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I wish I could say my experience was as good.
I also went with a large group, only in our case we nibbled on what was extremely poor food, left a lot on our plates, and declined to order more. It was essentially home cooking, if you were invited by someone who doesn't really know how to cook everything they promised, and didn't want to spend too much money at the store. Some of our party who are Filipino had eaten there before were very unhappy with the off night. Basic dishes like lumpia were absolutely wrong, filled mostly with thick unevenly chopped, uncooked carrot sticks.
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re: sugartoof
JungMann
Aug 29, 2011 11:39 AM
What did you get besides the lumpia? I agree that the restaurant is essentially home cooking. The trendy blogs are making it out to be the harbinger of a new Filipino culinary renaissance. It's not. It's some winners, a few losers, though more of the former in my experience. I haven't had anything that has bowled me over, but with my expectations in check, I can rely on them to deliver pretty decent basics. Service during my last visit, however, was more than a bit aloof, though very obsequious once I finally got their attention.
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re: JungMann
The service is alright. It's not fine dining, and they really try. It's informal, and almost charming. In reality, I'm not sure they know how to run a restaurant.
Overcooked grilled meat sounds about right. We had about a dozen dishes, and sampled every category on the menu. Nothing was particularly appetizing. I mentioned the lumpia, because like the Tsitsarong bulaklak (which wasn't exactly right either), it sends off alarm bells that they can't do basic staples correctly. Mind you, this didn't taste like a regional difference, so much as Filipinos in the US, selling subpar food.
From what I can tell, small orders, maybe even just a single dish, do better here.
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GoodGravy
Jun 15, 2011 07:22 AM
Went w/ a couple friends last night and split a bunch of stuff. It's a step up from Elvie's that used to be across the street which was cafeteria style. The menu is more extensive than I expected. There's a lot of choice here, unless you're a vegan or strict vegetarian, in which case, don't bother coming here because even the vegetable dishes have small amounts of pork or bagoong in them. I wasn't familiar enough w/ one of the dishes to remember its full name but basically it's the longest name on the menu.
Food:
Bicol Express: pork simmered in coconut milk w/ bagoong (anchovy paste) and chiles. Could've been spicier so ask to make it spicier. Even w/o the heat that usually accompanies this dish, I'd still order this again. Mix the gravy w/ the rice and chow down.Ukoy: shrimp and squash fritters. Not bad, but if you've ever had Purple Yam's ukoy, this one won't impress. Lacked flavor, but the included vinegar sauce spiced it up.
Camaron Rebosado: Fried shrimp w/ sweet chili sauce. Not bad, but I wouldn't call it a must have. The shrimp are on the small side. Once they get their liquor license, I could see this being a pulutan type of dish you'd eat w/ beer.
Rellenong Talong: Eggplant stuffed w/ beef or pork, dipped in egg and fried. This was our vegetable dish! Pretty good actually, but watch out for bits of cartilage from the meat.
Ginataang something something something: Fried pork in coconut milk w/ shrimp, onions, garlic and chiles. This was spicier than the Bicol Express which was a pleasant surprise. It was also very good. Mix the gravy in w/ the rice and enjoy. I'd order this again.
Inihaw na Pork Belly: grilled pork belly w/ atchara (pickled papaya). The atchara would cut the richness of the pork belly except they didn't have any. Luckily, the spicy vinegar sauce served the same purpose. I'll have to try their lechon kewali to decide which pork belly dish I like more.
Alcohol: they're working on their liquor license so they don't have the advertised beers or wines listed on their menu.
Service: Inexperienced, but friendly. They're new so they're still working out the kinks. I mentioned it to the owner so hopefully they'll step up their game soon. For ex., we ordered drinks, but they weren't immediately served and we had to ask for them after they started serving the food, which came after a longer than average wait. Also, they didn't automatically fill the water glasses. We shouldn't have to ask for them to be refilled, but we did.
It was rainy last night so we didn't get to sit in the patio out back, but I'd come back again to try their other offerings and the desserts.
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Sa Aming Nayon
201 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003›17 Replies-
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re: Riverman500
GoodGravy
Jun 15, 2011 08:19 AM
Yup, they serve desserts and fruit juices, some squeezed and some from a can. No Sarsi though. Don't expect Purple Yam level prep and presentation. This is closer to home style cooking, similar to Elvie's except it's not cafeteria style.
We didn't try dessert, but only because we were too stuffed to fit it in.
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re: GoodGravy
Will do! What do you thnk of Purple Yam? I went once, had a bunch of different dishes (pork sliders, chicken adobo, a very nice salad, an app I can't recall), and came away relatively unimpressed but for the salad, which I thought was excellent. I was friends with a Filipino family a few years back when I lived in Park Slope, and shared a few outstanding traditional meals with them. The husband made a dynamite bbq pork belly, charred on the grill with a sweet soy dipping sauce, and the wife made a fantastic chicken adobo. I think I much prefer homestyle to fancified. The husband opened the short-lived Sariwa in Windsor Terrace: I don't think the neighborhood was ready for that kind of food at the time, tamed-down as it was.
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re: howdini
GoodGravy
Jun 15, 2011 10:51 AM
Here's what I wrote re: Purple Yam - http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6690...
In short, I liked Purple Yam, but like you mentioned, it's fancified by the prep and presentation. The siopao was fragrant of coconut and stuffed w/ sweet & savory pork w/ some lightly pickled veggies to offset the sweetness and provide contrast. The lechon kewali was crispy and melted like butter. The bistec was the more fancy skirt steak cut and was salty and lemony. Purple Yam is like going out to eat while Sa Aming Nayon is like home cooking. Some of Purple Yam's Chinese-inspired dishes left me flat, but their desserts were better than the home made versions.
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re: GoodGravy
I tried it last week, didn't have much time to eat, so I had a quick dinner of Ginataang something something something, as you so wonderfully put it. Tasty, but had a funkiness that I wasn't totally into, and the fact that the shrimp were unpeeled was kind of annoying. Still, not bad, and I will definitely go back soon to try some other dishes.
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re: GoodGravy
JungMann
Jun 15, 2011 11:47 AM
Was the ukoy crispy? I have been meaning to try theirs on my next visit as it's my favorite snack when made right: really light and crisp with a fresh oceanic scent from adding shrimp liquor to the batter. If they don't have their liquor license yet, does that also mean they're byob?
Riverman, Sa Aming Nayon does have desserts. The halo-halo looked pretty tasty, not to mention gargantuan.
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Sa Aming Nayon
201 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003 -
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re: bearmi
GoodGravy
Jul 9, 2011 02:25 PM
Yup, you order off a menu. Elvie's was a turo turo (point point). The menu gives you a decent description and lists the main ingredients so you can figure out if it interests you. Just remember, filipinos don't really do vegetarian and don't do vegan at all. Even vegetable dishes usually have a little pork or shrimp in them.
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JungMann
May 31, 2011 06:38 AM
I had a quick dinner there last week and have been meaning to go back for a more in-depth meal. I had a very tender order of paksiw na lechon, leftover pork roast braised in sweet soy sauce. It was good, but I also saw other tables brimming with large platters of pancit and airy bean sprout fritters (ukoy). Those would be a much better test of the kitchen's skills.
From what I've seen, they are an upgrade from the Filipino restaurants which used to dot this part of the East Village until the neighborhood changed (a vegan used my visit as an occasion to yell at the apologetic waiter and take offense at Filipino cuisine's celebration of pork and seafood). They offer some regional specialties you don't often see in Manhattan (Bicol express, chicken inasal, batchoy), service was spotless and they have a garden in the back that looks like a promising spot for summertime halo-halo or palamig (fruit coolers).
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