Yesterday at dinnertime, we planned to get sushi. We're celebrating something related to my career and figured a good sushi would be the best way to celebrate. However, I was super lazy yesterday and was tied to my bed and didn't want to move and because of that, we missed the time we would be going to our favorite sushi place. Usually at 7 PM, the well loved tuna sushi would be gone and time check: it's almost 7 PM and I just went out of shower. π
Sushi at our favorite sushi place was now out of the equation. We're now on the streets of Nakano looking for food. That's when I decided we eat at the Filipino and Thai restaurant here.
The restaurant is named HaloHalo. It's a small restaurant on an alley in Nakano. You could easily get lost if you don't know the way so just remember it's near Nakano Broadway.
It's not our first time here. I think it's our 3rd time yesterday. Due to its close location to our home, we come here for a Filipino food fix.
On our first visit, while waiting, we were given peanuts but on our succeeding visits, there were no more peanuts. Did they run out of peanuts or this gimmick was no more?
It was empty on a Sunday night. It was the first time I saw this place empty. The owners were watching Filipino news so after ordering, I was also watching. I haven't seen Filipino news in a while - especially since I'm in Japan.
It's so typical to see bottles with names here. That's for their loyal customers, not being able to finish a bottle so they'll come back and serve it when the customer asks for it.
In Filipino dining areas, at least in my grandparents' home, there would be a wooden spoon and fork displayed on the wall. I don't know what this symbolizes but it's so typical Filipino. Happy to see they brought it here in Japan.
After a few minutes, our orders arrived. My boyfriend and I ordered 2 each. Too much food? Well, we're hungry and we wanted to eat a lot. π
My boyfriend ordered Pork Adobo and Chicken Barbeque. We could easily cook Pork Adobo at home so I was kinda surprised he ordered this. Maybe he wanted a taste of it from a restaurant and not from our home?
The Pork Adobo was good. It's a bit salty but I could tell it's the authentic taste back home. They surely used Filipino soy sauce and vinegar on this one. The adobo we cook at home doesn't use Filipino sauce because it's expensive to buy in Japan - but still taste like adobo.
The Chicken Barbeque wasn't pleasant to be honest. I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't saucy as I thought it would be. It was kinda dry. It's a good portion though but still, I expected more. It came with vinegar and chili and I was confused at first why that. Still, I tried dipping the chicken on the sauce but nah, it wasn't the perfect match I think.
I ordered Bicol Express. Actually I've been craving Bicol Express (because I still haven't made it at home and will need to learn it) and Pork Sisig. I wanted to order them both but I could only choose one. I gave up the Pork Sisig and went for the Bicol Express. It was the best choice because my boyfriend liked it and ate a lot of it. It was that good! Definitely recommended when you eat here.
Last one of my order was the Lechon Kawali. It's fried pork belly and usually an alternative to Crispy Pata (another fried favorite) because of its small portion. I like this Lechon Kawali, it's just the normal kind. What surprised me was they have the sauce and I was so sure it was Mang Tomas though I didn't ask for confirmation from the restaurant owners. Mang Tomas being a little savory sweet and Lechon Kawali being fried and a little salty was the perfect combo I could ever asked for!
To be honest, the reason why I ordered Bicol Express and Lechon Kawali was because I wanted to remember their taste. I needed that so when I cook at home, I would know what kind of taste I would be expecting. I'm planning to cook this at home soon, or probably during Christmas. π
I like the service of this restaurant. Actually on our first visit, we thought they weren't so attentive to us but then, later on, I learn to like their service. Some people like talking to the restaurant owners but we prefer to be silent and a little bit of talks only. Food is always served fast and is usually good. On our 2nd visit, we ordered Thai food in addition to Filipino food and it was also good!
On our previous visits, we ordered a lot of Filipino dishes, the ones I don't know how to cook yet: Pork Binagoongan, Kare-kare, Bistek Tagalog and a lot more. Who knows, maybe it will help me perfect cooking it at home. My boyfriend liked the Bistek Tagalog so much because its taste is closer to Japanese.
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Even when we were so full, we still ordered a dessert and guess what that is? It's Halo-halo! It's the name of this restaurant and the dessert loved many of my countrymen.
I was explaining this dessert to my boyfriend and told him Halo-halo means Mix-mix in English. π It's really difficult to define it but basically you get a shaved ice with many mixed ingredients. Of course, the crucial ingredient is the milk.
I always find it hard to mix them all together, my mom is good at this but right now, I couldn't depend on my mom to do the mixing for me, I must do this on my own because my boyfriend was just waiting for me too. π
It was a sweet treat but I still like the Halo-halo in the Philippines. This one here lacked sweetness and I couldn't find the ube usually included in this dessert. There's ube ice cream on top though, maybe to make up for the missing ube. It's still good if you just want to try it.
Good food with a great company - what a perfect combination to celebrate a milestone in my life. π The last time we were here, we also celebrated a milestone in my boyfriend's life and we were also with great company. Oh, this restaurant has seen a lot of celebrations in our lives already!
This restaurant isn't just a restaurant. It's also a mini Filipino store as they sell some Filipino goodies. When it was time to pay, I bought chips and seasonings. It's not a big Filipino store though, just enough.
Will I be recommending this restaurant to others? Yes, definitely! I like their food - you'll feel close to home and the owners are wonderful people too. They have a lot of Japanese customers but don't get overwhelmed by them. I think they're Japanese who have been to the Philippines and from time to time, wants to drink Filipino beers.
If you're on the Shinjuku and Nakano area, this restaurant is definitely a go to place for your Filipino food cravings. It's just a walk from Nakano station, which is the next stop when you take the train from Shinjuku station. The restaurant closes late so you can come late.
Thanks for reading!
See you around! γγγγγΎγγοΌ
With love,
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.