Most often than not its hard to bring foreign friends outside to try Filipino food because it's either the restaurant is too fancy for that it doesn't give them the real taste of "Pinoy" food anymore or it's too lousy that they will not like it.
This restaurant named after one of Filipino's National Artist "Juan Luna" truly embodies the idea of Filipino restaurant serving authentic Pinoy food. So when my principal from Malaysia came in for a market visit we straight away went to Luna J since it's quite near to my office...
We are a bit familiar of their menu because we have already visited this for some times. Here's what we ordered.
Ensaladang Itlog Na Maalat. A very common staple food in every Filipino home. Basically, a salted egg with fresh tomato and onions. So appetizing!
Ensaladang Talong. Grilled eggplant, peeled and topped with fresh tomatoes and onions with a bit sweet and salty fermented shrimp.
Gising gising. Winged bean sautéed with coconut milk and lots of chili. It's so spicy that your senses will be awaken. Gising is a Filipino word for "wake up!".
Kinilaw na Tanigue. Fresh cuts of Tanigue fish meat topped with green and red chili pepper, onions, and ginger with vinegar, salt and pepper.
Lechon Kawali. Deep fried roasted pork. The crispy popped skin will make you forget the fat and cholesterol hahaha...
Pinakbet. Stir-fried mix vegetables with fermented salty shrimp. A combination of squash, string beans, eggplant, balsam apple and shrimp. A very famous Filipino food from Ilocanos. Their serving is a bit fancy for this, I know because this is a very staple food in my province and we don't put shrimp and we don't normally use fermented shrimp instead use fish paste which I also prefer the taste.
Sisig. One our guest favorite. Its a very tasty pork dish. Basically the pig's face is being roasted and put into the sizzling plate mixed with different seasoning. It doesn't have that umay factor unlike those of the other sisig offered in other restaurant.
Seafood Kare Kare. Always been a fail to approve dish for our dearest Southeast Asian friends. When they first heard of the name they immediately thought of the spicy taste of curry. We know that this dish has always been blunt in taste because we need to put shrimp paste... Haaay! It's frustrating to explain how Pinoy love this dish...
Chicken and Pork Adobo. This one is seriously acceptable to them. They love it actually! Same as how we love it too...
Sinangag. Basic garlic rice topped with salted eggs and fresh tomatoes sprinkled with spring onions... I find it redundant to the ensaladang itlog na maalat.
Sago't Gulaman. A very common Pinoy refreshment. I didn't get their opinion on this since it's just me to drink the whole glass hahahha
The restaurant's ambience is very modern. They have about 7 tables inside and 6 tables at al fresco. Beer is also served there. Different types actually, but surprisingly they are offering imported beers which means this restaurant intends to cater foreigners who want to try Filipino food right? Hrhrh
It's really flattering to introduce your dishes to foreigners from our neighborhood country . It's nice to know they like some of our food and even compare it to one they accustomed to. However, they say that Pinoy food is always on the "extreme" level. Meaning, our dishes are either too salty (fish paste, salted egg, sinangag) or too sweet, or too sour (Kilawin) or too spicy (Gising gising) hahaha... But i think the spicy part is manageable. As a defense I just said that we always eat them with rice anyways the taste would be balanced.
Over all rate
Budget: 120- 250 per dish.
Here's to summarize my Luna J experience
Taste: JJJLL
Ambience: JJJLL
Service: JJJLL
Value for Money: JJJLLL
MARK MY NAME.
