Turo Turo Tuesday: Doing some “research” edition R&B Filipino Cuisine and Manila Fast Food and Desserts

Recently, "YummyYummy" who had her first real exposure to Filipino Food at Kamayan Night at Villa Manila asked me which turo-turo (point-point) place made the better lechon kawali and sisig in the Mira Mesa area; R&B or Manila Fast Foods. While I do believe that timing factors in with regards those two dishes, especially the lechon kawali, I felt up for the challenge….hey, it's deep fried pork, who wouldn't be up for it? At it's most basic, lechon kawali is simply pork belly that has been simmered in water with perhaps some bay leaf and peppercorns, cooled, seasoned, then deep fried. Still, there was quite a difference in the versions served at R&B and MFF, especially with regards to the lechon sauce.

Anyway, without further ado, here goes…..

R & B Filipino Cuisine:

The lechon kawali here has wavered substantially during my past visits. So what would happen this time?

The lechon was probably the best I've had at R&B. It's a bit on the drier side, but not dried out. I think time was on my side this time around. The skin was crisp, though it seemed a bit over-fried. I even enjoyed the lechon sauce, which was less bitter than I recalled, also having a mild sweetness to it. The sisig was good, a nice balance of sour and spicy, though there were some hard and chewy bits in it. Again, probably the best I've had here.

You know, after all these years, I'm waiting to try the hamonado……

R & B Filipino Cuisine
11257 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

So, I've also had mixed results here as well, though I think MFF has been the more consistent of the two.

So, what did I like? Well, my goodness, these were some pretty hefty pieces of pork….it had just come out of the kitchen and were very moist. As you can see, there are no complaints regarding the fat being rendered off (though I'd say that isn't a bad thing). The skin was a bit too hard and man, this was fatty. Yet it was quite enjoyable in that "this was nice, but I'm glad we're not having this again for a while" kind of way. Not as seasoned as R&B, but much more moist and decadent. Not a big fan of the lechon sauce this time around as it tasted watered down…..though the pork was not.

The sisig was much more mild than I recall, though the texture was good. For me, it needed at bit more spice and vinegar, but was very tender and moist without being mushy.

The folks here have always been really friendly….I've been cutting down on rice and carbs, the gentleman who served me was very funny as we determined the amount of rice I wanted. In the end, I was declared, "you can't be Fiilipino"…. which they found funny. But ,they did go easy on the rice for me. The folks here are really friendly and nice.

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

So there you go "YY", it's all about timing and what you enjoy….part of the fun is figuring that all out!