Sir Manong

Filipino food is a growing trend in Sydney with the Filipino food movement building up a gathering of followers.

Sir Manong offers a range of Filipino dishes to make your mouth water and they are officially opening their doors to the public on Monday, 29 June.

Their menu features an array of popular dishes as well as some which haven’t been in the spotlight before. I think most people think of Filipino food being marinated pork pieces on skewers but Sir Manong offers more than just a filo barbecue!

The twice cooked crispy adobo wings are a staple Filipino dish which people who have tasted filo food before should be familiar with. This one however is a little bit different. It’s like an adobo flavoured crumb rather than a sauce which was quite a surprise. The crumb is actually filled with flavour, kind of like you’re eating KFC but filo style!

The fried sinigang squid is a filo take on salt and pepper squid. It’s super flavoursome and melts in your mouth and is definitely one to try.

The spring rolls are a winner – so tasty and filled with all the right ingredients. Depending on where you come from in the Philippines, you get many different takes on spring rolls, some even have sultanas which I’m definitely not a fan of but these ones were so good!

The chicken inasal was so moist and cooked to perfection. Pair it with the house specialty brine and you’ve got even more of a flavour burst.

It’s hard to find a veggo dish in the Filipino culture as everything is meat based so the chop suey is a welcome change. The dish is comprised of seasonal greens, broccoli, tofu and mushrooms with a ginger and garlic sauce. It’s quite a subtle taste but really goes well with all of the other dishes as the flavour doesn’t overpower whatever else you’re pairing it with.

The liempo is soOoo good! The pork is tender and juicy and is even better with the spiced vinegar dipping! This is another dish worth trying as you won’t be disappointed.

The Sir Sisig is one for all of you pork lovers. It has pork hash and pork crackling topped with a soy lime dressing. This is another one which will make your taste buds tingle with delight.

The bangus is a milkfish (milk by name, not flavour!) topped with salted duck egg and a tomato salsa and is a dish which many Filipinos eat quite often. It’s the national fish and can be prepared in many different ways, fried being the choice of Sir Manong giving it a good combination of the salt from the fish and duck egg and the freshness of the salsa.

The Hoy Gising is a coconut stew comprised of pork mince, beans, fermented krill and chillies. I’m not the biggest fan of coconut dishes but I do have to say that the flavour of this one reminds me of Thai cuisine with the use of coconut milk.

Now for dessert!

I was already going to burst and I didn’t see any dessert dishes on the menu but we got served some fried bananas with ice cream.

Fried bananas are another staple Filipino dish and this really didn’t disappoint. I’m also not a big banana lover but this tasted really good with the caramelisation of the banana. Here’s hoping they put out a dessert menu so people can also get a taste of something sweet.

To drinks they have on offer include soft drinks, kalamansi juice, pandan milkshakes, mango milkshakes, mocktails, pineapple juice, apple juice and buko juice (which is coconut juice to you and me).

I opted for the kalamansi juice which was so refreshing! If you guys don’t know what a kalamansi is, it’s a filo lime. They are super small – smaller than your average lime and is also slightly sweeter in taste.

I highly recommend Sir Manong – the food was delicious and staff super friendly and warm just like you’d find in the Philippines. The chefs also performed really well under the pressure of cooking so many different dishes in such a timely manner and they were also presented really well.

I would love to hear your thoughts on filo cuisine and whether you’ve tried any of the dishes I’ve mentioned before.

Frankiie xX