A rainy weekday did not stop me from going all the way to Pasig to check out Cubanos. Located in an area that I have never been to before, I braved the traffic just to try this place out. I love Latin American food and a sponsored dinner - Cubanos x Zomato - is a definite yes in my schedule.
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| Cubanos Fil-Cuban Cantina, Pasig |
City Golf Plaza is a place that I have never been to before. It wasn't so hard to go to this place and was amazed that there were a lot of resto-bars in the small compound. I spotted Cubanos right away and prepared myself for a feast!
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| Paintings on the walls and some other restaurant details! |
Cubanos is a product of the same brains behind tipsy pig.The place was brightly lit with colorful wall paintings depicting Latin American vibe. Tiles, bricks, wood - a mix of materials and bright colors adorned the place.
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| Beer? Cocktails? Anyone? |
There was even this truck like installation that served as the nook for preparing their cocktails. Honestly, I loved the casual and lively mood of the place.
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| Menu! |
Their Sous Chef Nikka prepared our dishes and made sure that she explained each one to us. She was also very open to feedback as she asked for our opinions, suggestions etc.
Onto the food, we started out with some Appetizers & Bar Chows --
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| Good Morning Cuba for 190Php |
One of their best sellers, this dish is their version of the well loved Pinoy Sisig. Their very own home made chorizo chopped coarsely to resemble pork sisig meat, served in a hot skillet, topped with runny sunny side-up eggs, drizzled with mayo and sprinkled with some fresh herbs. This was served with some flour tortilla and salsa. This was good! Best consumed while warm, mix the eggs with the meat, scoop into the tortilla and add in some salsa!
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| A closer look at this yummy dish! |
The chorizo was flavorful with the right amount of saltiness and this dish was somewhat spicy. The salsa broke the monotonous flavor from the meat mixture and added some notes of freshness into the dish! Loved that you can wrap the meat into the soft flour tortilla!
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| Lemon Pepper Wings for 180Php |
Chicken wings are staple apperizers. At Cubanos, they didn't over price these tasty but tiny babies. Seven pieces of wings that have been perfectly deep fried to give that crunchy but juicy skin with tender and flavorful meat inside were served next.
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| A closer look at these buttery and zesty chicken wings! |
Glazed with lemon butter sauce and a touch of pepper, they came in a little oily but taste wise, they were not bad at all. Though the lemon flavor was too strong for me and can get cloying, a dip into the garlic mayo aioli made each bite better.
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| BBQ 'D Elote for 48Php/Stick |
I love buttered corn! The foodie scene has seen a lot of versions of dressed up corn in a cob and so far, I like each that I've tried. Cubanos version was on the safe side. Unlike others that are heavily smothered with herbs and spices, their version was on the lighter spectrum of flavors. Grilled with butter, smothered with Parmesan cheese and their house blend bbq mix, this can be served cut into smaller potions or even shredded for easier consumption. The corn was sweet, the parmesan gave a good salty contrast but it lacked some bbq flavor. Not something that I would rave about though.
Onto their Cubanos - we sampled two out of the five in their menu.
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| Classic Cubano for 185Php |
This is their version of the classic Cuban Sandwich! Loved the crunch from the toasted bread but didn't like the overall sour taste of the sandwich. Made with roasted pork mojo with ham, pickles, gooey cheese and some spices, the pork was a little dry. Other people from our group really liked this one so I suggest you give it a try. This sandwich also came in with some thick cut and skin-on fries, ketchup and mayo with spices.
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| Cubano Filipino for 185Php |
This was my favorite! My Filipino tongue loved the roasted lechon kawili with crispy skin, pulled pork lechon, cheese and sweet soy. It tasted like asado and with the side serving of their Asian Soy smothered into the sandwich, it was like eating a fancy version of siopao! Salty and sweet, I can finish one order all by myself!
Onto their mains, which were served with rice and shredded BBQ 'D Elote, we tried the following --
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| Peri-Peri Inasal for 195Php |
Peri-Peri x Bacolod Inasal, this was a good combination! Your usual Peruvian charcoal grilled chicken with strong spices made better with a touch of our very own chicken inasal. Beneath the flavorful skin was the tender and tasty meat! Served with peanut sauce and Aji sauce that tasted like ranch with a spicy kick.
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| Fidel's Cuban Ribs 220Php Half Rack | 315Php Full Rack |
Their Fidel's Cuban Ribs is a best seller. Really affordable but delicious! Well marinated and fall off the bone tender meat. They came in smothered with their sweet and spicy bbq sauce. Not the best within it's price range but definitely bang for your buck!
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| Inside Cubanos Fil-Cuban Cantina |
Overall, it was a pleasant dinner. I just noticed that most of their dishes were on the sweet side. Got the chance to ask Chef Nikka about their flavor profile and she said that Cuban dishes are mostly leaning towards the sweeter taste. Also noticed that they didn't have any desserts in their menu.
3 out of 5 Stars for Cubanos Fil-Cuban Cantina!
--- Cubanos Fil-Cuban Cantina: City Golf Compound, Julia Vargas Avenue, Ugong, Pasig City
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