Pinoy – The Philippines comes to Baton Rouge

By: Mark

http://www.pinoybr.com

Tucked away in a strip mall on the corner of Coursey Boulevard and Sherwood Forest Boulevard lies Pinoy; Baton Rouge’s first Filipino restaurant. In fact, it is only the second Filipino restaurant in the entire state. The cuisine of the Philippines is influenced heavily by its history of Spanish rule, which is exhibited by some of the dishes on the menu and the official beer of the Philippines. The Cuisine Rouge team assembled and dined at Pinoy on a Thursday night.

We began our meal with a cold San Miguel beer. This beer was cool and clean and had a light taste. It was the perfect way to start our meal. As we enjoyed our beer we took note of the layout of the interior. The restaurant was painted with light green walls and painted glass that depicted scenes of the Philippines. An area for karaoke was located in the front, and another area containing a TV and the game Rock Band was set up in the back for children to play while their parents dined. What was also noticeable was that many Filipino and Asian locals dine here. In fact, such a large party was present, that they nearly took up the entire restaurant.

After we finished our beers, we ordered a few appetizers. We tried the Sisig ($6.99) which was finely diced pork, hot sauce, onions, and lemon served on a sizzling skillet. The pork had a nice sweet and spicy flavor and the bottom was caramelized by the hot skillet, giving the dish a crispy bottom. We ate the sisig accompanied with jufran (a banana flavored sauce with the look and consistency of ketchup). We also ordered the Lumpia ($7.99) which were miniature egg rolls stuffed with pork and vegetables. They were fried perfectly and were not greasy, served with a sweet and spicy chili sauce. These were a great start to our meal.

For our entrees we decided to order three dishes that really represent the style of cooking that Pinoy is trying to showcase. We ordered the Lechon Kawali ($8.99) which is slow roasted pork belly that is then fried. The dish is absolutely delicious as the tender meat marries with the creamy fat for a truly extraordinary bite. The meal was served with sweet, vinegary pickled papaya and spicy sautéed bean sprouts. Our next entrée was the Palabok ($6.99). This is a noodle dish which contains shrimp, ground pork, pork cracklins, boiled eggs, and green onions. The dish is then topped with a palabok sauce which resembles an etoufee. This dish was extremely disappointing as we discovered it contained no flavor. I could taste the blandness of the noodles but that was it. Even with the addition of lemon, salt, and pepper I still felt I was eating salty, peppery, lemony noodles. I sampled the sauce on its own but still could not find a trace of flavor. This dish left us not only perplexed but very let down. Our third entrée arrived and we quickly forgot about the palabok as our waitress set down the Crispy Pata ($17.50). It is a bit pricey but this is Pinoy’s signature item. Deep crossing slices are made into a pork leg that has been marinated in garlic and soy sauce. The entire leg is deep fried to perfection. The result is heaven on a plate. The meat is perfectly juicy and delicious and the skin is fried to a perfect, crackling brown. A jazzed up soy sauce that had hints of ginger, chili, and cilantro was served to accompany it. The leg was served with rice and corn. The only downside to the meal was the side of corn was bland and cold, almost an afterthought. In all, the entrees at Pinoy are very good and any pork lover will be in heaven.

We saved just enough room for dessert and we were treated to Leche Flan ($2.50) and Halo-Halo ($4.99). The flan was some of the best I have had. It was firmer and creamier than a traditional Mexican flan and it was topped with a nice caramel sauce. The halo-halo is one of the most interesting desserts I have ever come across. It is a mixture of shaved ice and milk, containing rice crispies, boiled sweet beans and fruit, which is then topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. What is produced is a sweet dessert with plenty of interesting textures and flavors. This is a must try for anyone.

Baton Rouge is becoming quite the place for ethnic dining. The addition of Pinoy introduces an entire new cuisine to the city. If you are a lover of pork, or just a lover of interesting food, I highly recommend Pinoy. With its friendly owner and beautiful wait staff, hopefully this restaurant will become a fixture of the growing ethnic Baton Rouge scene.

Pros:
- Great pork dishes
- Service was excellent
- Fun atmosphere enjoyed by locals

Cons:
- Not many places to sit – large party almost took up entire restaurant
- Very bland noodle dish and corn
- Restaurant temperature was very warm



Crispy Pata


Sisig


Lechon Kawali


Halo-Halo