My First Filipino Food Experience, Part 1: "Don't Be Filipino About It"

I have a treasure chest of food memories that I want to share. Among these gems is my first Filipino food experience introduced by my dear friend and fellow foodie, Maude. Although it was two years ago, it is still worth sharing.

My first Filipino food experience was spontaneous. On an all-girls, Las Vegas trip, we found a Filipino restaurant, Kapit Bahay, right on the strip. On sight, Maude’s eyes lit up and she exclaimed that we had to try this place and that she wanted the Filipinos, herself and Leigh, to share their home country food with the non-Filipinos, myself and Zoe.

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The food was already cooked and available for selection like a Sbarro or Chinese place in a food court. Left and right, Maude and Leigh (pictured above) picked an assortment of dishes for lunch.

Zoe and I had no idea what was being ordered. We were happy, innocent bystanders.

Our Filipino lunch included Sinugbang Isda (grilled fish), Sisig (sizzling pig’s ears and face), Lechon Kawali (fried roasted pig), Pancit (noodles), fish soup, and two other dishes.

I enjoyed everything! In particular, I loved the Sisig and the Lechon Kawali. Savory goodness. I love pig (I admit I am one). I also loved the fish soup (more details on that later). Zoe enjoyed the food as well!

I asked Maude and Leigh what they thought about the food from a Filipino perspective.

Maude said, “The food was definitely very good. More Northern based, very Tagalog.” Leigh shared, ”The Filipino food was good but really nothing beats home-cooked Filipino food. That applies to most restaurants though.”

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The meal was very good AND cost-effective. I don’t recall the exact pricing, but I remember it being cheap and a nice wallet-break compared to all the other restaurants on the strip!

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The lunch at Kapit Bahay is a treasured, first-time Filipino food experience with fantastic friends, Leigh, Maude, and Zoe (pictured above from left to right, respectively, then myself).

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I learned a phrase from Maude, “Don’t be Filipino about it,” which means you should not hold back when it comes to eating. Specifically, you should not be “polite” and leave the last piece for another person. Happily, I wasn’t a Filipino about the food. This also applies to a prized fish eye…

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Stay tuned for the next FoodMeOmaha post, “My First Filipino Food Experience, Part 2: Fish Eye Me”!

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