 16:58:50 -0700 2009 4544983 267304 EGoldberg 4 4545555 yes, i remember attempting to go there shortly after it closed. Fri Mar 27 21:13:20 -0700 2009 4545068 64215 cimui 2 4545521 I've been to Banyan -- I have no other experiences to compare it except for a place in Soho that I sense was less authentic and I can't remember what it was called. That said, I really enjoyed the food and I went with my Filipina co-worker who goes there three times a week. It's the only place she eats Filipino food and she swears by it as being the closest taste she can get to home. So I can vouch for the taste to my American palate and she can vouch for the authenticity I suppose. Fri Mar 27 20:59:20 -0700 2009 4544874 15979 Sugar 3 4545547 What did you order at Banyan? I am curious to try it too... if you have any recommendation please let us know.. Ah.. the place in Soho was called Cendrillon... I heard it has recently moved from Mercer Street in Soho to Brooklyn.... I used to like going there but I had a few bad experiences (i.e. food not good) so I stopped going. I think the waitstaff seemed unfocused and was always very slow even when the restaurant was not busy. Fri Mar 27 21:09:51 -0700 2009 4545521 107490 bearmi 4 4545557 bearmi, i read recently that cendrillon has closed, too. Fri Mar 27 21:13:59 -0700 2009 4545547 64215 cimui 5 4547614 they are re-opening in ditmas park or thereabouts, opening may 2009, more casual, less "soho"; wonder what population is gonna be eating filipino food around there tho!? Sat Mar 28 20:19:06 -0700 2009 4545557 12656 bigjeff 5 4547621 they are re-opening in ditmas park or thereabouts, opening may 2009, more casual/homestyle, less "soho"; wonder what population is gonna be eating filipino food around there tho!? Sat Mar 28 20:23:18 -0700 2009 4545557 12656 bigjeff 4 4546250 Yes, cendrillon, that's the one. let's see at Banyan I definitely ate some crispy fried pig's feet/knuckles -- those were good, a bit dry. And had a whole fried fish in a sweet and sour sauce. Sorry I don't remember the translations. Sat Mar 28 09:14:39 -0700 2009 4545547 15979 Sugar 1 4544878 ambiance, i don't know much about filipino food, but i'm responding to try and wave down jungmann, who does know a thing or two, and to give this important question a bump up on the board. i've *heard* grill 21 is pretty ok for basic fare. does anyone know if that's still open? Fri Mar 27 15:29:41 -0700 2009 4543811 64215 cimui 2 4553896 Sorry - I've been very busy late, but tonight's Choice Eats event has brought me back to Chowhound looking for recommendations! Options in Manhattan are very limited for Filipino food, which has been a boon for developing my small-time catering business, but annoying when you want a quick meal. Your choices: 1) Elvie's Turo-Turo: Quality has dramatically improved under the new management. Food is less greasy, however flavors lack the punch of salty, sour, sweet that Filipino is known for. I don't think they take their time with stews to really develop layers of flavor. Best options are kakanin, lumpiang shanghai or ginisang munggo. Avoid complicated dishes like kare-kare, dinuguan or halo halo. 2) Grill 21: Ambiance, friendly staff, good food, what's not to love? I haven't been through the entire menu, but the cook/mother turns out the kind of hearty, flavorful dishes you know she's raised a healthy family on. When I am craving a good home-cooked meal, this is where I turn. Highlights: crispy pata, chicharon bulaklak, binagoongan. 3) Bayan Cafe: Good food, but small space and limited hours. They are predominantly a lunch-time restaurant for Midtown office workers with a cheap lunch special. Flavors are good and has earned some loyal fans in the neighborhood. Best options: kare-kare, dinuguan, sisig. 4) Kuma Inn: With Cendrillon gone, this is as upscale as it gets for Filipino fusion. The flavors are sort of there, but muddled into a Southeast Asian mélange in dishes like lechon kawali, pancit bihon, shumai or lumpia. The adobo, however, remains true to its roots and is a worthy special to try. Queens has many more options and I do find myself making the trip there at least once a month. Ihawan does just absolutely mind-blowing barbecue, the Phil-Am Mart sells terrific homemade longaniza and Krystal's is wonderful for lighter-than-air ensaimada or a leisurely merienda. You might post your question in the Outer Boroughs for more specific answers, but in general if I want Filipino food and don't want to cook, I find myself assembling meals from the this-and-that of the other countries that contributed to the evolution of the modern Filipino diet: butsi and siopao from Mei Li Wah, hopia from Lung Moon, cocido at Despaña, ukoy from Katagiri, kangkong from Fatty Crab. Even if there isn't a mind-blowing Filipino restaurant in the borough, one of the benefits of so international a cuisine is that all the component parts are still accessible. Tue Mar 31 07:53:30 -0700 2009 4544878 68363 JungMann 3 4554102 will definitely have to borrow your last paragraph there; would make for a great potluck! Tue Mar 31 08:51:15 -0700 2009 4553896 12656 bigjeff 3 4554188 *high five* very nice write up, jungmann. thanks! Tue Mar 31 09:15:09 -0700 2009 4553896 64215 cimui 1 4544906 I'm still trying to figure out what the best filipino food in manhattan is too...Grill 21 was decent. Never been to Banyan....Kuma Inn is fusion-y but yummy. I'll tell you what is not the best in manhattan though.....Elvie's Turo Turo....on 1st and I think 13th? I've been there before, and its been passable...but last week I had a meal that was just disappointing. Kare kare that had no real peanut flavor, the color was right and the consistency wasn't watery...but there was no taste at all. And the oxtails were few and beyond fatty in between. The adobo was super salty. The rice was mush. Also, $9 for lumpia shanghai seems a bit excessive. Even if you get 16 pieces..why isn't there a smaller portion? They've always had good halo halo though.... I kinda miss the Krystals in the east ville.... Fri Mar 27 15:38:01 -0700 2009 4543811 71379 missinfo 2 4546303 Rent in E. Village is too expensive now. Elvie's is too expensive. Pistahan has closed. Dragonfly in W. Village has closed. An enterprising Filipino should open a turo-turo truck or cart on First Ave. Sat Mar 28 09:34:21 -0700 2009 4544906 268231 MahatmaKanejeeves 3 4547623 thanks for that update; wow, didn't know pistahan had closed; that's crazy! Sat Mar 28 20:24:28 -0700 2009 4546303 12656 bigjeff 4 4548582 Grill 21 is the best Filipino in Manhattan. Pistahan right before it closed was really bad, it once was good. Elvies is bad and very little food. Banyan is not too good. Cendrillion had some good dishes but was by no means authentic. Grill 21 although not owned by a Filipino ( he is married to a Filipina) does a good job. You can always cross the river and go to Red Ribbon. Or the other river to Manny;s Sun Mar 29 10:15:07 -0700 2009 4547623 118604 foodwhisperer 1 4554784 Definitely check out Bayan. NB. it's not "Banyan" - my wife laughed at me for about two weeks after she heard me make that mistake. The Kare Kare (oxtail stew in peanut sauce) is phenomoenal, one of their best dishes. Obviously they do a great Adobo (or else they wouldn't even be allowed to remain open.) I also like their Mami Soup and Arrozcaldo. The only downside is that it's not cheap. For such a small place, they do charge quite a bit. But as far as the food goes, we've always been happy. Cendrillion was a joke. No wonder it closed. Tue Mar 31 12:03:53 -0700 2009 4543811 203536 Spends Rent on Food 2 4580349 the sisig at Bayan was excellent. The peanut sauce on the kare kare I thought was too thick . Try grill 21. I agree that Cendrillon wasnt the real deal. The owner was a nice guy though , who had French cooking experience , so i guess he was doing his thing. But Grill 21 is best Filipino food ive had in manhattan. Manny's bakery is ok in queens,, and Red Ribbon has good ponsit and great cakes in NJ,, home cooked is still best Wed Apr 08 22:06:21 -0700 2009 4554784 118604 foodwhisperer 1 4556969 Update: I came across a new Filipino restaurant which just opened in Astoria called Philippu. The chef's kalderetang kambing was made with the traditional goat and served in a very rich broth that tasted of hours of slow cooking. As we were at a tasting event I didn't get to try much more, but having spoken with the chef and tasted some of his cooking, I have high hopes for my upcoming visit. Wed Apr 01 06:47:56 -0700 2009 4543811 68363 JungMann 1 4717132 BTW, Phillipine Independence Day Festival is happening on June 7! Looks like lots of tasty treats. June 7, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Madison Avenue between 24th and 26th Streets http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/dining/27festival.html Tue May 26 18:45:57 -0700 2009 4543811 10936 kathryn 2 4717692 there is good street food at the festival, pretty crowded but check the bbq out, its the best thing at the festival,, drink som e buco juice and listen to the music, last year they had great entertainment. Tue May 26 23:24:57 -0700 2009 4717132 118604 foodwhisperer 3 4757742 I must have eaten at the wrong places because I unfortunately didn't like anything I had. I had a BBQ pork skewer (stone-cold with gloppy BBQ sauce), a potato-shrimp fritter (except my piece was missing the shrimp), mini lumpias (the best thing I had there) and regular size lumpias (filled with just cabbage and carrots). I think my choice of deep-fried foods was probably not the wisest one as things got soggy and cold. It was a bit difficult navigating through the crowds, and just tried to get whatever was in front of us. Big mistake. Has anybody been there in the past, and what stands would you recommend there? Tue Jun 09 15:30:21 -0700 2009 4717692 10763 Miss Needle 4 4759233 I saw the BBQ pork you had and knew it didn't look right at all. I passed them up for Pistahan, the only Manhattan vendor, for what I knew was going to be good barbecue. I couldn't try anything else they had as the hungry swarm behind me was likely to shank me if I took up anymore time ordering. If there was one word to describe the lines (more like mobs) for food it would be: chaos. I did get the last of the chicharon bulaklak at one vendor, which was okay. It would probably have been amazing if fresh. The church group doled out okay lumpiang shanghai (the mini meat lumpias) and tasty, but way too thick, ukoy (shrimp and vegetable fritters). The pancit palabok I had from another NJ vendor was also disappointing. I didn't see anyone with potato-shrimp fritters - are you talking about the modern Filipino vendor that had the potato-shrimp paste croquettes? They looked interesting and I wondered if they'd be worth a trip to Jersey City. Wed Jun 10 06:10:08 -0700 2009 4757742 68363 JungMann 5 4759600 I;d love to know if there is any decent Filipino food in JC! The food I have eaten there was next thing to inedible. Not at all like the Filipino food I know and love. Wed Jun 10 08:04:23 -0700 2009 4759233 52499 ChefJune 6 4760903 Red Ribbon Bakery has good ponsit. and fiesta grill is good too ( jc) in any case. Pistahan was once good , toward the end of it's life the food and service were terrible and it since closed. Elvi's across the street is outright bad and a rip off, the kare kare has a 1/4 of the meat youd normally get int hat dish. Cendrillon has closed and wasnt really authentic. Bayon has good sisik, but the kare kare and sinagong arent too good ( the sauces are not right). Grill 21 is authentic and i'm sorry you had a bad experience but i'd try it again. BBQ you dont get there. Roosevelt ave area is where to go ,,or last weekend at the festival on madison ave they had good bbq. Wed Jun 10 14:10:02 -0700 2009 4759600 118604 foodwhisperer 7 4761239 red ribbon got a bad-ass ensaimada too. ever eaten at engeline's in woodside? I also saw a filipino place in Sunnyside/LIC, was riding a bike so I forgot where but it was def. off the beaten path. Wed Jun 10 15:41:11 -0700 2009 4760903 12656 bigjeff 8 4762601 That place is Philippu. The chef is an American married to a Filipina and having tasted his cooking, I can tell that he really loves his wife and her cuisine. His goat caldereta was the best I've had in the city. Thu Jun 11 06:08:20 -0700 2009 4761239 68363 JungMann 8 4763251 Best pork bbq is a little take out place off roosevelt near 70th,,also Ihawan on rossevlt and 70th big place 2 floors may be the best.. Mannys in fresh meadows is not bad Thu Jun 11 09:19:31 -0700 2009 4761239 118604 foodwhisperer 5 4777856 Yeah, the BBQ pork was pretty bad. I took a couple of bites and it was over for me. The potato-shrimp fritters I was talking about was the ukoy. I didn't see the potato-shrimp paste croquettes. Sounds interesting, but I learned that deep-fried foods aren't the best pick at a festival like this. Tue Jun 16 09:56:52 -0700 2009 4759233 10763 Miss Needle 1 4835240 Hit Grill 21 tonight. Very good Kare Kare, Also had Bitter Melon with Long Bean and shrimp and the fried pork spring rolls. Flavors were delicious and subtle. Not the hit you over the head flavors I have had at some Filipino places. Nicely done. Would hit it again in a second. The owner and staff were considerate and attentive. Mon Jul 06 20:16:43 -0700 2009 4543811 10169 StriperGuy