I've eaten at the original location several times. I find it amusing how, after admiring the shabby chic interiors there, you can buy a piece of it yourself to take home!
Peebee had all the food laid out on the table, family style. I've heard some people say that the franchise at The Fort just wasn't as good as the original, but it tasted the same to me. It just lacked in knick-knacks!
Sinigang again! They served each bowl individually as we sat down
Adobo cooked two ways: crispy flakes and regular. Delicious! I like the flakes the best. You can never do it at home without it tasting really oily.
Here's their version of laing. We were joking Anjeanette (whose hubby and their family hail from Bicol) that she would be a critic of the dish. She said the flavor was good, but didn't understand why each leaf wrapped a piece of pork.
Aside from mish-mash interiors, Cafe Juanita prides itself with a mish-mash menu, perfect for people who want to eat all sorts of things at the same time (like me!).
I love Thai food, and this mango catfish salad didn't disappoint, even though it was a "Filipino" restaurant
As I mentioned in part one of this post, I'm allergic to kare-kare, but look at its similarity to the sinigang from Mamou Too
Looking at these photos now reminds me of what a friend in LA told me when I took him to the only Filipino restaurant there, the Jeepney Grill. He said, "Filipinos like to eat a lot of fried or brown foods." Here's another brown fried meat, with brown sauce on top
The crispy skin is so yummy you would give your right kidney for it! This next dish is a winner. It's deep fried lapu-lapu with tamarind sauce (yes, its brown too!). It seems that Cafe Juanita has mastered the art of the "deep fry netting techinique"!
Last but not the least is dessert. Because a friend had eaten a different version the day before, when I saw sticky toffee pudding on the menu I ordered it. It was very good, but a bit on the sweet side
A perfect end to a meal with good friends and a family I have known for years!
Another plus for Cafe Juanita is that my 6-year-old was playing with the celebrator's 7-year-old nephew and let's just say they were a bit rowdy with their fighting techniques. Now, my son is usually well behaved. Nobody complained (though I did read on a restaurateur's Facebook they wanted to ban children from their restaurant. You can tell they don't have any!). The food was good old home-cooking, nothing hoity-toity, and somewhere you can bring your whole family (and even a yaya or two). Thank goodness for places like Cafe Juanita!
Happy birthday Peebee!!
Cafe Juanita
Burgos Circle, Fort Bonifacio
Tel +632.403.1952
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