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
Well, in terms of the chicken and sauce this was a pleasant surprise! The chicken had been nicely sliced, only two pieces with bones were on the plate; one wing and one part of a leg. The chicken was so moist and tender. But the highlight was definitely the sauce. It's usually too watered down; but this one had a good amount of ginger, but was both aromatic and not over-powering. It had a good amount of seasoning, but the star was the ginger. The chili sauce was way too sweet for me.
As for the other parts. Well, just by looking at that boiled egg you can see the greyish tone to the yolks which means it had been boiled too long. So yes, there was a bitter-sulfuric tinge to the dry and crumbly yolk. If you look closely, you'll see a piece of white-grey matter in the yolk. I took that out and didn't eat it.
Though I really couldn't make out truffle. This was bit too much for me in terms of cheese….yes, I know, it's a grilled cheese, but this really needed more than rich-milkiness. The tomatoes weren't ripe enough to add the sweet acidity to help cut the richness and there wasn't enough onion to add pungency. If you just want gooey cheese-land, this might work for you.
This was a pretty good sandwich; nothing fancy mind you, the turkey was totally Sysco stuff; but the bread was nicely toasted and held out well. The herbaceous-savory-nutty pesto, the sweetness of the roasted red peppers, the bitterness of the greens, the creamy, slightly sweet avocado all worked well together. And this was enough for both the Missus and I for a light brunch. I think we'll go ahead and add the bacon for an upcharge next time.
She even provided two forks without me asking! This was pretty good, sweet-savory, nice crisp top, creamy-rich interior. Well worth the $5.75 to me!
It was very moist; though it had a ton of bones. Still it was not bad.
Some Aji Verde was provided, which was much better than the other two I tried on my previous visit; somewhat creamy, tangy, some decent spice.
Speaking of acidity; man, this version was on the sour side. At least it wasn't overly salty. I think it could have used more onions for an added sweet-pungency.
This was a bit different than what we'd had before. The baechu kimchi didn't taster fermented this time around; though the Eomuk Bokkeum, the fishcake panchan had a bit of spice and sour tones and was much better. The heukmi bap was on the mushy side.
The cayenne did bring some decent heat to the dish, but I also did the "typical" loco moco move…..I added a touch of Tabasco; the acidity-spice bumped things up even more. Old "loco" habits die hard I guess?
The hamburger patty was quite lean and chewy, but the beefiness did come thru and completed the dish well.
