Janeca and I are on a mission to taste all the amazing 🇵🇭 Filipino Restaurants in Melbourne. Today we visited Tambayan Restaurant and Grill in Cairnlea Town Centre.

Crispy Pata – Deep fried pork knuckle. We loved this platter. The skin was so crunchy! Served with a traditional soy-vinegar sauce. Great for 3 or 4 people to share.

Longganisa Sausage – Tambayan make their longganisa spice sausages in house, and it shows. These sausages are a Filipino breakfast classic. Served with egg, salad and garlic rice. Great dish for one or two to share.

Pinakbet – This steamed dish was sumptuous collection of bitter melon, okra, lady’s finger, eggplant & string beans with shrimp and pork. The fresh vegetables paired perfectly with the salty sauce.

Pancit Bihon – These noodles is a great sharing dish. Large amounts of shrimp, chicken and vegetables mixed with noodles. Squeeze some lemon on top for extra flavour!

Halo Halo – In Tagalog, this dessert means “mix-mix”. It includes shaved ice topped with ice cream, ube, beans, coconut, fruit and toasted young rice. That’s a lot of toppings. This is a great finish to any feast.

Sago at Gulaman – This sweet drink has pandan jellies and tapioca pearls. It’s found all of the Philippines in street vendors. Tambayan uses traditional ingredients and generous portions in it’s version. We really loved it.

“Tambayan” means “hangout place” in Tagalog, the Filipino language. This restaurant lives up to it’s name, and is a great place to hangout with friends & family to enjoy food. If you’re looking for your Filipino fix, we’d recommend visiting Tambayan!

Thanks to the owner, Mike for inviting us to his restaurant.