The Revolutionary Taste of K.K.K.

The acronym K.K.K. immediately made me think of Andres Bonifacio and all the other events that transpired in Philippine history. This is also what the restaurant K.K.K. (Kainan sa Kalye Kanluran) is all about: the rich taste of Philippine food that will leave your taste buds revolting.

The ambiance of the restaurant would right away tell you that it offers Filipino cuisine. The walls were covered with dried anahaw leaves and bamboo just like a nipa hut or widely known as 'bahay kubo'. Checking out the menu, they offered the usual 'lutong bahay' favorites like sinigang, ensalada, kare-kare, lengua etc.

Our friendly server Shiara served some 'kropek' or shrimp crackers while waiting for our order.

Our first meal is Bistek Flakes (P 230)

I was amazed on how tall the flakes were arranged on the plate. I assumed the flakes would look dry but it looked like it was dipped in sauce. "Bistek" is the Filipino version of the American beef steak. While the latter is being served dry and usually cooked in the griller, our version is filled with the 'special' sauce which gives it the distinct sweet-tasty-sour taste.  While the normal beef steak would be topped with rings of onions, our plate of bistek flakes had chopped onions and tomatoes underneath. I tried eating it without rice and I didn't like it at first because the flavor of the sauce was too strong and a bit sour. However, upon eating it with rice, I eventually liked it. =)

Our second dish is Pancit Tinapa (P 140)

'Tinapa' is famous in the Philippines as smoked milkfish and usually served during breakfast together with sinangag (garlic rice). This caught my attention because it was described as 'creamy' which is quite odd. Nothing special with its presentation but it was neatly placed on the plate.pon seeing it, it looked like pancit with carbonara sauce =P. It was indeed creamy but it only had few Tinapa flakes (I wish it had more). It would also be better if they added some herbs to add flavor and a bit of spicyness would give it a twist.

Each meal is good for 2 and the price is very reasonable. They had very accommodating and friendly servers as well. The place was clean and not crowded. Highly recommended to bring balikbayans =)