M was in the mood for something “different” and I kinda ran out of ideas…but since I have never had Filipino food, I thought we could go with Scarface to Kulinarya in Coquitlam.
This little restaurant in just north of Coquitlam Mall and specializes in Filipino food. Since M and I had no idea what we were ordering, we just left it to ScarFace to order all the food.
The interior is very small, so it does get busy during peak times. Since we went at 2pm, it wasn’t busy at all.
The menu can be found on the walls or just on the paper menu that is given.
Drink Dessert Menu
You get a small dish of complementary corn nuts. These corn nuts were very good and lightly seasoned. Much better than the corn nuts you buy at the store. It is light and airy so biting into it is no problem at all.
Calamansi Juice ($2) is essentially lime juice made out of calamansi- the tiny tiny Filipino limes. It tastes very good and it’s something you should try.
The Sago Gulaman ($3.50) is a popular Filipino refreshment served in a tall glass. It is made of sugar water, shredded ice, jellies and tapioca balls.
The waiter said the drink is similar to Taiwanese Bubble Tea, but it’s only the “bubble-like” texture of the tapioca balls and jellies that is similar. The drink was alright, but I wouldn’t order it again.
We started off with the Ginataang Baka ($12). It is beef with various vegetables in coconut curry type of sauce. Their version has potatoes, carrots, celery, peas and onions.
The beef was very tender and it was basically like a curry. For $12, it didn’t seem worth it for the price since you can’t really eat it on it’s own.
We also ordered the large Garlic Rice ($4.50). We used this to accompany the Ginataang Baka. The addition of the garlic was just great! Very aromatic!
The second dish was ordered was the Pinakbet ($9). It has pork and vegetables in a shrimp paste sauce. This was different than the usual Pinakbet as Scarface told us. It was missing quite a few ingredients than the traditional Pinakbet.
This one has okra, green beans, bitter melon, eggplant and green onions. This tasted all right and the the ingredients tasted quite fresh. I loved the okra, I think I was the only one that ate them all. I really didn’t like the bitter melon in this dish, but I know some people do like it.
The most memorable dish of this meal was the Sizzling Sisig ($10). It is crispy minced pork served on a sizzling plate. On the middle of the plate is a raw egg. You must mix everything together and it’s just so delicious. Don’t eat this dish on your own because it’s filled with a lot of calories! The taste is so good, but it’s best with a bit of rice as well because it’s quite oily.
Overall, the food was not bad and it’s great to see what Filipino Cuisine tastes like. The only issue is that a lot of the menu items are hard to choose from because if you aren’t familiar with the items, you have no idea what you are ordering. Plus, a few of the dishes are quite expensive and can rack up your bill.
Words of Wisdom:
- Free Parking in the front
- A bit expensive
- Pretty good authentic Filipino food
- Sizzling Sisig is highly recommended
- Busy during peak hours
- Popular for take out
We Rate Kulinarya: 
Address:
114 – 2922 Glen Drive
Coquitlam, BC
Website:
www.kulinarya.ca
