One of the guys in the office was getting married and folks wanted to do a pot luck....so, I was asked if I could get some of "those chicken wings....you know THOSE chicken wings!" So, I headed down during lunch to put in an order.....I know it's kind of a haul, but I needed to get out of the office for a bit anyway.
After placing my order for pick-up; I was a bit hungry and decided to check out the turo-turo shop in the same mall; Lisa's.
Looking back at old posts; I swear that I've posted on this place before; but the only thing I could find was this "coming soon" post. I know I visited once when they had first opened; but I guess I never did return afterward.
The restaurant is split into two sections; a dining area on one side.....
Which transitions to the BBQ station, then the hot table....
The place was fairly busy as I got to the line where a little old Filipino Grandma walked up and pushed a couple people aside to get into the front.....she must have been pretty hungry! Seems like everyone knew her, so I guess that's the norm here.
The woman working was all business and very efficient. I saw a couple folks getting pretty much the same thing; so I followed their lead and got the Pork Barbecue and the Sisig.
The one thing the woman did that I really liked was she made sure that I got some sinigang. Most places don't even bother if you either aren't Filipino or don't actually ask. The soup had a good amount of the wonderful sourness going on which I appreciated. There was a nice super soft piece of pork and a surprisingly spicy chili. I though the broth was a bit greasy; but heck, for free.....
I did enjoy the barbecue pork which was toothsome, but not tough; the sauce used wasn't too sweet, nor salty, and the savory tones really made it pretty good.
The sisig was not bad either; a bit of spice, not overly waxy, could have used more sour tones, but this wasn't greasy, though I would have appreciated the lechon kawale a bit more crunchy. But, like the pork, this wasn't bad at all.
A couple of weekends later, I had to run some errands down in National City and it was fairly early at around 8 or so. I had earlier noted that Lisa's opens at 7am. I'd be up to Kearny Mesa after this stop to pick up a couple of things, so I decided to drop by and grab something to go.
The woman working on this day was very nice. I really didn't care for the selection on this morning and just went with the Chicken Adobo and the Bistek.
Man, that bag seemed quite hefty. I knew I'd be getting to Nijiya before they opened, so I sat at a table and decided to have breakfast.
Sadly, my favorite item was the garlic rice....while it had some bitter burnt garlic in it. most of it was edible.
The chicken adobo was nice and tender; but it was also greasy and way too salty, in need of more vinegar tones. I just didn't care for the greasiness.
If anything, the bistek was even worse. I'm used to fairly chewy bistek, so that didn't bother me. It was the bloody-metallic taste and the sodium level that did. I'm used to a touch of sour-citrus in bistek, which was lacking here; or perhaps the salty-metallic flavors just cancelled it out.
As with most of these places; the portion size was generous. I'm not sure which of my visits was more indicative of Lisa's. I'll probably stick to lunch when I revisit though. After my arteries recover.
Lisa's Filipino Cuisine
1210 E Plaza Blvd.
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Daily 7am - 8pm
In looking up the address for Lisa's; I noticed that the Otay Lakes location; which CC has posted on in the past seems to have changed name and owners.
At least the bbq pork was good.
Posted by: Soo | Monday, 24 February 2020 at 09:58 AM
And the Sisig wasn't bad Soo.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 24 February 2020 at 10:11 AM
Maybe different chef for breakfast vs lunch?
Posted by: Junichi | Monday, 24 February 2020 at 11:59 AM
Perhaps Junichi. But I think maybe the dishes I had the first time are what they might do well, since several of the folks in front of me ordered them. Sadly, they didn't have them available on my second visit.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 24 February 2020 at 12:04 PM
:(
Posted by: kat | Monday, 24 February 2020 at 01:26 PM
Yes, that second visit wasn't very good Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 24 February 2020 at 01:31 PM
I believe it was renamed "Pensang's" but I'm not sure if it's even there anymore.
Too bad the food was mostly sucky. :(
Posted by: caninecologne | Monday, 24 February 2020 at 03:47 PM
Hi CC - That first visit wasn't bad; but the second...well....
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 25 February 2020 at 06:28 AM