New Manila Express

Traffic going from the San Fernando Valley to Eagle Rock is usually rough, but going for dinner in the middle of the week is too stressful even for this car-lover.  So when I had a craving for Filipino food, a friend and I headed to New Manila Express in Canoga Park.  Even for the typical point-point, steam table type of Filpino place, New Manila Express was on the lesser end of the spectrum.

Good

It’s good that they have parking, though.  A small but sufficient lot right in front of the joint makes parking convenient.  Also, they carry a decent assortment of dry goods that are pretty much staples for most Filipino households – SkyFlakes crackers, Cal-Rose rice in huge bags, fish sauce and coconut vinegar, as well as other snacky things and mixes – so you can stock up in the same trip.  Yes, New Manila Express certainly tries to make life easier.

longanisa, rice, and pork adobo at New Manila Express

Not so much

You’d think a place like that would also try to make food that keeps people coming back, right?  Um…not so much.  The rice – and here I get all Filipino about things – is great.  Not too sticky, not too dry, with just the right amount of moisture so that it can absorb sauces without feeling plain and starchy when eaten alone.  But the rest of the food, the food we came for, was a disappointment.

People in other reviews have spoken highly of their sisig, the traditional version of the filling I had in a delicious burrito at White Rabbit Cafe.  Sadly, we didn’t have a chance to try the sisig at New Manila Express because they had less than a full portion left at 7, when we arrived for dinner.  Switching gears, I ordered a Filipino food staple:  adobo.  I rarely get to have pork adobo because I try to make food that appeals to everyone in my household, so this looked to be a real treat for me.

I was so wrong.

Greasy, underseasoned adobo is always a giant NO for me.  But when the super oily sauce covers up chunks of pork that are 80% inedible, fatty grossness (well, an average of 80% fat), the dish turns into a NEVER AGAIN.  The flavors in the sauce were muted somehow, muddy in a way because there was a heaviness that could only be cut by liberal doses of the aforementioned coconut vinegar.

The longanisa – a spiced, sweet pork sausage cooked until the casing blisters and caramelizes – was meaty and had the right amount of sweetness, but could’ve used a lot more pepper and garlic in the seasoning to give it a more well-rounded flavor.  Also, it was exceedingly greasy.  Covered in a thick, heavy sheen of oil, it left the skin around my mouth feeling in need of a good scrubbing.

Maybe I’ll go back earlier in the day, maybe for lunch, to see if their sisig redeems them for me.  But I don’t think it’ll be anytime soon.  There’s only so much grease I can handle in a year, and New Manila Express has already exceeded my limit.

New Manila Express
7560 Winnetka Ave, Canoga Park, CA 91306
(818) 773-8882