Is there Filipino creativity, novelty and taste beyond Little Manila in Toronto?
Mabuhay Canada roamed the streets of Brampton to see what Pinoys in Brampton are tasting and eating, and found three places worth exploring.
Elsa Lutong Bahay — 65 Rutherford Rd. South
Elsa Lutong Bahay’s brick and mortar location may be small, with just six tables for a sit-down meal, a fridge full of frozen delights and a small shelf of baked goods and Filipino products, but their staff is friendly and the vibe is very relaxed.
The staff were apologetic as they wrapped up the last few karioka of the day and handed them to me.
It was, after all, almost closing time when I walked in, and most of their items were sold out.
“Sorry po,” they told me, “the person who usually makes karioka isn’t here today.”
Expecting the karioka to be less-than-stellar as they pointed out, the karioka I bit into was delicious: deep-fried and crunchy on the outside, soft, chewy and sticky on the inside.
It’s like fried mochi on a stick, with a caramelized glaze, served on a fun bbq stick.
“This is one of our bestsellers,” they revealed, of the glutinous rice ball.
Indeed, the karioka is one of those Filipino desserts that once sampled, stays with you, clings to your memory, and begs to be relived.
Another specialty is their buko pandan. This green, cold, and sweet coconut-and-pandan dessert, belies its alien-looking appearance by sneaking in comfort-in-a-cup goodness.
Cold buko pandan is what Pinoys gobble up when there’s a heat wave outside. Well, other than halo-halo, of course.
Their catering services are extensive, as they have provided meals for celebrations and parties large and small in Brampton and surrounding areas.
Pampanga Cuisine — 400 Queen St. West
Pampanga Cuisine is the epitome of a Filipino tiangge, sari-sari store, variety store slash turo-turo.
There are no fancy seats here, just your regular Filipino food on heated metal plates, with no frills.
You line up, point at what you like (turo-turo means point-point), then they wrap it up for you.
No special ambiance, just comfort food such as pinakbet, lumpia, and other meat-heavy dishes.
One thing caught my eye, though, and that’s their empanaditos.
Little orbs that looked like fried Timbits, the empanaditos were a pleasant surprise, bursting with flavour each time I bit into one.
If you like Spanish empanadas, with ground beef, potatoes, carrots and peas wrapped in doughy, deep-fried pastry, then you’ll like their baby versions, the empanaditos.
I loved how this tiny little Filipino store still managed to give an innovative take on something so ordinary.
Bella’s Bakery 105 Kennedy Rd S
Another no-frills, turo-turo-style Filipino store, Bella’s Bakery is known not only for their baked goods (distributed in many grocery stores), but also for their chicharon.
Not just the usual pork chicharon, but chicken skin chicharon, made in-house.
Crunchy and best eaten with Filipino style sawsawan (sauce), their chicken skin chicharon is unique, tasty, very Filipino, and yet, a unique take on a classic pulutan.
Bella’s Bakery’s IG feed has been blowing up lately, when the owner’s son started shooting fun BTS reels of him showing off his “six-pack” of pandesal, his Canadianized accent (watch him try to remember what pinakbet is), and his mom’s endless get-a-girlfriend-now harassment.
Oh, and he’s looking for a Valentine’s date.
But before you send that resume in, make sure you’ve ticked all of Mom’s looong list of qualifications.
