Crispy Town - Tukwila

South Centre Mall in Tukwila at the Seafood City end has become an amazing gathering place of the Filipino community down here. The grocery store itself is outstanding with a tremendous selection of seafood (thus the name) and unique products from the home country and it is surrounded by 5 eateries that feature some of the favourite dishes of the Philippines. And so, even early Sunday morning, the Filipino Americans (and Canadians)  are there in impressive numbers. I have previously reviewed Jolibee, the cornerstone with some frankly, really good fried chicken but this time, I was taken by the newest addition, Crispy Town! At last, a place which without apology, deep fries everything that they serve!

Just so you know,  Crispy Pata is my favourite Filipino dish. It is deep fried pork hock and consists of tender pork and crispy pork skin and a lot of fat. To eat it on a daily basis, would require an on call cardiologist but as a treat, it is unsurpassed.

The full meal deal comes with rice and a side. I had the squash and green beans in coconut milk which was so good. While the pork hock may look like a lot of bone, there is a generous amount of tender meat and crispy pork skin and that is the allure of this dish.

Don't think that veges are any kind of high profile here though!

Assorted chicharon and pork belly are among the choices. To my amazement, Chicharon Bulaklak is neither skin not intestines but what is called mesentry (translated flowered chicharon) and while my Filipino friends tucked in, I tasted and stepped away! I am not a fan of food reviewers who dislike this and that and will not eat things (Guy Fieri will not eat eggs...really? ),  my hero being Anthony Bourdain, but I have had to draw the line at Chicharon Bulaklak. 

Even the deserts are deep fried! Health warnings aside, there is some pretty tasty food to be had here at decent pricing. All of these food places seem OK with sharing their tables with food from other places.We ended up eating our Chow King food, our Jolibee food and our Crispy Town food all together along with our Grill City food at Grill City even though it is not a common food court and no one whined at us. Nice!