Fredcel Lumpias & Catering Restaurant

This one is thanks to "Dee" who emailed me, and asked what I thought about Fredcel..... I had heard about them, but just in passing. I didn't realize they were located right off University on 38th street. The reason I hadn't seen them before is that I usually zoom by that intersection, and they are located a door or two down the street. But if you look for the bright yellow building, you can't miss them.

After breakfast at El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante, I walked on over. They were closed, but just the photo of the Sisig was enough to bring me back. I don't think I've ever been able to walk away from Sisig.

A few days later, I finally made my way to Fredcel, and walked through the door, tripping the "beeper". The interior is spartan, but clean. The tinsel around the pole made me smile.....it was cheesy, in a nice way.

The steam table held about 10 various offerings. A quiet, but nice young man helped us. I was again with MG, and we were picking up lunch for a couple of us. He was so quiet, that MG first thought he didn't speak Tagalog.....he did of course. The prices here are "bargain city". One item plus rice or pancit is $3.99, two items $4.99, a third item is $2 more.

On this day I decided on the Kaldereta Baka(Beef Kaldereta) and Sisig(my lucky day):

The portion size is not quite the ginormous Tita's Kitchenette-sized plate, but I've heard that prices have now gone over $6 at Tita's. And of course, we don't have to put up with the attitude.

The Kaldereta was interesting. The beef looked tough, but it was fairly tender, with a "fat cap". The flavor was a bit lacking in the tangy, tomato department, in addition it had a bell pepper flavor, without a hint of "heat". It was also too thin and watery. To me, it looked almost looked like a weak Beef Mechado, but I was told it was Kaldereta.

The Sisig was pretty good, at least to my taste. It had a nice bracing, puckery, vinegar flavor, a mild amount of heat, and the Lechon Kawale was still crisp. It was not greasy. A very pleasant version of Sisig.

Speaking of Lechon Kawale......I somehow managed to rationalize("this is going to be 2 meals, so don't worry"), and justify purchasing an order($2) of Lechon Kawale. Mainly because it was sitting there looking all golden and lovely. As Lechon Kawale goes, this was fair to good, crisp but not hard, the fat portions were nice and buttery, and the meat, though on the dry side was not too bad. It was a bit on the bland side, and the lechon sauce was nice, not too sweet, not too "livery".

I did end up sharing everything, which made me feel a bit better. Altogether not a bad meal.

Recently, the Missus was looking to ordering some lumpia for a party. Not wanting to drive all the way down to National City, I mentioned that the prices at Fredcel were pretty good - 100 lumpia/$30. In order to check out the lumpia, I made a Fredcel run.

  Man the plate had a ton of rice on it! What really impressed me as I chomped on my lumpia(I needed a quick taste), was that I was given 6 lumpia! I ate one before deciding to take a photo. The lumpia was not bad, lots of filling, decent flavor, not oily, fairly crisp. Can't ask for much more. I'm not a big fan of the sweet and sour sauce though. It is a neon red, teeth hurting sweet concoction, that has hardened to almost a jelly like texture.

Even though I had arrived at 1130, there were only 4 items on the steam table; pork adobo(of course), the kaldereta, pinakbet(which in retrospect is what I should have ordered), and Menudo, which is what I ordered. The menudo was fairly bland, and was probably the least favorite item I've had from Fredcel.

Before we had checked out Fredcel, MG and I had wondered if people enjoyed this place simply because it was the only place that served Filipino food in the vicinity. But overall, the food was decent, and it's a good value to boot. And the Missus is ordering the lumpia from Fredcel for Her party........

Fredcel Lumpia & Catering
3876 38th Street
San Diego, CA 92105

Open - Mon-Sat 9am-9pm
       Sun 9am - 7pm

Thanks for letting me know about Fredcel Dee!

Comments

[janfrederick]

Better service than Goldilocks? ;)

[nhbilly]

Haven't really had Filipino food before but I sure do love roasted pork.

[Carol]

A good Beef Kaldereta is probably my favorite, next to a good pancit. There's a new turo turo place in Poway called Amerasian Cuisine that has decent beef "caldereta", although not at Fredcel prices (2 items for $6.99). Supposedly their Kare-Kare is very good, although I haven't seen it the 2 times I've been there. If you're in the vicinities and craving Filipino food...well, that is your only choice unless you drive into Mira Mesa, hehe.

[Dee]

Thanks for the review, Kirk! Nothing against Yelpers (I'm a Yelper myself), but I prefer getting my reviews from you. Can't wait to get me some of that sisig!

[Captain Jack]

Rice + 1 entry for $3.99. Seems cheap, but what (or whom) do you get to enter? You should send that photo into Maxim magazine.

[kat]

not too familiar with filipino food, but the lumpia sounded delicious! don't know about the sweet sour sauce though...

[Shirley]

Mang Fred use to cater out of their basement apt in Nat'l City. I think he still does but only on weekends as my friend ordered 200 lumpias and pancit from him this past Saturday. I've not gone to FredCel (Cely is his wife) yet but the office has ordered from FredCel - lumpias and pancit for one of our office gatherings. Not bad and his prices aren't bad, either.

[Kirk]

Hi Jan - Light years better.....

Hi Billy - One bite of good lechon kawale, and you'll be a goner.

Hi Carol - I've gotten another recommendation for that place, so I'll have to stop by.

Hi Dee - you know, I really don't do reviews per se....I just like to eat. The Sisig was pretty good, not as balanced as Conchings, but if you enjoy a good amount of vinegar, you may enjoy it. Thanks again for the recommendation!

Hi CJ - You gotta love the signs......

Hi Kat - It was almost like jello, and looked so day glo red, it was kinda scary.

Hi Shirley - I kinda liked the lumpia.....the prices can't be beat.

[tastymealsathome]

Yum! We love lumpias. We actually tried making them at home but it they turned out bad. We used wonton wrappers before we realized there are special lumpia wrappers available. We really like your site!

[kirk]

Hi TMAH - Yes, you'd need lumpia wrappers....if you have more problems you can "double wrap" them. I've been enjoying your blog as well.

[Omar]

Hi Kirk,

I'd had enough: after reading your descriptions of all these great pork dishes, I took the opportunity offered by a day of work in National City to stop into a place called "Goldilocks", and seeing sisig on the menu, ordered it up.

I don't think what I got was a good representation of the dish. It was scorched on the bottom but not hot enough on top to cook the raw egg they opened over the pile of pork. But... I could see what they were going for, and I'm intrigued. Being from the Southeastern U.S., I like my pork fat, especially if there's vinegar and spice on it.

So, where would you recommend I go for "ultimate" sisig, lechon kawale, and other pork dishes?

Best,
Omar

PS Goldilocks is also a bakery that offers all sorts of custom cakes, as well as a personal favorite: baked custard, referred to there as "egg pie". It was great.

[Kirk]

Hi Omar - You are kidding, right? I thought you kept up with our posts? I'm so hurt! ;o)

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2008/06/goldilocks-asia.html

We've been to various locations of Goldilocks many times...it's probably one of the biggest chains, outside of Jollibee, in the Phillipines.
I enjoy the Sisig from Conching the best. Though if you really want to take a road trip:

http://www.onmyplate.org/2006/08/patio_filipino__1.html

http://www.onmyplate.org/2006/09/tribu_grill.html

They probably have the traditional Pig Head Sisig at those places.

As for Lechon Kawale...many times it can be a matter of timing. Getting the lechon kawale when it is fresh and just cut is best. At some places you can see people appear out of nowhere when they hear the chopping of the lechon. I thought Point-Point and Pinoy Fiesta were both good when the lechon was fresh.

[Omar]

Hi Kirk,

Sorry to hurt your feelings. I get busy with work, the Padres, and socializing, and forget to read. I'll search before commenting in future.

As for Goldilocks, I had the same sort of wait til I got tired of it. I eventually presented my substantial bulk to the menu lady and asked her to walk with me to the empty table I wanted to use. She was surprised but helpful, and insisted that the waiter come to me right away. I actually had to shoo him away so I could eat in peace. Can't be too nice when there's pork on the line...

Finally, re: sisig, is that egg supposed to stay raw? The waiter told me to stir it into my pork to "cook" it. I love food that comes with instructions!

Cordially,

[jeff c]

Kirk, looking at this post, I can see how filipino food influenced th cuisine of Hawaii. Reading your blog is like a cultural taxonomy of Hawaiian cuisine.
Cheers,

[Kirk]

Hi Jeffrey - You're right...lots of rice, lots of salt(in a good way), and lots of protein.....

[Porta Rickin Rick]

So, I was having lunch down at Tita's today, and for some unknown reason, on my way out, I saw a Fredcel van (with decals on the sides) leaving from Tita's. Is it possible that they purchase their Lechon here (there were several pigs laying around inside)? I have not made it over to Fredcel yet, but would definitely stop there more often if it can be construed as a closer version of Tita's!

[Kirk]

Hey PRR - It could be, but more likely is that Fredcel had a very large, or several catering gigs, and couldn't handle the amount. Or it could be that Fredcel will do Lechon Kawale, but not whole pigs...I didn't see a price for whole pig on their catering menu. Many places help each other out...when Da Kine's has too much catering work, they've used Mo's to help them out. The portion sizes are smaller at Fredcel, but Fredcel is cheaper. The Kaldereta and Menudo at tita's is better, but Fredcel is not as oily(not necessarily a good thing). Still, if you live in the area you should check them out, I thought the Sisig was pretty good, and the lumpia is as well.

[Jenn]

Just a comment on the Fredcel at Tita's thing ... umm .. THERE IS A FILIPINO GROCERY STORE CALLED 'FAMILY LOOMPYA' RIGHT ACROSS FROM TITA'S. And thats kind of an insult to the family, knowing them personally. They don't order from anywhere else.. Don't assume, please. THANKS. (:

OH AND YES, THEY HAVE A WHOLE PIG ON THEIR MENU.

[Kirk]

Hi Jenn - Welcome and thanks for the comment. I need to ask...who did I insult? I don't recall anything insulting written in the comments section. I just said that FredCel's does not have whole pig on their menu, so maybe they are getting some help from Tita's. What does that have to do with Family Loopmya? Tita's is usally who I recommend when folks ask for whole pig, so what's the problem. BTW, I shop at Family Loompya all the time. I guess this thing about assumptions cuts both ways.

[RightCowLeftCoast]

Kirk, have you ever thought of a Sisig pizza? It's been done: http://geekofalltrades.wordpress.com/2006/12/29/greenwich-sisig-pizza-vs-red-egg-pizza/ I recently made one using the Sisig from Tita's Kitchenette, and let me tell you it is heavenly.