20 June 2011

Fiesta ~ Filipino - Blacktown


Our nipples explode with delight as we try Filipino food for the first time, and discover it's even better than we expected.

[UPDATED MAY 2013]





Blacktown is a laidback kind of place on a Sunday afternoon, there's not much happening, it's a nice place to be. There's a few interesting street food options here, only a couple are open on a Sunday though.



Fiesta Filipino takes our fancy. There's only a few tables but they turn over quick in an eat'n'run joint like this.



The main drawcard is bainmarie of delights. There's so much food, and so little that we recognise, fortunately the staff are very friendly and more than happy to help a pair of Filipino food noobs like us. Even one of the customers helps to explain a couple of the dishes, there's a very nice vibe in here.



It's $8 for two dishes on rice. The chicken is the easy option, nice little pieces on the bone in a soy/vinegar sauce.



The risky option is the green dish: pork in taro leaves. Google tells us it is called laing. The sauce is thick and coconut-creamy, and the taro leaves give it a wonderful, fresh, 'leafy' lift. This dish is amazing, it's a hit with the locals too, we see it on many plates.



Pork salad with tofu. Crispy pieces of pork crackling with firm tofu, capsicum and a soy dressing splashed over the top as it served. Yum.



Alison loves little Asian sausages, she can never resist them. These little pork footy franks have more flavour that we expected, a cross between Chinese sausage and a Thai sausage.



This was too unusual to resist: toffee sweet potato.



The sugar coated skin is sweet and crunchy, just like toffee, you can see the little toffee shards above.



Prawn fritters - whole school prawns fried in a light batter. Yum.



Great lunchtime reading, it's in English too!

[BACK AGAIN MAY 2013]

We come back to Blacktown to try one of the other three Philippines joints here but none look as inviting as Fiesta (Philippines Takeaway had a good crowd though, we'll try it next time).



Two choices with rice is $9 - bargain. We're not sure what the stuffed milk fish is stuffed with, but it's good stuff. The squid is quite strong in flavour.



We had to for the lovely green laing again, this stuff is awesome. We also try the jackfruit which is smothered in a coconut sauce and is absolutely delicious. The coconut makes these dishes quite lardy but they are oh sooo goooddd.



And we have to try the sisig again - fried pork bits including super crunchy crackling, given a lift with a little fresh salad. $5. This is a must-try. Sometimes it is behind the counter say you may have to ask for it.



Halo-halo - $6.50. A drink/dessert of crushed ice with sweet evaporated milk, some beans and jellies. The chunks of custard taste just like creme caramel. Awesome.



Gulaman - $4. A super sweet drink jelly that tastes of of palm sugar.



We love lunch so much we get takeaway for dinner. Pork in coconut and chicken adobo - chicken cooked in soy, vinegar, garlic and black pepper. Both a delicious, good selections for the non-brave eater.



Pansit Canton - rice noodles topped with fish, pork crackling and googy eggs. Smells fishy, tastes fishy, too fishy for Mr Shawn. Miss Chicken says she likes it but note there's still three quarters of a container of the stuff uneaten in the fridge a day later. An acquired taste.



Chicken and pork empanadas. The pastry is too sweet for our Western tastebuds, but fun to try.



The lady warns us several times that these rolls contains veggies...



Lovely thin pancakes filled with veggies and with a gooey peanut sauce.

After our second visit we love this place even more. The food is fresh and yum and the folks that run the joint are oh so nice and friendly. They are proud of their food and it shows.

Fiesta Filipino is at 18 Main Street Blacktown. Phone 02 8814 9700.



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Fiesta Filipino Takeaway on Urbanspoon

20 comments:

  1. "Alison loves little Asian sausages, she can never resist them."

    Hahaha, how lucky you are, Shawn! ;)

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  2. "nipples explode with delight as we try"

    "there's a very nice vibe in here."

    "The sauce is thick and coconut-creamy"

    Shawn, I see what you mean by "food porn".

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sergei Fodorov (immigrant from Russia)June 21, 2011 at 2:02 AM

    I did not find Russian Borsch on the menu.
    This place sux !

    ReplyDelete
  4. Exploding nipples...?! I had to read on!
    Those prawn fritters look like Vietnamese fare, while that sweet potato looks to die for!

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  5. Is there any vego food, do you reckon? (aside from the toffee sweet potato)
    Looks tasty :)

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  6. I can't be certain but it seemed like a meat-fest from memory...

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  7. Hehe, nothing is vegetarian in Filipino culture!. When in the Philippines, i ordered a vegetarian dish of stir fried veggies. Under the 'vegetarian' menu. It was delicious...But cooked in rendered pork fat and had little crispy bits of pork over the top of the veggies. Best damn vegetarian i have ever had!.

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  8. Add us on facebook :) http://www.facebook.com/Fiesta.Blacktown

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  9. Are there many African restaurants in Blacktown? I'm guessing Blacktown would be the place to go for authentic African food.

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  10. it's time to take a trip to the philippines. what you had in that little shop is only 1/100th of what you're missing. because of it's history, you will see a lot of spanish, american, and chinese influence on many of their dishes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's high on our list of places to go, we can't wait to go one day.

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    2. they have food markets (like the hawkers in singapore) open from 10pm-3am or from 7am-12nn. you can find everything from authentic street food to pastries and gourmet burgers. you will love it!

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  11. U gotta check out La Mesa on goulburn st just up from mamak. They were in Dee Why for 7 yrs and moved a mn ago. Great filo food and family.

    http://www.lamesa.com.au/

    Also some comments on sizzling filo restaurant in lidcome

    http://www.sydneyfoodexploration.com/1/post/2013/03/sizzling-fillo-restaurant-karaoke-bar-filipino-lidcombe.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. La Mesa is hugely popular - completely booked out last time we went by.

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    2. I believe there's also some Filipino fare on offer in Granville, don't remember the name of the place but it's near the station.

      I also discovered a Filipino grocery store (as well as a Thai grocery store nearby) while out at Penrith today, woo.

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    3. There's some good hunting for you! We are really trying to get out to more than just the inner city and inner burbs, there's so many treasures out there. Will have to check out Penrith now.

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    4. I've been following your blog for years, love it!!! Please check out Penrith. If you venture to the west and go through Mt Druitt you'd probably be interested in some recent hole in the wall eating joints in Good Luck Plaza.
      http://www.goodluckplaza.com.au/mtdruitt/shops.php

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    5. Great tip - will follow up on that - thanks so much.

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  12. I've never heard of exploding nipples,

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  13. Great post!!
    If you want to try more Filipino food, this time a Filipino grill, please come to our event --
    https://www.facebook.com/events/277862602400776/
    https://www.facebook.com/events/343660625781788/
    Contact me for more info chrissie@purpleyamgroup.com.au

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment joy - please keep your musings happy - if you want to complain about a restaurant please do it on a restaurant review site (or your own blog) - we're all about celebrating cultural diversity and the great eats that come along with it :-)

Our ethics: We pay for all our own meals and travel (though sometimes Mum shouts us).