Based in Elkins, Mona's Eggrolls is a food truck that offers "a taste of the Phillippines." In addition to eggrolls, Mona's also has pancit, curry, barbecue, adobo and more. I was excited to see this food truck locally as part of the Filipino festival. The line was very long, but after about an hour, I made it to the front and ordered the two eggroll and pancit combo. Lumpia is like the Filipino version of an eggroll, and they tend to be more light and crisp. I really enjoyed these - flavorful, but fresh. Pancit is a veggie and noodle dish that is more mild in flavor but just as satisfying. Grade: A

Nanay's Filipino Restaurant is my friends' go-to Filipino spot in Arizona. I love the Filipino food I've tried it the past, so I was excited to try this homestyle restaurant.



The restaurant is fairly spacious, and the food is served in a cafeteria style. In order to place my order, I did a mix of listing items from the menu on the wall and pointing at options behind the case.



They had lechon (suckling pig), pancit (stir-fried noodles), pork BBQ, adobo (stew), lumpia (eggrolls-ish) and more.



I almost wish I would have taken a sample of everything they had to offer so I could explore some other dishes I've never had before.



But, everything I did select was delicious. Deeply flavorful and everything seems to have veggies incorporated. So, that gave a little bit of a crunchy texture. I enjoyed the marinated and vinegary flavors most.



Lumpia, though, may be my favorite eggroll-esque vehicle. I like them a bit crispier than these year, but still so good.



What is your favorite Filipino dish?



Grade: A

There has been one authentic Filipino restaurant in West Virginia that has been an absolute dream! And now, there are two.



Phillippines Best Food, located in Parkersburg, just opened a second location in Williamstown down at the boat ramp on the river.



It's a walk-up counter and has some outdoor dining. The menu is more streamlined with 2 steps: pick a bowl or a burrito. Then, pick your protein. Plus there are sides and kid options.



For my entree, I went with a pork adobo bowl with pancit noodles. It is marinated pork with onions and potatoes served over rice noodles. It has a rich, slightly sweet flavor and is so tender that it's just *chef's kiss* perfection.



But, wait, there's more. If you're not getting lumpia while here, you're doing it wrong. I hate making statements like that - I just love these things. So crispy - but fresh. Just really good.



And I ordered some jalapeno poppers - mostly because I thought they might have a different twist, but they're pretty straight forward.



My favorite part, though ...



Was the halo-halo! This signature drink reminds me of my friends Kaitlynn and Josh, who had it at their wedding. So, this was only the second time I've ever had it. And I can't wait to have it again.



Halo-halo has crushed ice, evaporated milk, ube ice cream (like sweet potato or yam), sweetened beans and leche flan (thank you for this, Sam!). The flavors are different and layered and the texture is varied. Just loved it.



Grade: A

The long-awaited Filipino restaurant on Cantley Drive in Charleston has opened.

Barkadas features Philippine island staples, as well as blends of Spanish, United States and Southeast Asian influences into meals.

"Barkadas" is "Filipino street slang meaning a group of friends getting together, which in turn is how the restaurant was developed. It all started by four friends getting together and deciding to collaborate to build a new concept for Charleston, West Virginia. Our goal is to be the most customer centric restaurant in the area and reinventing the neighborhood pub & restaurant." One of my friends and local chef extraordinaire Paul Smith is at the helm of this new restaurant.

Located at the bottom of Cantley Drive near Dominoes, Barkadas is a medium-sized space that has been chocked full since the day it announced its grand opening. So full, in fact, that the parking lot was packed and customers were parking along the road.

The interior features beautiful dark-hued hardwoods, greenery, recessed lighting and metal fixtures and chairs that give off an industrial vibe. It's modern, but cozy, and has a very cool vibe. When I opened the doors, there was a hostess immediately there to greet me and seat me. I spent some time looking over the menu, which includes fried spam, nachos, bao buns, burritos, burgers, and more.

For starters, I ordered lumpia. What's that?  Lumpia - Six, crispy Filipino style pork egg rolls. Served with house pickled veggies and dipping sauces. My former coworker's mother used to make these for us, and I still crave them. So good. These lumpia were perfectly crisp and delicious. Plus that dipping sauce? Perfection.

Then, I ordered a few bao buns. Bao Buns - Soft, pillowy, steamed buns with your choice of filling: Glazed Pork Belly and Chicken Karaage. I love bao buns and I don't know of any other place in town you can get them. The buns were perfectly steamed, the crisp meat and colorful veggies all blended beautifully. The Chicken Karaage was my favorite here.



Finally, I ordered an Adobo Bowl - Avocado, scallion, tomato, pickled onion. I got mine with pancit noodles - very thin rice noodles.

West Virginia has a pretty diverse display of culinary offerings. You can get Thai, Vietnamese, Kenyan, French, Mediterranean, Mexican, Italian, Venezuelan, Swiss, Indian, and Greek food - and more!

And, most recently, I discovered Filipino food in Parkersburg. Philippines Best Food Carry-Out, located on 7th Street, is dishing up classic Filipino dishes for take-out, dine-in or even buffet.

They started out as a simply a food stand, then evolved into a fully functioning sit-down restaurant. And, they even have a buffet available on the weekends.

Where you can enjoy authentic Filipino cuisine made with only the freshest of ingredients and house made sauces. Daniel and Elenita Lubuguin began this business 5 years ago with a food truck on Saturdays, then moving to a make-shift storage building just large enough for a few customers to place their orders for carry-out only. As their popularity grew, they decided to build a restaurant with seating for 40 inside and 20 outside. Daniel learned to cook during his time as a cook for a military base in the Philippines, and the Lubuguins enjoy bringing the authentic taste of the Philippines to their customers. The restaurant started with just the happy couple and has now grown to more than 10 employees with hopes of even further expansion in the near future. Their food truck still attends local fairs all over the east coast and seems to be a fan favorite no matter their location (OUR VISION). 

So, I just happened to be in town on a weekend and stopped by to check this place out. I consulted with a friend, while looking over the menu, to see what would give me the best taste of this place. She suggested a few standards - siopa (a super soft bun with meat filling), lumpia (yummy egg rolls), longsilog (her favorite breakfast food), pansit (rice noodles), adobo (the national dish), sisig, bistek, maybe dinuguan for the adventurous (made with offal and blood) - but she said the menu looks good and just about anything sounded great!

But when I got there, I saw the buffet and figured that would be the easy way to go. Among the buffet were chicken afritada, pansit noodles, chicken stirfry, pork adobo, teriyaki chicken, sweet sour chicken, chicken curry, tilapia, sweet chili wings, and seafood paella.

Every single thing I had was delicious. The adobo was flavorful and warming.

The pansit noodles are thin and full of other yummy vegetables and onions.

And this spicy seafood paella was SUPER good. I kept going back for more.

Lumpia is so great - like a lighter, fresher eggroll.

The leche flan is a traditional Filipino custard - very tasty.

There were a couple things I wasn't sure of - like this thing that seemed like it was full of plantain. It had a caramelized outer edge and soft, vaguely sweet interior.

There were so many other items that looked delicious, too. I skipped the things that I was already familiar with - wings or kebabs.

It's pretty cool we have a little taste of the Phillippines here in West Virginia.

Have you been? What's your favorite dish?

Grade: A

A friend took me to Kawayan (which is a Filipino term for Bamboo), a nice Asian-American bar/restaurant that seems to be somewhat of a hidden gem. When we first walked in, my friend noticed a friend of hers working and asked if we could be sat in her section. The manager seemed put-off, but she obliged.

The restaurant was pretty empty, save for another couple or two. They have a sushi bar, which is pretty cool. The decor was nice - romantic, dim, lightly decorated. Our waitress was amazing - entirely accommodating, friendly and knowledgeable. They serve Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and American food.

I tried their lumpias, which are veggie spring rolls filled with mixed vegetables and tofu. Served with a sweet chili sauce. It's like a lighter version of an eggroll, and it was pretty tasty. I stuck with a California crunch maki roll, which consisted of crab, avocado and crunchies. It was basic, but it was tasty. Just what I was in the mood for.

For dessert, I had a taste of bread pudd- ing, which was simply divine. In my top three favorite bread puddings ever. It was so warm, with a light caramel drizzle and whipped cream. It was just so homey, so comforting and so delicious.

The food here was really good, and the service was great. The management, though, kind of turned me off. From the way they treat the servers to how they accommodate guests, they just definitely give off the best impression.  

Grade: B