Les Sabilano, co-owner of Lamesa Filipino Kitchen

Filipino food in Toronto is not one of those ethnic foods that is as popular with the general population as Indian or Thai, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a vibrant Filipino food scene in and around the city.  If you look hard enough you’ll find small restaurants who are trying to bring their cuisine to the masses.

I’ve never had Filipino food before and I’m not familiar with the dishes or ingredients that make up the cuisine of this country of 7,107 islands.  I’m ashamed to admit this, but, the only food item from the Philippines that I knew of was balut.

A couple weeks ago I sat down with Les Sabilano, co-owner of Lamesa Filipino Kitchen, to learn a little bit about his background, his restaurant and about Filipino food in general.  I also had the opportunity to attend a media night in which Chef Rudy Boquila showcased dishes from his brunch and dinner menus.

Les Sabilano, co-owner of Lamesa Filipino Kitchen

Les’s family owned a Filipino grocery store and in 1987 opened up their first restaurant.  Knowing that one day he might have to take over the family business he enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at George Brown after completing his Business Management degree from the University of Toronto.

At Lamesa, Les manages the day to day operations of the restaurant using hospitality and front of the house management skills that he honed from six years he spent working at Canoe and Jump.

Where did the name Lamesa Filipino Kitchen come from?

We were looking for something that was Filipino and easy to pronounce,  we also chose it because of it’s spelling.  In Spanish ‘la’ and ‘mesa’ are two separate words meaning ‘the table’, but in some Filipino dialects it became one word, ‘lamesa’, to mean table.  We thought it spoke to the Spanish heritage of the country and when we explain this to people it sort of opens up the conversation about the heritage and culture of the country.

 What are some typical ingredients and dishes that make up Filipino food?

It’s a big mixture.  You get dishes with the the Spanish heritage like stews.  You’d also find flavours that are considered Latino or even Mexican because the Philippines, being closer to Mexico than Spain, was actually governed by Mexico during the Spanish colonization.  Through the Manila Galleon trade we were exposed to things like potatoes tomatoes and a lot of other ingredients that were not indigenous to the country, and these became part of the cuisine.

Who has been the biggest influence on your career?

In terms of hospitality, I would have to say the people over at Oliver and Bonacini.  They had the biggest influence on me as far as training and education in the field.  Even my staff inspires me because they want to see this place succeed and they pour a lot of their heart and soul into this place.  They always come up with great ideas on things we can do and improving things that we are doing.

What’s your earliest food related memory?

I would say being in my parents restaurant and their store.  In my preteen years they opened their first restaurant in Scarborough and I remember that I’d always be in the kitchen watching them cook.  We were right across the street from a church that had a big Filipino congregation and after mass there would be a huge line up of people waiting to get in.  During the summers I’d spend a lot of time in the store helping them stock the shelves.

If you could cook a meal for someone, who would it be and what would you serve?

I guess I’d have to say my favorite aunt who passed away because of cancer. She never got to see this place or what we do with Filipino food, she was a really big influence on my life in general.  If I could cook a meal for her and she can get to see my kids and my wife well that would just be, I don’t know, an unbelievable feeling.

Do you have any plans to expand?

If we could establish a solid customer base for this place then we can start looking at places like Mississauga where there’s a big Filipino population.  The Filipinos there are younger, they have the disposable income, they’re young professionals but they’re more open to a contemporary take on Filipino food versus the older generation that is looking for the more traditional fare.

What are you doing to increase the popularity of Filipino food in Toronto?

We try to make our menu very approachable to people who are unfamiliar to Filipino food.  Our menu items are pretty recognizable like fried chicken, roast beef, ribs and things like that, but, we try to infuse these dishes with Filipino flavours as an introduction to the cuisine. So although it’s not the traditional version, at least you’re getting an exposure to the flavours in a dish that you’re comfortable with.

Chef Rudy Boquila & Les Sabilano

The other co-owner of Lamesa is Chef Rudy Boquila who has worked in Toronto for a number of years in such places as the Gladstone Hotel and Oyster Boy.

A few days after chatting with Les, I was invited to Lamesa’a new menu launch event, where myself and quite a few other guests were given the opportunity to sample dishes from Chef Rudy’s new brunch and dinner menu.    Chef Rudy spends his time in the kitchen and lets his food speak volumes for him.

Here are some of the dishes we sampled that night:

The Shand Miguel- San Miguel Beer and Calamansi Juice

Even though it was a cold night outside I really enjoyed this. The San Miguel beer , from the largest brewery in the Philippines, and the calamansi juice, from a variety of lime that’s grown in the Philippines, reminded me a little of Corona.  This is the perfect drink for a hot summer day.

Deep fried pork trotter with pickles and three house made dipping sauces

I am not a big fan of pork but I enjoyed this dish with their house made hot sauce.  The hot sauce did pack a little heat but it was very flavourful.

French Toast Turon – Egg dipped bread with sweet plantain and jackfruit wrapped in spring roll served with coconut whip

This was one of my favorite dishes of the night .  I expected this to be very sweet since it contained plantain and jackfruit but it wasn’t at all.  If I was given a bowl of the whipped coconut foam and a spoon I would’ve been a very happy man, it was that good.

Lumpia – Ground pork spring rolls served with housemade banana ketchup

The spring rolls were good but I think the ketchup stole the spotlight in this dish.

Pork and Pancakes – Sarsi braised pork with corn and coconut pancakes and jackfruit syrup

A delicious sweet and savory dish.  The fluffy pancake and the tender pork topped with some more coconut cream all worked perfectly together.

Bicol Express Fries – Pork, coconut milk, chilies and bagoong over house made fries

I guess you can call this Chef Rudy’s version of Filipino poutine.  I loved this dish.  The savory pork topped fries was covered with a rich sauce made from creamy coconut milk, chiles and baboong (fermented shrimp paste).

Fried Chicken Adobo – Crispy fried chicken with garlic puree, pickled chayote and an adobo gastrique

Juicy, lightly battered fried chicken and rich garlicky sauce, what’s not to love in this dish?

Ginataan Gulay – Roasted squash, beans, greens, eggplant with a coconut cream sauce

Beautiful looking dish, but I didn’t enjoy this one as mush as others.

Halo Halo Toppings

Halo Halo – coconut strings, sweet purple yam, sugar, palm fruit, jackfruit with buko pandan ice cream w/ shaved ice and carnation milk

This was a great way to end the meal, make your own halo halo at the bar.

Contact information for Lamesa Filipino Kitchen:

Address: 669 Queen Street West,Toronto ON M6J 1E6, Canada
Tel:(647) 346-2377
Twitter: @LamesaTO
Instagram: LamesaTo

*This meal was complimentary.*