Filipino food's new wave

Tim Luym isn't quite sure why Filipino food hasn't gone mainstream the way its Asian counterparts have.

Maybe it's the mom-and-pop nature of most Filipino restaurants. Maybe it's the ingredients, which often include all parts of the animal.

"Maybe it just sounds a little more intimidating?" Luym asks.

Whatever the case, Filipino food might just be the next Asian cuisine to hit prime time, following the well-chronicled renaissance of Thai, Vietnamese and, most recently, Korean food in the Bay Area.

Restaurants like Intramuros in South San Francisco and the 2-month-old Attic in San Mateo - where Luym is the consulting chef - have opened in the last two years offering Filipino food in trendy settings.

In San Francisco, Filipino food trucks are now on the prowl, with Adobo Hobo, Senor Sisig and others serving classic street food. Mercury Lounge chef/owner Dominic Ainza is also hosting a series of cooking classes later this month with lumpia and adobo in the spotlight.

"There's been this resurgence of Filipino cooks wanting to look toward their cuisine and push that forward," Luym says. "It's an exciting time."

So with this weekend marking the annual Pistahan Festival at Yerba Buena Gardens - complete with an adobo cook-off, as well as balut and longanisa eating contests - here's a little cheat sheet for Filipino cuisine.

If adobo - or meat stewed in vinegar and soy sauce - is the Philippines' national dish, then sinagang is what Luym calls its "quintessential" dish.

The sour soup gets its punch from tamarind and is chock full of meats and vegetables. While there are various seafood and meat versions, think of sinagang as the tom yum goong of the Philippines.

Sisigs, meanwhile, are diced meats, traditionally seafood like bangus, a.k.a. milkfish, that's been marinated in vinegar and calamansi, a citrus fruit. The fish or meat is then fried and served on sizzling platters.

Meat dishes are also hugely popular, especially when deep-frying is involved. Crispy pata is a deep-fried pork hock, while chicharon bulaklak is like chicharonnes, but with pork ruffles instead of rinds.

Kare-kare is a complex dish of oxtail and tripe and vegetables like eggplant cooked in a rich peanut sauce, served with fermented shrimp paste - the saltiness of which helps cut through the heavy sauce.

And because much of Filipino food is influenced by its Spanish colonial roots, it's common to find paellas and tapas-style dishes like gambas al ajillo, or shrimp in garlic sauce, on menus.

Full-blown Filipino fiestas, like all Asian meals, are served family-style, and will likely include all of the above and pancit, or noodle dishes.

But there's also the street food scene, and Luym recommends doing a casual food hop to complement the offerings at classic restaurants like Patio Filipino in San Bruno or fusion favorite Bistro Luneta in San Mateo.

Among his favorites: the garlicky fried chicken served with banana catsup at Max's, the grilled meat skewers at Fil-Am Cuisine, the bagoong (dried shrimp paste) fried rice at Tribu Grill, and the sweets at House of Sylvanas or Valerios.

"Eating Italian food at Olive Garden will be different from Steps of Rome, which will be different from A16," Luym says. "Opinions will vary, but I think it really helps bring depth to a cuisine."

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E-mail Janny Hu at jhu@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page E - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle