Manilla Sunset - Tukwila

Southcentre Mall in Tukwila has become a bit of a gathering place for the Filipino community from places far and wide. The grocery store Seafood City is essentially a Filipino / Asian store where products are available from the home country, many of which are rare over here including in the Vancouver area. Additionally, there are several fast and not so fast food outlets and a bakery, nested around the grocery store including the famous Jolli Bee where we often see line ups of more than 40 people. Now the overflow has reached across the street to Manila Sunset, a restaurant located in an adjacent strip mall, which we noticed on our most recent visit to the area.

Casual but comfortable with a menu of Filipino favourites, we decided to give it a try.

We started by trying Tokwat Baboy which is essentially deep-fried tofu and some pork cuts in a soy sauce and vinegar type marinade. It was quite good with the tofu being crispy and a generous amount of pork.

Next up was their Fresh Lumpia. Most folks are probably more familiar with the deep-fried version but I always enjoy the un-fried with a tasty vegetable filling, sweetish garlic sauce, and peanuts. They did well with this.

Marie enjoyed the Dinuguan. This is basically a pork stew with vinegar and blood in the gravy. Personally, it is not my favorite thing. I find that the gravy tends to be a bit organy/irony tasting. I guess that it's a bit of an acquired taste.

I had the Beef Tapa served with rice and soup. To be honest (and why wouldn't I be) the first few pieces of this thinly sliced and char-grilled beef was quite tough. Other pieces were quite tender. I'm not sure how that happens. With an over-easy egg on top, I was content overall with this dish.

Served also with soup, this is a slightly sour (tamarind) concoction called Sinigang. It had a few greens and tomatoes and was quite tasty.

Relatively inexpensive and comfortable enough, we like Manilla Sunset. There had been a little more attention paid to the decor than with many Filipino places that we have visited. The service was efficient and friendly enough.

For what it's worth, we give Manila Sunset 3 out of 5.