Walking into this small store-front eatery, the first thing I noticed was how clean and fresh every thing looked. Bahay Kahayan, is very reminiscent of the more upscale eateries I frequented during my stay in Manila. Bahay Kayayan, serves buffet style, allowing you to pick and chose what dishes you wanted. The prices are $4.95 for a single item and $5.95 for a two-item plate. Each plate comes with your choice of rice or pancet (a light rice noodle with seasoning and shrimp) and a soup of the day.
I chose the two-item plate and had Chicken stew along with my all time favorite, chicken adobo. Chef Thelma was kind enough to throw on a langanisa (Filipino sausage) for me. Langanisa is like a Portuguese sausage with a slightly sweet taste. They are reddish in color and packed full of pork sausage. The flavor is a cross between an Italian sausage and a hot dog, with a hint of sweetness making it lighter in taste, than a typical sausage. I practically lived on langanisa and adobo during my stay in the Philippines.
I couldn’t decide between rice and panciet, so I got half and half on my plate. All this food was a bargain at $5.95, now if it tasted as good as it looked it just may be the best bargain find in Los Alamitos.
I first bit into the Chicken adobo and was instantly flooded with memories of living in Manila. It was just like I remembered; sweet, succulent, and tangy with soy sauce, vinegar and pepper corn. The sweetness melting with the tangy soy sauce, mixed with whole pepper corns was delightful. Next, I tried the chicken stew and in each bite the chicken was moist and rich in flavorful creamy sauce. The langanisa was cooked to perfection with a hard taught outer red casing that snapped as I bit into it. It was sweet and full of flavor, just as I had remembered them.
The food was fantastic and the service was exceptional, Thelma has been cooking in kitchens both here and in the Philippines since the age of twelve she says her secret is she cooks from the heart with love. Believe me when I tell you it shows in her flavor and the taste of her food.
I’m told Bahay Kahayan prepares catered trays for parties along with catering and is occasionally opened on Sundays for special events and celebrations.
Stop in to Bahay Kahayan for some authentic Filipino food and say hello to Thelma and tell them Rick Foster sent you.
