casa manila

For Mother's Day I decided to take my mom to a Filipino restaurant. Mainly so I could stuff my face with dishes that I don't get to eat too often these days. Truthfully, I haven't been to a lot of Filipino restaurants in the GTA (most are in Scarborough), but I do like Max's and now I can vouch for Casa Manila too. Service is pretty slow (not surprising since I find that service is always slow at Filipino restaurants, especially on weekends), but the food came out piping hot and tasted just like mama would make. 

Daing na bangus: grilled milk fish with citrus and soy.

Lechon kawali: deep-fried crispy pork belly.

Sizzling pork sisig: the menu describes this as "fried pork mask" but really it's chopped up pig face mixed with all kinds of deliciousness. 

Pancit canton: stir-fried egg noodles with chicken, shrimp and vegetables.

The table after digging in (not shown: an enormous communal bowl of steamed rice and our crispy calamari appetizer).

Dessert! Traditional halo halo (shaved ice topped with yam ice cream, fruit, sweet beans, flan, crispy rice flakes)

Apparently Filipino food is starting to become popular in the city. La Mesa Filipino Kitchen recently opened up on Queen West and Kanto (which I haven't had a chance to try) is getting some rave reviews too.