Filipinx Fix - Celebrating Filipinx American History Month

Oriental Mart in Pike Place Market

As the home to the fifth largest Filipino American population in the United States, Washington continues to evolve in the Seattle Food Scene. Seattle witnesses a budding Filipino revival. These Filipino business owners and restaurants act as a narrative of Filipino traditions and values shared with the greater community.

Oriental Mart 

Sharing curbside with Ellenos and across the famous fish throwing guys, Oriental Mart is the most accessible shop to have a homemade Filipino meal. Ate Leigh’s sinigang reminds Vanessa of home. Within the corridors of Pike Place Market herself, Ate Leigh leverages the market’s resources to her advantage, creating iconic dishes like Salmon Sinigang. Both locals and tourist can get their fill of Filipino favorites like adobo, pancit, and of course, lumpia.

Downtown: 1506 Pike Pl #509, Seattle, WA 98101

Hood Famous Cafe and Bar

For years, Hood Famous held up pop-ups and sold their infamous Ube Cheesecake at Uwajimaya and local restaurants, baking Filipino sweets and from their Ballard bakeshop. Owners, Chera Amlag & Geo Quibuyen, carefully considered every aspect. The interior of Hood Famous Cafe and Bar celebrates traditional textures from the motherland. The woven wall panels and concrete blocks complements modern tile finishes, creating a lofty hangout space. The coffee beans were specifically selected from Kalsada, for their specialty Philippine coffee. Our favorites to get here are their Ube Cookies and Buko Pie.

International District: 504 5th Ave S Suite 107A, Seattle, WA 98104

Big Boys Kainan

Although their brick and mortar restaurant lies beyond Seattle boundaries, the Big Boys Kainan food truck frequently makes it rounds for the Seattle crowds. Big Boys Kainan brings two island flavors together, with Hawaiian and Filipino-inspired dishes like their Ube Malasadas. Both their restaurant and food truck deserve a taste. At the restaurant, definitely order the Pork Belly Sisig Fries. We’re also fans of those who do lumpia well and the Lumpia Bowl from the food truck doesn’t disappoint when the craving for a Filipino staple hits.

Out-of-Town: 21230 84th Ave S, Kent, WA 98032 | View Truck Schedule

Archipelago 

With Archipelago on the scene, they’re a game changer in defining the versatility of Filipino flavors and how they can be combined with Pacific Northwest ingredients in a fine dining setting. Often times, we can be hyper-focused on having the next bite of something, we overlook the bite we just had. Chef Aaron Verzosa and Amber Manuguid remind us enjoying food can be a thoughtful and intimate experience. As Filipino-Americans, Archipelago’s story of searching for one’s identity strikes home for us. Stay connected wtih Archipelago. They have limited reservations and typically, they go fast.

Rainier Valley: 5607 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118

Jeepney 

Like New York City taxis and Bangkok tuk tuks, Manila jeepneys operate as a typical means to get somewhere. On Capitol Hill, Jeepney takes you on a trip to your Filipino friend’s house, as they feature Filipino-Style American Comfort food. Their Tocino Garlic Fried Rice Bowl embodies a gateway into a Fil-Am household by introducing simple Filipino flavors.

Capitol Hill: 1356 E Olive Way, Seattle, WA 98122

Happy Grillmore & Central District Ice Cream

Have you had a burger that was voted the best in Seattle and Portland? Or had a Longanisa buger? Happy Grillmore is where the Chubs and the Longsilog can be found. Owners, Darren & Kristine McGill, highlight local ingredients with Filipino influences. With their small batch ice cream, they have another medium to experiment with flavors like calamansi and develop Filipino-inspired flavors like Sans Rival.

Central District: 509 13th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

Musang

Chef Melissa Miranda held her famous Filipino pop-up brunches and made herself known in the community through involvement in numerous fundraisers. Most recently, Chef Melissa alongside numerous notable chefs, came together at the Dynasty Room to raise donations for Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, a non-profit organization. After successful Musang pop-ups, Musang will be taking root in Beacon Hill soon and we can barely contain our excitement for what Chef Melissa has in store for everyone!

Crowd Favorites

Tukwila stands as the unofficial hub for Filipino food. From buying the ingredients to make a homemade meal to grabbing a quick dinner, everything can be found within one mile of each other. Although these Filipino favorites lie within close proximity to each other, families are known to venture from their suburbia homes miles away, and even further for our northern neighbors from British Columbia, to stock up on essentials at Seafood City. Previously, to tackle a Filipino grocery list, multiple trips to different Asian stores was in order. Seafood City conveniently sells a majority of the Filipino groceries in one location.

Nearby, Filipino families line up at well-known Filipino fast food eateries and bakeshops. A trip to Seafood City wouldn’t be complete without stopping by Red Ribbon to pick up cheesy ensaimadas, a mocha roll, and orders of pancit palabok. The most notorious, Jollibee seems to always have a line. Even soon after opening, patrons are eager to place their order Chickenjoy and spaghetti.

Less than a five minute drive, Max’s Restaurant is another Filipino favorite. When visiting the Philippines, relatives looked forward to outings at Max’s. Max’s is also well-known for their fried chicken. However, their menu includes other authentic Filipino dishes like kare-kare (beef peanut stew) and lechon kawali sisig (sizzling diced pork belly).