Tradisyon — Restaurant in New York

I was really excited to cross this off my bookmarked list. I've been following the great reviews and couldn't wait to try their stuff. Yesterday turned out to be the perfect time to try almost everything that they have. Hubby and I saw that it was an 8 minute walk from our appointment so we did. After 2 couples who ordered take out, we were able to place our orders and decided to do dine outside, they had one table with 2 seats outside. They initially gave us someone's order but we said it wasn't ours so we took it upon ourselves to call the other couples to make sure they got their orders, and rightfully so. So I guess, best to keep track of your orders or it might go to someone else.

On to the food. For lunch, I ordered lechon kawali and requested for garlic rice to be separated out since I don't eat rice now. I ordered laing separately to go with the lechon kawali. The lechon kawali wasn't bad, it was tasty but it wasn't hot, so that really didn't deliver the right traditional lechon kawali experience. The laing was just okay, there were too many fresh red onions, it just overpowered the dish. I spent some time removing it just to be able to eat it. On the other hand, hubby and I enjoyed the pork adobo. It has a good amount of sauce and was really tasty.

That being said, after drinking at friends', we needed to have food delivered for late dinner and saw that Door Dash delivered them to UWS. Awesome. We thought okay, let's try the rest of what we were eyeing from their menu. So we ordered Kare Kare, Chicken Inasal, Sisig, and Pork Adobo again. The Kare Kare was soooo dry there wasn't even any peanut sauce. I was really disappointed with it, from the lack of sauce, mediocre quality of oxtail/meat, and how bland it was, we were really underwhelmed. Like people were raving about it on here? Next was Chicken Inasal. Dry and plain. Their chili soy vinegar sadly didn't even help get the flavors close to the intended inasal taste. The sisig was okay, really nothing to write home about. And the Adobo was consistent and delicious, at least there's something good from the $120 we spent yesterday.

I don't even want to bring up the price and portions because Manhattan and Queens Filipino restaurants definitely differ from their Operating expenses, therefore impacting the price. Always willing to pay as long as we're paying for quality.

Wanted to support them as we definitely need good Filipino restaurants in Manhattan. I just hope for a much better experience, if we ever decide to try them again.

P.S we didn't get to take pics of the actual Door Dash food delivered last night so just attached the receipt for full...

Disappointing.

Food was delicious but portions were so small that even with an entree and shared appetizer, partner and I left hungry. Chicken Inasal was delicious but was 90% rice. Partners lechon had a better meat to rice ratio but he was still hungry even after we added an order of lumpia afterwards.

Their entry here says that they have beer, wine and alcohol. They don’t and you can’t BYOB.

Waiter was friendly but tried to take our order a minute after we were given menus and then had to be flagged down for us to finally order later because he did not come back or offer more water or anything unless we waved our arms. When the check came, he said that cash tips were preferred but that otherwise putting it on card was fine. Gee, thanks. Glad that I can tip you on card at a place that accepts credit cards. I don’t know if he just doesn’t want to pay taxes or if management does something shady to their workers tips, but it seemed unprofessional and I don’t appreciate being given an assignment in order to adequately pay gratuity. Nothing indicates I would need cash, so I didn’t bring any and now I worry that it is not all being received by the servers.

Finally, despite being so small that only three tables fit inside, the music was blasting so loudly the entire time that I couldn’t even have a conversation with my partner, and we needed to repeat ourselves multiple times to be understood by the waiter without shouting. If you love Bruno Mars and aren’t looking for conversation, you may enjoy it. But as it was, I left hungry and without having been able to catch up with my partner because we couldn’t hear one another.

Really sad, because despite all my complaints, the food was delicious enough that I’d still return if the portions were better. But what is comfort food that leaves you hungry? Not...

I'm glad I stumbled upon this place among the many other places in hell's kitchen. This is a small, casual place with a generous many and food that will stimulate the taste buds. Seating is limited in the outdoor shed. I ordered and paid (which means you tip before you finish the meal if doing it by card). I got the squid adobo, lechon kawali and the beef tapas. Food came out very fast and for each dish I was given the option to pair it with white rice, brown rice or garlic fried rice. First thing I noticed was that the rice on my dishes weren't steaming, they were just warm. The squid in the squid adobo had an uneven texture, some pieces were softer than others, and other pieces were a little harder, almost tasted like they were drying out. The lechon was good, it came with a sauce. The rind was crispy and crunchy and meat was soft. I think to my surprise the beef tapa was probably my favorite. The sauce was bold with a slight sweetness to it and the beef was soft.

Please not that everything is served in disposable containers, there's a small trash can outside the shed for you to clean up after yourself. There also isn't a bathroom in the restaurant, but I overheard that you could try sneaking into the bar nearby.

While there were a few kinks in my experience, I had an overall positive impression that left me curious to come back and try more...