Turo Turo Thursday – Fiesta Pinoy

Recently, I had pick up some of those "crack wings" for a potluck the Missus was attending at work. On the way back to the freeway, I decided to grab an early lunch and not having visited Fiesta Pinoy since back in 2019, I thought I'd drop by and get my turo-turo fix.

Looking at the sign had me wondering. Anyone know why they switched around their name from Pinoy Fiesta? Anyway, the place was totally empty during my visit.

I was totally in a Sisig kind of mood so I walked on over to that area, where there were two strangely similar looking items. I could identify the sisig, but I asked what the other dish was and the woman told me it was Dinakdakan. Oh my! I don't think I've had Dinakdakan since I lived in HNL! In fact, the first time I had sisig on the mainland, I thought it was Dinakdakan. Of course, my friends were Ilocanos, so that kinda made sense.

I thought this would be an interesting comparison so I got both "hybrids" since Dinakdakan, like Sisig was traditionally made with pig head, but had more creaminess from mayo, which my friends family used instead of mashed pig brain, and also a ton of ginger. But the versions at all these turo-turo shops uses lechon kawale.

  If you're keeping score, that's the sisig with the rice and the dinakdakan in the container. Both were somewhat similar. The dinakdakan was mushier, lacking in sour tones, with quite a bit of liquid on the bottom of the container. It didn't have the creaminess I enjoy and the lechon had become rubbery. It seemed to be on the blander side of the scale.

The rice was on the drier side, but ok.

I have noted before that I should just give up on the sisig here, but this was better than what I'd had on previous visits. The lechon was on the waxy side, but the skin pieces were fairly crisp. It was quite sour, but after tasting the dinakdakan, I rather enjoyed it. They go a bit too easy on the chilies here, I could use a bit more heat. And it wasn't ice cold like I've had it several times before. I guess the bar was set pretty low, huh?

Still, it was good trying out a dish I hadn't even heard mentioned for decades and hadn't seen at turo-turo places. Though I just may not have been paying enough attention. Of course my "FOYs" will let me know if that's the case.

Fiesta Pinoy
550 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 6am – 645pm
Sundays   6am – 4pm