The Weekly Eater
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Estelita Balico of the Golden Coin Bakeshop &
Restaurant holds up their purple yam cake.
MYRNA VALERO AND BEY LONTOC, with the Philippine Consulate, can always spot the locals at Filipino restaurants. Golden Coin puts
sparkle in homemade
Filipino fare"They always order adobo and pancit," says Valero, a cultural and information officer.
"And guisantes," adds Lontoc, a diplomacy and youth affairs officer, and they both burst out laughing at the predictability of it all.
Ouch. Just a day earlier, I had ordered those very same things at Golden Coin restaurant. Filipino food doesn't get much tamer than those respective dishes: vinegared pork, noodles and stewed pork with peas, tomatoes and onions. I should at least get credit for going where many don't dare tread.
Those who shy away from Filipino food fear the bagoong and patis factor based on a craving for pungent shrimp pastes and fish sauces. Then there's the blood factor apparent in the blood stew dinuguan, a fondness for tripe, and passion for purple desserts.
I can understand the first three aversions, but what's not to love about the color purple? (I wonder whether growing up in Waipahu had anything to do with my color aesthetic.) I brought in a vivid violet ube (oo-bay) roll only to have photographers come to gawk at it as it was rejected by a few brave souls in the Star-Bulletin sports department. Imagine how hurt I was when they accepted brownies from someone else minutes later! It's just a sponge cake!
Golden Coin Bakeshop & Restaurant
Golden Pavilion Chinese Restaurant
Food (Filipino/Chinese) /
Service (Filipino/Chinese) Ambience (Filipino/Chinese) Value (Filipino/Chinese) Address: 94-459 Puko St. (behind Hans L'Orange Park) / 680-0758
Hours: Bake shop 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily; Chinese restaurant 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays; dim sum 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, with dinner from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Cost: Filipino plates less than $10 per person; Chinese food about $25 for two.
There's little to fear at Golden Coin, where Filipino food has been lifted out of typical dingy quarters and into the bright, glossy world of the contemporary fast-food nation. As fast as it is, the food has homemade appeal.
"To me this is soul food," said Valero. "Here, people are too busy to cook, but in the Philippines you can spend all day cooking, starting in the morning, buying produce fresh from the market."
This particular soulful meal, Philippine style, started with kare kare, a beef tripe stew.
"Here, I'm looking for the best pieces for you," Valero says as she spoons four slices of the slippery, blubbery tripe onto my plate.
I admit to being sort of the Waverly type, like the character in "Joy Luck Club," who aspires to the best of everything. In this case, I replied, "Oh, you shouldn't have."
While tripe's not my thing, the rest of the kare kare ($6.50 large) was a smooth blend of light peanut sauce with plenty of vegetables. It's left purposefully mild, the better to blend with bagoong served on the side.
The pinakbet ($4.50 small) was preferable, due to the presence of giant cubes of pumpkin, one of my favorite foods. The traditional Ilocano vegetable stew also features tomatoes, long beans, okra and bittermelon, in a broth tinged with patis.
And up next was the fried bangus, or milkfish ($3.95 per piece). This fish is a favorite in the Philippines, and constant practice eating it renders diners there adept at removing the fine, threadlike bones. This doesn't go over well with Americans, who don't have the patience to deal with bones so fine, they're easy to miss and swallow.
As if being marinated in garlic and vinegar is not enough, vinegar is also offered as a dipping sauce.
Now, about those desserts. Like I said, the more colorful, the better. Unlike Americans, who associate certain colors with flavors, such as red for cherries and strawberries, the Filipino aim is to create a festive-looking table. There's no relation between colors and flavors. Thus, pichi pichi ($2.25), a cassava and coconut dessert similar to mochi, comes in garish candy colors of sunny yellow, deep purple and minty fresh green. Maja blanca ($1.50) suggests a white pudding, but no, this is also bright yellow, as inspired by the kernels of corn that dot the interior of this flan-like custard.
Whenever I passed by this restaurant in the past, I assumed it was a Chinese restaurant because of its name. It did start out serving manapua and dim sum a few years ago, before taking into account Kalihi's demographics. Introducing Filipino food at 1833 N. King St. has paid off with two more restaurants in Waipahu, the newest at Mill Town Center behind Hans L'Orange Park.
While the downstairs area is devoted to Filipino takeout, upstairs is a huge banquet room showing the other side of Coin, with a full Hong Kong-style Chinese menu. Try the salt and pepper chicken wings ($6.95), exceptionally crispy chicken with the seasoned salt already added for you, and sea bass ($8.95) that's been rolled in cornstarch and deep-fried.
You can do some serious exploration at both restaurants.
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Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to nkam@starbulletin.com
excellent; very good, exceeds expectations; average; below average.
