I had to visit the laundromat today to wash my comforter and bedding. I quickly got bored of hanging out with the machines on spin cycle and decided to gander around and scope out some food. I don’t eat a lot of Filipino food actually, for whatever reason, even though I am half Filipino. I’m American, though, and don’t speak a word of Tagalog. I do know some key things about Filipino food though, from my mom’s cooking and visiting many Filipino households. Lumpia is the best thing ever. Lechon is probably the second best thing ever, followed by pancit. Living in Mira Mesa all of these years I have never been to Manila Fast Food & Desserts before but I spotted a photo of Lechon in the window and thought, “hmm. looks good.” It’s similar to a fast food Chinese place – all of the food is laid out under heat lamps for you to pick and choose from.

Lechon (full name: Lechon Kawali) is basically boiled, then fried pieces of pork. The outside of the pig gets very crusty and crunchy and really tasty. It’s a bit fatty, too, so if you can’t stand that then…. well, you should try it anyway. Come on, at least one piece!

The lechon was pretty good. Some of the pieces were a bit dry and some pieces were greasy, but there were a few choice cuts that were good. I also really liked the sauce that they gave with the lechon. It was a slightly sweet kind of sauce that went well with the pork. Lechon isn’t really something I can eat a whole lot of, but man, when I do it sure is good. The pancit was all right, not as good as my mom’s of course, but it was still good. It was mostly noodles and not much else. I think I got one piece of chicken in there, a few stray cabbage and carrot pieces as well. The lumpia was really good, and again, not as good as the one mom or I make. But at least it was still warm and really crispy. I like these lumpia better than the ones I’ve gotten down the street from L&L Barbeque, and these were also a lot cheaper. My above meal was the 2 item combo for $4.99, plus an extra dollar because I got the pancit instead of steamed rice, for a grand total of $5.99.

They sell all kinds of other Filipino foods that I don’t know the names of. I didn’t recognize most of the dishes, but I’m sure most of it is good. They also have breakfast on the weekends. It looks like Filipino sausage (lasilog) and eggs with rice. I wasn’t in the mood for breakfast by the time I got there, but it’s something I would try if I find myself back in here again during the weekend.

Hail, lumpia!

Manila Fast Food & Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
858-578-0968 / 858-695-9104

Hours:
M-F: 9:30am – 7:30pm
Sat: 8:30am – 7:30pm
Sun: 8:30am – 6:00pm