I’ve been living in Dubai for fourteen years and in all these years, I’ve never tried Filipino cuisine. Filipinos form 21.3% of Dubai’s population, there are many Filipino restaurants here, in fact I have many Filipino friends. And they’re surprised when I tell them that I’ve never tried Filipino cuisine.
The fact that I am vegetarian, always stopped me from trying Filipino cuisine which is very seafood and meat friendly. Last evening, for the very first time I tried the Filipino cuisine.
Karama the pocket-friendly foodie hub in Dubai houses some of the popular restaurants in town. Located in one of the busy by-lanes in Karama is Casa Pinoy restaurant, that offers a great variety of authentic and home-style Filipino food.
Casa Pinoy not only offers Filipino cuisine, it also serves up Chinese, Japanese and Spanish inspired delicacies too. But do they offer anything for vegetarians? Yes, they do. But it is limited.
The restaurant has a cute and cosy vibe. Casa Pinoy has an air-conditioned outdoor dining space, which makes it a perfect way to enjoy street food. Dim lighting and peppy music enhanced our dining experience.
The food is made to order, so everything is fresh and can take time too. We started off with fresh Watermelon Juice, before delving into their menu.
Hear what Pampalasa.com has to say about Filipino cuisine:
Filipino cuisine reflects its centuries of colonization and foreign influences. Traditional Filipino cooking originally just involved boiling, grilling, roasting and steaming. It has since evolved to a cuisine predominantly Spanish-based but fused with Asian influences.
Filipino food is typically eaten with rice, using a fork and spoon or traditionally with your hands (kamayan).
Our dining experience at Casa Pinoy:
Clear Suam Soup had grated fresh corn and egg. It was thick, creamy and hearty soup. I am not used to having egg in my soup, so I didn’t like it. But my son liked it and found it quite tasty.
Fried Nori Chips were light golden in color and crisp. Its a simple dish and you can’t go wrong with the chips.
Next we had the Sizzling Tofu. Casa Pinoy serves a range of Filipino-style sizzlers, from seafood, fish to chicken, steak and more. The Tofu one is the only vegetarian in the menu. All their sizzlers are served with unlimited servings of rice. The Tofu with thick gravy was delicious and flavorful and made a good combination with the rice.
Lumpiang Sariwa or fresh spring roll is a Filipino vegetable dish composed of three parts- vegetable filling, unfried wrapper and sweet-savory sauce. Put together, it made a scrumptious dish. We loved it.
Chinese-style Veg Noodles was tasty, but oily.
We ended our dinner, with the popular Filipino dessert Halo Halo. The translation of Halo Halo is mix-mix. Halo Halo is popular Filipino dessert that is cold and refreshing. It is a mixture of shaved ice and evaporated milk with boiled sweet beans, coconut flakes, sago, jackfruit and jelly. This oh-so-delicious dessert is a must-try at Casa Pinoy.
Overall, we had a good experience. For me, Filipino cuisine is an acquired taste, I need to be exposed to it more often, maybe then I might like it.
The service was outstanding. Casa Pinoy has Filipino chefs and staff, so you can expect an authentic experience. This pocket-friendly restaurant offers good food with great flavor.
For delivery or more details:
Phone: 04 337 1652 or 056 765 8994
Email: casapinoyrest@gmail.com
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