LASA

I pretty much get Lasa every week. Thank goodness for takeout and patio seating.

The first time I had the Rolled Lechon Sando I was sad once I finished because it was over. One time I ordered the Sinigang Wings for my cousin but then asked him for one because I forgot how much I like them.

I also make sure to check their weekend specials. The Not Your Lola's Tocilog was delicious and the Crispy Chicken Arroz Caldo was perfect for the chilly weekend. I also ordered the Cavamansi (calamansi mimosa) to celebrate this past weekend (but also Cavamansi is always appropriate).

I haven't had difficulty finding street parking lately because of Covid, but there's also parking underneath and I think there's 10 minute food pick up parking on Hill.

Had a fantastic meal at Lasa. I don't normally go out for Filipino food since I usually get it at family parties, but I really enjoyed their modern take on it. Inside is a bit dark but still warm and inviting. A great spot for a date or small group. Really enjoyed the old school R&B they were playing too.

Apparently on Wednesdays they do half orders of plates, almost tapas style. It's a great way to taste and share a few different dishes with friends. My friends and I ordered the Beef Kilawin (tartare), Aligue Pancit, Pork Belly Sisig Fried Rice, Squid Ink Fried Rice, and the Whole Fried Pompano. Everything was so good! My favorites were probably pancit, sisig fried rice, and fried pompano. If you're a low-key fatty like me, then you can probably do a whole fried pompano on your own. We also got the great condensed milk ice cream with black sesame polvoron for dessert.

Service was fantastic. The crew was really friendly. There's street meters or an underground pay lot. I'll definitely be coming back.

Went to LASA to support the Filipino food community in LA. (also we happened to catch a glimpse of the owners on the documentary ULAM) so we made reservations for 11:30am on a Saturday. I recommend making a reservation due to the restaurant being really small, and I don't know if they take walk-ins or if they do, I think you will probably have to wait awhile. (I think on the weekends they open for brunch, but not sure about the weekdays)

We got there and got seated right away. They're located inside the plaza that has Howlin' Rays. We weren't sure where the restaurant was at first, since we didn't see any signs.

We ordered their special for the day which was the Bangus meal. It came with a whole Bangus, garlic rice, 2 eggs, and tomato with aoili sauce and some bomb calamansi patis, we also got the lechon kawali on the side and all that got us pretty full. If you're big on rice, then I'd suggest possible ordering another garlic rice on the side. Their fish was delicious, boneless and well cooked (not too undercooked!). The lechon was crispy and the side of Mang Tomas really made it taste like home. For dessert they had the Condense Milk Ice Cream with Polvoron Black Sesame on top. MUST TRY THIS. It's so simple but so rich and delicious.

Overall, this was a great little restaurant. I love the feel of it. It's cozy and not too nosy. There's just the right amount of staff, that can handle all the tables and still make you feel like you're their only customer. The staff was also very nice and able to give us first timers some great tips on what to order, especially things that weren't on the menu!

This spot right here is a hidden gem in Chinatown. I like trying out fusion restaurants and this is a great example of Filipino Fusion!

I love that they have a simple menu so we were able to try a good amount of the dishes that they offer. Everything we ordered was delicious but my top favorites from what we ordered was the Country Fried Tapa (because I love tapa and country fried steak), Bistek Smash Burger (a good twist and melt in your mouth burger), and Kesong Puti Pancake with that ricotta cheese on the inside and calamansi curd to top it off...oh my!

My hubby suggested that we have the Kesong Puti Pancake for dessert and that was a great ending to our meal but we did order it with our meal and just asked to have it come out last. Good tip to do because the waitress says it takes about 10 minutes to wait. To be honest, I think we took longer deciding what to order and devoured our food faster.

We came here on a Sunday and was able to get seated right away. It's a more cozy restaurant so i would suggest to make reservations just in case. The staff is great, helpful, and hospitable. And the food is so good! Definitely will go back to try the rest of the menu and I definitely recommend this spot!

Background On Visit: Heard and read about the Valencia brothers (Chase and Chad) for couple of years from a Filipino Food Movement event that I went to where Alvin Cailan (Eggslut) was guest speaking and the internet. Fast forward to present time, I was finally able to try them out last week.

Location/Parking: Located in the Far East Plaza. Also, if you're familiar with unit 120 (made famous by Alvin Cailan) then you know where it is. Parking can be found in their underground parking lot or you can meter park along Ord, Hill, Alpine, or Broadway.

Ambiance/Decor: Very nice comfortable ambiance with dim lights. Modern furnishings through out the restaurant with a neat couch to sit on before being escorted to your table.

Service: Service was great! Abby (host/waiter) and another waiter (didn't catch his name) was very friendly, attentive, and made some great recommendations. Food came out at a decent time also.

Food Of Choice: Ordered 2 items (1 from Pulatan and the other one from the Umpisa):

1) Got 2 Chicken Gizzard Inasal Skewers (pulatan): The skewers were a bit on the salty side so perhaps request for light season when you order these bad boys. The main attraction was the ginger-annatto marinate. Sweet and tangy! :)

2) Beef Kilawin (17). It's basically flat-iron taretare, patis aioli, and salt & vinegar taro chips. So yummm! The taretare was prepared really nicely and tasted very tasty. The salt & vinegar chips was like crack! They were very, very, addicting! If you're not to fond of the salt & vinegar just take some off and continue munching. Definitely get some rice to eat with ($2.50).

Food For Thought: Definitely coming back to try more on the menu.

Alas, after trying Chego and Howlin Rays, we finally accomplish our goal of completing our taste of the Far East Plaza Trifecta: Lasa...

Parking is easy underneath the Far East Plaza (Lasa Validates).

I arrived with an open mind and a hungry belly. I've never really had "new Filipino" food before, and as a halo halo Filipino I'm pretty seasoned on the classics.

This restaurant is pretty small, I would guess only seating about 35 guests.

What we ordered:

Shrimp skewers (4) yum. Love the lime sauce, pretty much works with anything on the menu

OG Pancit (4.5) light and refreshing. Definitely wasn't any Pancit I've had before - it has the flavor of the bihon but the texture of the canton. And no meat! Works well as a side dish

Beef tartare (5) definite YES. love the vinegar flavor of the taro chips.

Limpia (2.5) easily my least favorite of the night. When I have lumpia I'm used to finely chopped vegetables, usually some sort of ground meat and a crispy shell. The vegetables were chunky, no meat. Though the dish was tasty, It somewhat resembles lumpia only by means of the starchy wrapping, and if I ate it without a title, I wouldn't have called it lumpia. Honestly it would have been a 4 if it had a different name because it set my expectation to lumpia and it fell below the bar.

Tangent: this was my first Filipino meal eaten without rice (do they offer rice?)

Twice cooked pork belly (4.5) so yummy! I loved the crispy outside, the soft inside and that sauce- wow! I was also obsessed with the charred cabbage. It reminded me of a perfectly roasted Brussels sprout. I wish I got a little bit more moisture on the inside to counteract the crispy outer.

Oh- their Calamansi juice was fantastic.

Overall enjoyed Lasa's cuisine and need to return to further explore the depth of their menu. They have a lot of creativity to offer! Salamat Po!

We've been wanting to try this place out for ages and we finally made it. It was pretty full on a Sunday around noon but they had one table free. We had to weave in between the Howling Ray's Hot Chicken acolytes to get there, but we were thrilled to be sitting down to some delicious dishes while everyone else stood in line for three hours.

For brunch, the menu has some amazing sweet dishes, like the puffy pancake with whipped coconut cream and the sinful french toast, but they also have several savory dishes to choose from, such as a confit, fried pork, homemade sausages, and a salad. We had the country fried tapa, which reminded me of schnitzel but with black garlic gravy, rice and an egg, and a savory omelet that had a smoked, small eggplant cooked whole right into it. It came on a bed of rice and covered in fresh tomatoes.

Service was perfect and the place was conducive to talking, which is refreshing.

Great spot for Filipino-American fusion! Ordered the Coconut Adobo Chicken which was great. The mix of chicken, green beans, and rice was a perfect combination of flavors. The plate overall had a prominent acidity flavor but I didn't think it was overpowering by any means. I only stopped by for a quick takeout order but even from my brief interaction with the staff they were all very friendly and prompt. Would definitely like to stop by again!

Very good modern Filipino and Filipino fusion (Pilipino pusion)! Great service! With a clean, non-fussy ambiance, this spot's excellent for tourists and laid-back feels where food's the focus. Here, you order at a counter then staff delivers food to your table which comes pre-stocked with Spicy Vinegar, Sweet Chili, and Lechon Sauce. For my afternoon visit, I ordered from their Lunch Menu.

To drink, I enjoyed a super refreshing and perfectly balanced Calamansi (citrus-based) Juice. Then for starters, while the Pork version of Fried Lumpia was pretty good, the Veggie version won in taste with flavored cabbage and other veggies.

For entrees, the Coconut Adobe Chicken which arrived with a braised leg and thigh, jasmine rice, crispy garlic, marinated cucumber, and coconut adobo sauce was actually just okay until I added a ton of spicy vinegar to make it tastier and pretty good. I wish the chef had done that for me already. I wouldn't get it again. On the other hand, the Drunken Pancit was so tasty! Egg noodles mixed with Chinese pork sausage, greens, bagoong XO (slightly spicy shrimp paste sauce), pickled Fresno chiles, and crispy shallots created a solid flavor explosion! I can't wait to come back and try their dinner menu which looks mouth-watering good!

NOTES/TIPS:
**Outdoor eating area available
**Clean restrooms
**Located within the Far East Plaza, next to Howlin' Ray's.
**Paid parking's reasonable in a lot quite nearby.

Filipino Fusion is hard to execute. Not because us Filipinos aren't talented in the kitchen (BECAUSE WE ARE) but because the culture itself is strong rooted with tradition. Filipino moms or titas (aka aunties) would frown upon "Americanizing" dishes that were foundations of what they grew up eating & in turn passing it down to generations onward of what traditional Filipino food would be.

Long story short, I stumbled upon their establishment during quarantine. Even with their shortened menu, all the selections were so appealing. I dragged my bro from his usual Quickly run to save his appetite for this place.

First off, service was excellent. Chase was very friendly and accommodated our party of 4 to the table outside of the restaurant. He also provided spot-on recommendations and I DID NOT REGRET OUR SELECTIONS.

WHAT WE ORDERED:

* SINIGANG FRIED CHICKEN WINGS (NOT PICTURED): Crispy wings topped with a mix of tamarind powder and spices. I never would've thought that sinigang would go well with chicken wings. It was SUPER SOUR (just like how the soup is supposed to be). After initially ordering just this, my sister in law and I new we had to order more of the menu.

* "BRISTEK": I never had Bistek like this before. The brisket used was cooked low and slow but still held together albeit being super tender. It had a nice crust that I absolutely loved and the charred young onions. Not to mention the nice amount of fat on the brisket. Well done on this dish...

* LECHON KAWALI: One can never go wrong with ordering crispy pork belly. Especially when it is paired with garlic fried rice & both pickled onions and charred yu choi. This dish worked so well together as a whole and just loved how the pickled onions cut through the richness of the pork belly. These guys know what they're doing...

* COCONUT CHICKEN ADOBO: I could never have imagine how our national dish could be enhanced to another level. Quite honestly, this was the best adobo I've ever had. Seriously.The coconut milk was so luxuriously comforting with the familiar tangy and salty bit of the vinegar and soy sauce. It reminded me of a rich Rendang from Malaysia. So earthy and soulful. I was very much impressed by this one...

* VEGGIE & CHILI CRUNCH PANCIT: I love carbs. Anything with noodles excites me. I enjoyed the textures and flavors of this dish. It was an upscale version of my favorite instant noodle dish growing up. That sense of familiarity with a jolt surprise of modern cuisine well embodies this dish. loved how the veggies were roasted for that nice caramelized touch.

* "BISTRO MIX" SALAD: In the Filipino culture, we do not have too much salads in our repertoire. In fact, we're not known to have light dishes LOL So coming up with a salad that highlight Filipino flavors was genius. The red mustard greens and Gai Choi were the perfect palate cleanser paired with the calamansi vinaigrette. There's bitter notes enveloped with tart, sweet, spicy, and savory bites from the crispy shallots and the chilies. So creative...

CONCLUSION:

LASA is such a gem and asset to Chinatown. The food is great & the staff and ownership of this restaurant has definitely exceeded my expectations. True qualities of an extraordinary establishment. Will be making a pit stop here every time I'm in SoCal. Officially obsessed with this place.