I got invited to this event through my good friend, Abby of Pleasure Palate. I’m always excited to eat Filipino food prepared by chefs that doesn’t normally cook Filipino food. It’s quite interesting what chefs come up with when they’re cooking “non-traditionally”.

Let’s explore Chef Mayet’s creations…

Sweet Corn Soup 3 (Porcini and truffle croutons, chives)

Sweet Corn Soup

The soup is rather good. The corn naturally sweet. On the menu though it mentioned porcini and truffle croutons but I didn’t detect it in the soup. If there was, I would prefer that the croutons be at least visible so it can provide a textural contrast to the smoothness of the pureed sweet corn.

Heirloom Tomato & Salted Duck Egg Salad 6 (spinach, scallions, crispy onion, pan de sal croutons with anchovy vinaigrette)

Heirloom Tomato & Salted Duck Egg Salad

This is among my favorites. It’s such a perfect well rounded salad. The creaminess of the egg balances out the sourness of the dressing. The crispy onions and croutons provide flavor balance and enhancer as well texture to the dish. I love it.

Duck Confit & Chinese Sausage Lumpia 5 (mushroom, cabbage, carrots, celery, onions & two dipping sauces)

Duck Confit & Chinese Sausage Lumpia

Another one of my favorites. The combination of duck confit and chinese sausage is gold. Seriously. This should be a staple. Heck, they should sell these frozen and I would buy them by the hundreds. *hint, hint*

Pancit 7 (rice noodles, seasonal vegetables, tofu & lime)

Pancit

There’s different kinds of pandit and the bihon-style (using rice noodles) is not my favorite. My preference aside, this pancit felt a little dry to me. The tofu and vegetables are the good things because they are quite tasty and flavorful.

Shrimp and Potato Fritter 7 (bean sprouts, green onions, with soy-vinegar dipping sauce)

Shrimp and Potato Fritter

My least favorite. I would guess that this is a variation of “okoy” or crispy shrimp fritter. It was dough-y and not as crispy as I would like.

Chicken Adobo Banh Mi 10 (pickled vegetables, jalapeños, chicken thigh, chopped chicken liver spread, balsamic onions, chicken cracklings)

Chicken Adobo Banh Mi

I’m not a sandwich kind of person but I do enjoy a good one from time to time. The chicken is super flavorful with just the right balance between soy sauce and vinegar. The chicken liver looks like it was cooked adobo-style before it got transformed into a spread, adding more flavor. The vegetables added a nice crunch. The addition of crispy chicken skin makes this bank mi excellent. What would make it ultimately superb (in my opinion) is a creamy element to balance out the tart and sourness from the adobo and pickled vegetables, I’m thinking like a creamy aioli sauce would make all the difference.

Smoked Fish & “Fried Rice” Cake 9 (crispy garlic rice cake, egg, onions, tomatoes, fish sauce)

Smoked Fish & “Fried Rice” Cake

One of my favorites despite the fact that I do not like crispy rice. The smoked trout is delicious. Freshness still comes through despite the fact that it’s smoked. Love this tinapa. If you do love rice cakes, you will love this fried garlic rice version.

Waffle Dog 3 (banana “ketchup”)

Waffle Dog

This brought back memories…yes, memories of my school-going years. I remember there’s another variety to this, the waffle cheese. It’s a stick of cheese encased in waffled batter. The waffle batter is just like I remembered it. Nice and fluffy. The only thing I would change with this is probably have the banana ketchup on the side.

Pork Lechon Tacos with Cilantro and Slaw 7 (onions, garlic, jalapeños, mr. tom’s sauce, flour tortilla)

Pork Lechon Tacos with Cilantro and Slaw

The pork lechon was very crispy and flavorful. It did mention a sauce (Mr. Tom’s Sauce) but I don’t know what it taste like. I actually prefer it to have a little bit more sauce of some kind to break apart the crunchiness and chewiness of the pork lechon. Maybe a Mang Tomas? Maybe that’s what Mr. Tom’s is? Hmm…If it is, I wish there was more because it would make it perfect.

Braised Oxtail in Curried Peanut Sauce 12 (kare kare with steamed jasmine rice, eggplant, bok choy, long beans, okra)

Braised Oxtail in Curried Peanut Sauce

This is THE favorite. Not your typical “kare-kare” swimming in sauce but the flavor’s there. This is what I’m talking about. Tastes exactly like the original without looking like an oily mess. The flavors are there, if not refined (in my opinion). The meat was super tender but not exactly fall-off the bone. I love that the vegetables still has some crunch. And of course, there’s no other way around it but it’s best with steaming hot white rice.

Pork Shoulder & Blood Stew with Puto 10 (dinuguan with tamarind broth, ginger, serrano chilies, cilantro, fried onions)

Pork Shoulder & Blood Stew with Puto

Another like. This time I would prefer it if there’s more sauce. I love a dinuguan with tamarind broth in it. The addition of the fried onions is really wonderful. And the puto was soft, pillowy, creamy and dense. Would’ve been perfect for dipping into the sauce if there were some but they were good on their own.

Coconut Lychee Sorbet 4

Coconut Lychee Sorbet

This wonderful sorbet was created by Pastry Chef Charmaine (I hope I spelled her name correctly). It is a wonderful palate cleanser as it was wonderfully fresh. I loved the toasted popped rice that provided crunch and texture to a creamy creation.

Purple Yam Ice Cream Sandwich with Pan de Sal 5

Purple Yam Ice Cream Sandwich with Pan de Sal

I died when I took a taste of the “Ube” (purple yam) ice cream. It is exactly what ube ice cream should taste like if it were made from scratch, not the manufactured flavor that we have gotten used to because it’s the only one available in the market. It has such distinct “halayang ube” flavor. OMG. I want a gallon. Yes, like maybe every week.

Turon ( Fried Banana Lumpia) 5

Turon ( Fried Banana Lumpia)

Turon is one of those dishes where everybody will say “my mom/dad/aunt/lola/tita makes the best ever turon”. It’s good…banana is sweet along with the jack fruit and fried till crispy. Not overly sweet.

Melon Agua Fresca 3

Melon Agua Fresca

Refreshing!

It was a wonderful dinner courtesy of Bobby of The Point. Totally memorable with a lot of the dishes that are traditional yet made new because of different presentation or techniques. Hopefully there’s more Flip Nights at The Point in the near future.

On a regular basis The Point serves breakfast and lunch. And you can visit them in Culver City.

The Point
Monday – Friday
Breakfast: 9 am – 11 am
Lunch: 11 am – 3 pm
Coffee & Snacks: 3 pm – 4 pm

310-204-1089
8522 National Blvd, Suite 100,
Culver City, CA 90232

xo, Emilie