Casa Filipina Restaurant and Bakeshop

While Filipino cuisine may not enjoy the same widespread recognition as some other Asian counterparts, a trip to Casa Filipina in Phoenix can easily remedy that.   My introduction to the cuisine was a delicious chicken and okra adobo cooked by a Filipino chef friend (Mita's Kitchen Table) when I lived in Beverly, Massachusetts in the late 1990s. I was immediately hooked on this dish with its distinctive vinegary braise.  Imagine how happy I was to find this Arizona spot.  

Casa Filipina owners, husband and wife Tony and Tess, are culinary school graduates who worked in resorts before opening their bakery in 2006, and in 2007 expanded into a restaurant. Hallmarks of Filipino cooking include the influence of centuries of Spanish colonial rule and its proximity to Malaysia and China. Trying Filipino food for the first time? Start with classic dishes such as lumpiang Shanghai (thin, crispy spring rolls), chicken adobo (braised with garlic and vinegar), pancit (stir-fried rice noodles), chicken inasal (marinated grilled chicken seasoned with annatto and served with pancit and rice) or lechon kawali (crispy pork belly).

There are also helpful photos on the wall behind the dessert cases.   The menu is divided into categories such as beef, pork, chicken, noodles, and fish, so there is plenty to explore.  My personal favorite (not always available,  I suggest calling ahead) is sizzling binagoongan with roast pork, eggplant, and an ingredient called bagaoong, an umami flavor bomb of fermented shrimp or fish paste.  I'm addicted to the earthy-funky saltiness it imparts. 

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Sizzling binagoongan

Dessert is also a star, as you'll see when you enter.  Be sure to save room for a halo-halo ("mix-mix") , and remember to take some baked goods home too. It will be quite a while before I work my way through the treats that fill their cases, but some favorites are the sapin-sapin (a layered glutinous rice dessert),  pastries using ube (purple yam), coconut tarts, and tiramisu made with marsala wine.  And I'm sure to leave with pan de leche (sweet bread) and pan de sal (salted rolls), along with the best banana bread in town. 

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One of my favorite restaurants in the West Valley, this gem is not to be missed.  

Fried peanuts with garlic

Pickled green papaya relish with peppers, garlic, carrots, and raisins

Sweet buns topped with whipped butter, cheese, and sugar

Sweet rolls stuffed with ube/purple yam filling.

Sweet rolls filled with coconut

Part of the menu

Lumpiang Shanghai

Sago at gulaman (a Filipino drink with gelatin, tapioca pearls, crushed ice).

Sisig - chopped pork including pig ears and jowl sauteed with garlic and onions, garnished with jalapenos

Pancit, rice noodles with vegetables and chicken and served with puto (steamed rice cake)

Kare-kare (pork stew in a peanut sauce garnished with green beans)

Bagoong (shrimp paste) served with the kare-kare

Sinigang na Baboy (a soup with pork and vegetables in a tamarind broth)

Pata - braised and fried pork hock.

Cut up pata.

Chicken adobo - braised with vinegar, garlic and soy sauce

Lechon kawali

Tagong - omelette with eggplant and ground pork

Chicken inasal

Turon - banana spring rolls

Sapin-sapin, 3-layer glutinous rice cake with ube (purple yam), macapuno (coconut), and langka (jackfruit)

Macapuno/coconut tart, eclair, tiramisu made with marsala wine

Purple yam (ube) desserts including ube and cheese stuffed pastry, tart, cheesecake, and mousse torte.

Halo Halo (crushed ice, evaporated milk, mung beans, jackfruit, attap, sweet garbanzos, topped with flan and Tess' homemade ube ice cream)

Kirti being shown the proper way to mix

Casa Filipina is located at 3531 W Thunderbird Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85053,  Phone: (602) 942-1258