Just around the corner from Dixon Street near Chinatown, and up a flight of stairs is La Mesa, a Filipino restaurant that looks like it’s been comfortably here for a while. Saturday night, we go at 5:30pm or so, super-early before going to watch the movie Carol. It’s crowded already.
We opted for a plate of mixed appetizers each: the little spring roll was perfect; my better half thought the deep-fried quail egg was weird, the fried vegetable thing was OK, and the two BBQ meat items were Dee-Li-Cious.
I couldn’t go by the Chicken Adobo, and it was nice enough, that tangy dark vinegar flavour and tender meat, though I have to say, that recipe awhile ago from the NYT for making it home, was richer and tastier.
I’m glad we ordered the garlic rice (very tasty) and our coconut water was a good match for the food too. The star of course: Crispy Pata. A deep-fried pork knuckle, a generous portion, and what could be wrong with super-tender and super-crispy pork.
So, a tasty and reasonably priced meal ($70 for the two of us, non-alcoholic drinks), though the service, in a busy but not full restaurant, was really pretty slow, and the waiter looked scared of… everything. I want to go back and try more dishes, and there were many things which were unfamiliar to me.