Filipino cuisine appeared regularly on my lunch roster when working in the Katong neighbourhood of Singapore. Singapore is an immigrant food paradise ━ with Filipino being the fourth largest ethnic group making up the country’s population, the cuisine is bound to infuse the daily life of the immigrants.
When I left Singapore, I knew I’d miss Filipino cuisine, which has yet to spread in Indonesia. And I carried a similar assumption when I moved to Melbourne almost two years later. Though I have heard of Filipino restaurants in Melbourne before, I had yet to cross paths with any.
That’s until we ventured to the West.
The first time we had Filipino cuisine in Melbourne was in 2021. After we went for a house inspection, we saw Chibog and decided to check it out on a whim.
Filipino Cuisine Feast in West Melbourne
I remember sitting near the window, ordering the food and enjoying the food while spending the whole time discussing the house we just saw. We tried to weigh the pros and cons of the house, but we couldn’t find many cons ━ except for the hideous furniture and lighting fixtures.
Fast forward many moons later, we moved into the house, brought in our furniture and removed the light fixtures, and to celebrate, we went to Chibog again because it felt right to celebrate at the same place where we started.
We ordered Chibok Bok (chicken wings with sweet and spicy glaze) this time. It was fried to perfection and was Fafa’s favourite.
Meanwhile, my ultimate favourite of Filipino Cuisine has been and will always be Pork Sisig (sizzling crispy pork), so we got it too. It was good too, but the ones I had in Singapore were better.
We also got Adobong Isda (fish cooked in Filipino cuisine, traditional adobo style ━ with soy sauce, garlic, vinegar and some chilli). For me, this was an acquired taste dish that might need a few more tries before liking.
For drinks, I requested the alcoholic version of the Ube mocktail. It was rich and divine, but it didn’t stop me from ordering another decadent, heavenly dessert: a layered pandan cake (which reminded me of “Singapore’s” layer cake).
We left Chibog stuffed and happy ━ , precisely the celebratory feeling we had when we got the house, but translated through a Filipino cuisine dine-in.
Chibog address: 553 Barkly St, West Footscray VIC 3012.
Follow me on Instagram @KultureKween for more recent updates.
