Chibog Time: Guide to ordering from 4 Summerlicious Filipino restaurants in Toronto

Chibog is a Filipino slang word meaning “food” or “to eat”, and Filipinos love nothing more than serving favourite dishes to loved ones and friends.

With massive frying pans full of pansit noodles, chicken adobo, or sizzling barbecued pork bellies at parties, cooking and sharing a meal is arguably the Philippines’ foremost love language.

Famous for their hospitality, a common greeting at the door is the phrase “kumain ka na ba?” (have you eaten yet?)

Now that summer is officially here, there’s no better time to check out four great Filipino restaurants participating in this year’s Summerlicious event in Toronto from July 7-23, 2023.

Here’s a guide to ordering stand-out dishes from four Filipino eateries:

Casa Manila

879 York Mills Rd
416-443-9654
$34 Lunch, $45 Dinner

I consider Casa Manila one of Toronto’s best Filipino restaurants. Their dishes seldom stray from authentic tastes, and the interior of the restaurant reflects that, with the decor full of Filipino paintings and wooden souvenirs. Their sisig is perfection, but pretty much everything here is great.

What to order from Casa Manila’s Summerlicious lunch menu:

• Appetizer: Chilled Tamarind Soup with Watermelon/Sinigang.

Why choose this? Wake your taste buds and pucker up! Sinigang is a stew typically made with tamarind, with a sour and savoury taste.

• Main: Pork Bicol Express Poutine Fries. Pork dish from Bicol made with creamy coconut ginger sauce and bagoong (fermented shrimp paste), mixed with French fries on a sizzling plate – choice of mild or spicy.

Why choose this? If you like creamy dishes in coconut sauce, this one’s perfect. On a bed of fries, how can it go wrong?

• Dessert: Buko Pandan. Pandan gelatin, coconut strands, nata de coco “coconut jelly”, kaong “palm fruit” mixed with a cream blend, pandan essence and shaved ice, and crowned with coconut ice cream and rice flakes

Why choose this? This unique green-coloured dessert made with pandan jelly, cream and milk, may just be the baby cousin of halo-halo: the perfect antidote for hot summer days.

What to order from Casa Manila’s Summerlicious Dinner Menu:

• Appetizer: Filipino Ceviche | Kinilaw. King fish, cucumber, parsley, red onions in apple cider vinegar

Why choose this? Kinilaw is the Philippines’ foremost appetizer usually paired with alcohol. It’s a raw concoction marinated in savoury sauce.

• Main: Crispy Palabok. Crispy rice vermicelli with a seafood gravy made with shrimp heads, squid & tofu, topped with chicken chicharon, tinapa, fried garlic and green onions

Why choose this? Palabok is spaghetti’s Filipino cousin, similar in looks but totally different in taste. Palabok’s gravy is salty, fishy, with the delightful crunch of the occasional chicharon.

• Dessert: Turonitos. Crispy crepe filled with saba banana and jackfruit, deep fried to a golden brown goodness

Why choose this? Crunchy like a lumpia, but sweet and gooey…saba banana is nothing like your typical banana. Turonitos are small, but mighty in taste and crunch.

Mother Tongue

348 Adelaide St W
647-243-5858
$55 Dinner

Filipino Frances Bermejo is executive chef at Mother Tongue, a modern restaurant and bar serving Asian fusion dishes. The lower level cocktail bar takes its inspiration from the jeepneys of the Philippines, with mirrors reminiscent of jeepney windows, and metal rails.

What to order from Mother Tongue’s Summerlicious Dinner Menu:

• Appetizer: Longganisa Bola Bola. Grilled pork sausage, kimchi coleslaw and manchego

Why choose this? Longganisa (a sweet, cured sausage) is part of every Filipino’s breakfast, usually paired with fried eggs. Paired with manchego and kimchi, this would be longganisa elevated.

• Main: Fried Sea Bass. Fried black sea bass filet, golden curry and baby bok choy. (Gluten free)

Why choose this? Don’t know about you, but I grew up on fried fish and I think it tastes best fried! Check out the photo below for drool-worthy evidence.

• Dessert: Leche Flan Ice Cream

Why choose this? Leche flan is the Filipino version of creme brulee. Reincarnated as ice cream, this dessert must be heavenly!

Bar’kada

745 Queen St W
416-551-8889
$34 Lunch, $45 Dinner

Barkada means group of friends in Tagalog, and this restaurant promises to be a great place to hang out with friends.

What to order from Bar’kada’s Summerlicious Lunch Menu:

• Appetizer: Chop Chop Salad. Napa + red cabbage, avocado mousse, fresh herbs, house pickles, mango + pineapple vinaigrette (Vegetarian/Vegan/Gluten Free)

Why choose this? It’s vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and it has a fun name. The vinaigrette is intriguing, too.

• Main Dish: Longo Moco. Sweet longganisa sausage topped with two sunny side eggs on jasmine rice and crispy garlic

Why choose this? Breakfast for lunch–why not? Longganisa sausage is good any time.

• Dessert: Icebox Cheesecake with ube and blueberries

Why choose this? Ube is a purple root crop similar to sweet potatoes, and used widely in Filipino desserts and pastries.

iSLAS Filipino BBQ & Bar

1690 Queen St W
416-533-0777
$35 Dinner

What to order from iSLAS Filipino BBQ and Bar’s Summerlicious Dinner menu:

• Appetizer: Empanada. Baked pastry with minced chicken, peas, carrots and potato, served with spicy aioli

Why choose this? It’s a Filipino staple and a filling pastry perfect for lunches and snacks.

• Main: Seafood Bicol Express. Shrimp, squid, mussels, scallops, onion, pineapple, green and red peppers, coconut sauce, served with steamed rice

Why choose this? Creamy, coconut-ty, with a little kick, this seafood dish is simply a must-try Filipino meal.

• Dessert: Halo-halo. Pampanga inspired shaved ice with coconut strips, caramelized plantain, leche flan with ube (purple yam) ice cream topped with toasted coconut

Why choose this? If you haven’t tried halo-halo yet, then this dessert is for you. As pretty as the presentation is, you must mix everything vigorously to get the best taste. Thus the name halo-halo–literally, it means mix-mix.

Summerlicious is an annual event in Toronto, Ont. where more than 200 restaurants serve three-course fixed price menus at six price points for lunch or dinner.