MELBOURNE | I’ve done many a grocery shop at Footscray Market. The produce is quality and it’s the place to go if you want to buy ingredients to cook Vietnamese food at home. At the back of the market there’s a little food court, and the other day I decided to eat something there for the first time.
There’s a lot that looks appealing, but on this occasion it was Lutong Pinoy that caught my eye. The team at this family run eatery have been serving up traditional Filipino food for over a decade, and there was a lot that looked appealing to me. I decided to go for the lunch combo – two dishes of your choice and rice for $10.00
I opted for the sigsig and dinuguan. Sigsig is one of my favourite Filipino dishes. It’s small, deep fried chunks of pork cheek, snout, ear, liver and belly mixed with egg, onion, chilli, and calamansi. It’s a sweet, sour, and savoury assault on the senses that’s absolutely fantastic.
My other choice, Dinguan, is something I first tried at Jeepney when I was in New York last year. It’s pork offal and meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig’s blood, garlic, chili, and vinegar. The version at Lutong Pinoy is rich and delicious.
There’s a lot that I don’t know about Filipino cuisine yet, and the menu at Lutong Pinoy covers the familiar to the new. Based on this first visit, I’m definitely keen to return and try more.
Lutong Pinoy
18 Irving Street
Footscray
Victoria 3011
Australia
Telephone: n/a
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Website
Open
Tue – Sat: 8:00am to 4:00pm