Pig & Khao: Filipino Fusion

68 Clinton St. (Lower East Side)

For the past couple of months, I have been fascinated by Filipino food. For some reason, I find myself thinking about it and reading about it, mainly because I know nothing about it. Whilst I eat pretty much any cuisine, I am particularly fond of Asian food. That said, I’ve never eaten Filipino food!

A few months back, I asked my friend K, who is Filipino, to introduce me to this exotic cuisine. She was more than happy to oblige and took me to “Pig & Khao,” located downtown, near Delancey Street. K told me that Filipino cuisine essentially has two flavors: sweet and sour, and sometimes those tastes are combined.

The variety of dishes on the menu was amazing, so selecting only a few was very very challenging! I defaulted to K’s judgment and let her select dishes from the menu. Granted, Pig & Khao is technically fusion and not strictly traditional Filipino, however we both had such a great evening there!

This past week, I was getting together with friends, and I suggested trying this place. My friends, E and P, are fairly adventurous, and I was almost certain that they too had never tried Filipino food. They were intrigued and agreed to try “Pig & Khao.” (I’ll admit, my motives for suggesting this place were also a bit selfish. I really enjoyed my meal last time and was unable to take photos for my blog, so this gave me the perfect excuse to go back!)

We didn’t quite know what to order, so we selected a large variety of dishes. Such an excellent idea.

Drinks menu

We started with: Chicharron and Burmese Eggplant Salad. The Chicharron is essentially pork rinds, but really tasty. Not greasy or heavy, and nicely flavored with spices. The chicharron were also very light and not too hard. It was like eating a pop chip. The Burmese eggplant salad reminded me of babaganoush, which I absolutely adore. The eggplant was gorgeous!

Chicharron

Burmese Eggplant Salad

The feast continued with the arrival of the: Grilled Pork Jowl, Market vegetables in a fish sauce, Mussels, and BBQ Baby Back Ribs. Everything was absolutely mouth wateringly delicious! When I had come previously with my Filipino friend, we ordered the pork jowl and it was amazing! The pork was grilled and seasoned perfectly, but it was the watermelon that I found most memorable. I’d never eaten seasoned and grilled watermelon, but I think I would like to eat it more often. Who knew that that was such a delicious way to prepare watermelon!

The market greens were very tender and the fish sauce was very flavorful. Normally, I hate broccoli rabe, but this preparation, I enjoyed immensely!

The flavor of the mussels dish was unbelievable! The mussels themselves were rather tiny, but the creamy coconut curry sauce that they were served in…THAT was DELCIOUS! Once the mussels were gone, we dipped the fried bread in the sauce, and it was like heaven in my mouth. Yum, yum, yum!!!

Our last dish was the BBQ baby back ribs. These ribs were prepared in a sticky sweet honey sauce, like you’d find in a Chinese restaurant. Unlike the spare ribs you find in a Chinese restaurant, these ribs were meaty --- country ribs, methinks. The meat fell off the bone and they really were finger lickin’ good! My mouth is watering just thinking about them!

All in all, a really truly delicious dinner. Pig and Khao has become one of my all time favorite restaurants in Manhattan. The food is excellent and VERY reasonably priced. The flavors are brilliant and the portions are also perfect. This is a great place to go with friends, since the ambiance is low-key tapas-style. Not to mention, the wait staff are super friendly and efficient, and the food comes out wicked fast! 

I was really pleased to learn that my friends enjoyed their dinner as much as I did. Although it has only been a week, I cannot wait to go back for more delicious Pig & Khao goodness!