OMG, there’s finally a place in North Tampa that does Filipino food!
The same people that still run PAO Food Truck now have a brick and mortar location. Now if I have a hankering for Sisig I don’t have to pester the wife into gathering the ingredients and doing the cooking. The ingredients aren’t found at the local Publix and the prep does take some time. We’re soooo gonna try this place.
I really liked they idea of a nearby Filipino place. So we picked up some to go last week. Sadly, the sisig suffered from unforgivable flaws. My critique in order of importance:
1. It was bland. It should never be bland! Siling Tagalog maybe hard to come by, but Thai Chilis or Finger Hot Chilis will work just fine. Try Sanwa on Hillsborough Ave, they have a great selection of fresh produce. http://www.sanwafarmersmarket.com/
2. It appeared to be just chopped pork, there was no ear or organ meats. Any local Latino meat store has ear and organ meats, so does MD Oriental on Fowler Ave. It’s nearby. Not. Sisig. Without.
3. Calamansi? Where was it? This is the citrus capital of North America there’s a calamansi tree someplace! I’ve been to other Filipino places that have fresh calamansi. If you have to, buy the bottled version at MD Oriental and put a little in a cup. It’s just not the same without it.
It’s my favorite pulutan, along with inihaw na pusit, to go with a cold San Mig. I’ve had it at home, made by my wife, her mom and 4 or 5 restaurants in metro Manila. This was by far the worst version. I wasn’t expecting to the see the sizzling iron platter. But the ingredients and flavor have been dumbed down to the point where it was unrecognizable. It was just chopped pork on rice. It’s not true to Filipino cuisine.
Thanks for sharing!!
bertoncini.net 
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