Pinoy Pleasers

Walk into a restaurant that offers Filipino food and more often than not, you’ll find crispy pata on their menu. Having that, there’s also a big possibility that the crispy pata’s younger brother, the lechon kawali, will also be included in the menu.

The crispy pata has long been a popular food in the country. Simply put, it’s just the pata, or thigh, of a young pig, seasoned with salt, pepper and marinated in vinegar, or is it the other way around? It’s then dumped in a pot of boiling oil and deep-fried for as long as it takes to cook. The lechon kawali is practically the same thing: a portion of pork belly prepared the same way, and cooked the same way.

But just what is it about these two dishes that they always have to be served in a place that offer Filipino dishes? Perhaps it’s the contrasting textures one gets when biting into a slice: the crispy pork skin, the tender meat, and the fatty region in between. Or maybe it’s the taste of the tender meat and skin dipped in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, Philippine lemon, red peppers, garlic cloves and onion bits: meaty, yet sour, sweet and spicy all at the same time. Or is it because these two dishes are typical of the way Pinoys love food, simple yet satisfying? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s all of the above.

SerJos, at the ground floor of Mango Park Hotel along Mango Avenue, is not exactly a purely Filipino restaurant. As a matter of fact, about half of their menu feature international dishes, but among the Filipino dishes they do serve, the crispy pata and lechon kawali certainly stand out.

SerJos’ crispy pata is definitely a no-brainer for lovers of Pinoy food. Unlike the oily and not-so-crispy examples found at other establishments, the crispy pata at this restaurant is cooked and served the way it should be. It’s dry on the outside, with almost no trace of oil, and very juicy on the inside. The skin is crispy, yet not cooked too long that it becomes as crunchy and tough as chicharon. The meat itself has a slight crust from being deep-fried, but it serves to keep the juices in. Expect the same thing when you order the lechon kawali. Crisp, yet tender and juicy when you bite through the thin crust that is the result of deep-frying. On their own, these dishes already taste good, but a drop or two of the vinegar-soy sauce mixture can make things more interesting, especially when you throw in a lot of red chili peppers into the mix. As viands, both the crispy pata and lechon kawali are perfect with rice for a great meal. As bar food, however, these two can serve as fantastic pulutan for beer or hard liquor.

While these two dishes are definite palate-pleasers, the other items on the menu are also worth a taste. Baked mussels, grilled stuffed squid and other well-liked international dishes such as ebi tempura and steak are offered as well. Still, for most Pinoy food lovers, a wide variety of international dishes wouldn’t really matter at all, if there’s something as wonderfully satisfying as crispy pata and lechon kawali on the table. And at SerJos, you absolutely won’t go wrong ordering these two.