Of all of the Asian cuisines, I find that Filipino food is the most difficult to pin down. I've even been to the Philippines myself and I still have a challenging time describing an average Filipino feast. Lamesa does a great job of explaining it: "Imagine a native Malay cook with a Chinese roommate who is taught by a Spanish chef and has a love affair with everything American and you will begin to understand the origins and diverse cultural influences of Filipino cuisine." This really does sum it all up nicely! I was very excited to visit Lamesa on a recent Friday evening to sample their celebrated take on this island nation's food. blogTO calls them the #1 Best Filipino Restaurant, Toronto Life has listed them as #82 on The City’s 100 Best Restaurants 2018, and you can catch them in season one of Big Food Bucket List. Lamesa used to have a location on Queen West, but has now consolidated into one restaurant on St. Clair. They do take reservations and it never hurts to make one when it's an option.

The space itself is relatively small and designed beautifully. I loved the abundance of plants, woven wooden lamp shades, teal paint, and leafy wallpaper. The entire restaurant feels tropical but in a very polished way. It's gorgeous. I loved the fresh vibe! We were seated at a bright table next to the window and I especially enjoyed that our entire table top was covered in the Filipino flag.

To drink? House Punch (Calamansi, mango, guava, ginger - $3.00), an easy and obvious choice! The most perfect beverage for a summery day! Fresh and fruity, I especially appreciated the use of calamansi, a small, lime-like citrus fruit that is ubiquitous in the Philippines.

Like many Asian cuisines, Filipino food offers a bold combination of sweet, sour, and salty flavours. The menu is to-the-point, featuring small and large plates, and of course a section for rice. Every single dish sounded expertly prepared and intelligently selected for the menu and we attempted to choose ones that would offer a nice showcase of their top dishes. Note that you will only be given a fork and a spoon to eat with! Our server was friendly and efficient, and before we knew it our food began to arrive. First was the Mushroom Pancit (Canton noodle, duxelle, confit garlic purée, sautéed mushrooms.
Be sure to eat pancit on your birthday. Long noodles symbolize long life - $16.00), a popular Filipino noodle dish. This was the dish that blew us away. The flavours on this plate were incredible! The rich mushroom flavour was featured prominently, yet classic Asian notes played in the background. The noodles themselves were perfectly delicious. I could have eaten endless amounts of this. This plate is very special and must be tasted to be believed. Excellent!

Another dish synonymous with Filipino cuisine is adobo. This cooking process involves a vinegary marinate and various proteins can be prepared in this way. We naturally selected the Pork Belly Adobo (Smoked pork belly in a soy and vinegar reduction served with crispy dried fish.
In Filipino cuisine "adobo" is a braise done with garlic, soy and vinegar - $20.00) upon finding it on the menu. Included (and not mentioned) were two chicken wings. Another beautiful plate, this elevated dish highlighted the meats wonderfully. I tend to have a love/hate relationship with pork belly, as I find so often that it gets cooked improperly. Not so in this case! This toothsome pork was perfectly crisp and still just tender enough. I loved the sharp adobo sauce and was sure to bathe the pork and chicken in it, soaking up as much as possible. However we did make a faux pas and did not order any rice, with which this should have been eaten.

Lastly, the BBQ Skewers (Grilled pork marinated in soy and 7up.
That's right. 7up. It gives the skewers a sweetness you're gonna love - $9.00). These were great. Grilled to perfection, the tender meat packed a sweetness and just a little bit of a spicy kick. I liked that this dish was served with some pickled vegetables on the side which helped to cleanse the palette and cut through some of the fat.

Dessert was a must especially with Halo-Halo ($8.00) on the menu! A very popular Filipino shaved ice dessert, this has got to be the best version of it that I have ever had! We absolutely loved this fun party in a bowl! Served on a shaved ice base, the toppings can vary. In this case we found all sorts of things; mango, different gelatin flavours, tapioca, ube ice cream and ube flan, crispy bits on top. It was fruity, refreshing, ultra textural, cold, crunchy... Amazing. We especially loved the slice of delicious ube flan on top. This is a dessert to be experienced for sure!

I loved my visit to Lamesa and can safely say that their Filipino food is the best that I have ever tasted - including what I ate in the Philippines. The flavours are big and expertly-created, exposing Filipino cuisine to the mainstream. On Sundays they serve a Kamayan Dinner, a communal Filipino feast that is eaten off of banana leaves without any utensils. I certainly want to try this!! Lamesa is a must-do!

Fast, affordable and with lots of vegetarian options. Yum! I would recommend this place highly, especially for folks new to Filipino cuisine and looking for a tasty introduction.