If you’re looking for Filipino food in the United States, chances are, it will be served cafeteria-style. There’s nothing wrong with that. I love choosing my bistek and kare kare from a line up of dishes I can see with my own eyes. But not everyone shares my affinity for the lunch line. For them, I am excited to reveal what may well be my new favorite Filipino restaurant in the region.
F&F Filipino Fusion is a stand inside Lotte Plaza in Chantilly, but don’t let that discourage you. If you’re seeking stellar service and flavorful, freshly cooked food delivered right to your table, this is the place. The lady at the counter was immensely helpful in aiding me in my choices based on what she thought the kitchen executes best, combined with some of my preferences.
Though there was no calamansi juice (my favorite sweet-and-sour sipper), I enjoyed a syrupy mango nectar while I waited at my table in the clean, inviting food court. Lumpia Shanghai were out first. The beef-and-veggie-filled eggrolls are exceptionally well-seasoned at F&F. Even better? The vinegar-based dipping sauce that burns with ample raw garlic and a bit of chile.
But as the staffer promised, F&F’s lechon kawali is a standout. Often, the crispy skin-on pork belly suffers from chefs who assume that juicy lard and a crunchy exterior is all the dish needs. Not so here. Chef-owner Irene Bautista Cuison braises the meat to ultra-tenderness in a heavily seasoned broth, meaning a flavor that’s as much about the garlic and bay in which the belly is cooked low and slow as the pork itself. I had resolved to eat only half of the cubes of melting fat beneath crispy skin, but was sunk by the enticing presentation and big flavors, which are amplified by a pair of sweet, tangy dipping sauces.
The menu at F&F is large and beckons a culinary explorer with a taste for comfort food. That means that I’ll be back. A lot. And next time, I’ll be sure to save room for dessert like bico or bilo-bilo.
13955 Metrotech Dr., Chantilly
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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