Point-Point Joint — Restaurant in Los Angeles

My wife (a Filipina) and I (an albinoid white boy who takes the term "white boy" to extremes) have been eating here for years. The food was always pretty decent; not great, but fine for fast, easy and reasonably cheap fare.

Then they added lechon to the menu, and now it's one of our favorite places. Sure, the lumpia is fine (about half as good as my wife's), the adobo is acceptable (about a third as good as MY adobo, which isn't as good as my wife's) and the pancit is better than merely okay (I've had better, but it's very good for a buffet place)--but the lechon blows them all away. They use a slightly leaner part of the pig for the regular lechon I think (I'm guessing the back meat) and the flavor is hard to beat; it's actually better than some of the authentic whole-pig lechon that I've had, and that's saying something. However, the new "Bellychon" is even better. With this, they wrap about half a pork belly around the seasonings (I advise you to scrape the seasonings away prior to eating, as I do) and roast it. The skin isn't quite as crisp or as thin as the regular lechon (which is also oven-roasted, I believe), but the seasoning is radically wicked. (Did I really say that? I guess the Southern Californian inside can't be subdued forever.)

I recommend calling first if you don't live nearby, because they don't always have lechon ready for sale (the stuff takes a while to cook, even in an oven). But if they have lechon or bellychon, do yourself a...

For the past year, Point Point Joint has become my go-to Filipino turo turo restaurant in East Hollywood. The ambiance is truly homey and wholesome, as it feels like you are invited to eat at a family-friend's house. I truly feel the "tuloy po kayo (come on in)" hospitality of the Filipino culture at this precious place. I love the jeepney deco above the hot bar of fresh ulam (entrees)!

For lunch, I ordered a two-item combo meal with Pancit Bihon, Kare-Kare and Ginataang Langka. Their pancit is truly savory, packed with vegetables and chicken pieces and is well seasoned. Their Kare-Kare is tender, creamy with crisp vegetables. The Ginataang Langka is also tasty and creamy. Their halo-halo is truly unique because they use ube flavored evaporated milk, packed with sweetened halo-halo ingredients and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It is not your typical halo-halo, but the ube evap and the variety of authentic ingredients gives it justice!

On another day, I convinced my friend to order a tray of pancit canton for our potluck. As I assisted my friend to pick it up, the pancit was ready and freshly made upon pick up time. Their Pancit Canton is genuinely packed with a variety of chopped veggies. It matches well with the fresh canton noodles and blends well with an umami flavor. Whether it's for dine-in, to-go or catering, I'll point out that Point Point is the go-to spot for authentic flavorful...

2 item combo plate / adobo chicken, buttery sauteed mushrooms, rice with adobo sauce, side soup - 5 stars!

I was heading to another place in the same strip mall but the place I had originally picked was recently closed.

I had noticed Point-Point Joint before but hadn't gone in. I figured why not since I was already there.

And what a lovely treat this place was!

They serve their lunch items the same way a Chinese to-go place does - combo plates with rice and a soup. They had a dozen entrees to choose from. I am trying to eat less meat, so that's why I went with the sauteed mushrooms.

Probably the menu item most westerners are familiar with is adobo. Adobo is essentially a marinade introduced by Spain that the Phillipines has made their own and it is awesome.

The lady serving me asked if I wanted to pour the adobo sauce from the chicken on the rice. I would never have thought of this if I was ordering online and it was an excellent suggestion.

I am going to go back and try more of their menu items. It is close by to my house, has great prices for a lunch, and is in a big strip mall with...