Every time we find ourselves in Queens, we usually go to the Filipino chain restaurants like Red Ribbon Bakeshop for the requisite Mocha Roll, Chocolate Mousse, Mango Supreme Cake or Sans Rival and/or Chickenjoy with Peach Mango Pie from Jollibee. But during our last Queens jaunt, we passed by House of Inasal – “Home of the Best Ilonggo Inasal”. The best indeed?
With such a bold claim, we decided to go in. Do they really have the best inasal? You can’t announce that and not be ready to back it up.
In case you’re wondering what inasal is, here’s what I found from here:
“The chicken inasal is a popular dish from the City of Bacolod, Philippines. Unlike the usual barbecue or grilled chicken that uses soy sauce, this dish uses different ingredients for its marinade and basting sauce that create a unique flavor. The smoked flavor added by cooking the meat on a hot charcoal grill imbibes the marinade and makes the dish tastier. This dish is also distinct for its yellowish color brought about by the application of achuete or annatto oil.
“Unlike the chicken inasal found in other parts of the Philippines, like in Manila, the Bacolodnon chicken inasal is not served on banana leaf plates. Carinderias along the streets of Bacolod serve the inasal skewered on bamboo sticks right off the grill. This dish is best eaten with garlic rice and basting sauce.”
Now I don’t claim to be an inasal expert, but I’ve eaten enough chicken inasal to form my own opinion.
This is their Chicken Inasal marinated in lemongrass, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and vinegar.
We also ordered other food because we can never say no to Filipino food, after all. A typical order is Lumpia Sariwa, which is sauteed vegetables wrapped in egg crepe with garlic peanut sauce.
This noodle soup is called Special Lapaz Batchoy, an egg noodle soup with pork intestines, liver and lechon kawali. It’s my husband’s favorite.
This is Sisig na Bangus (Sizzling Milkfish Sisig) with chopped fried bangus, red onion, spring onions and green peppers.
Verdict: Their chicken inasal IS on point. Really good. But surprisingly, all the other dishes we ate were likewise delicious. My heart and taste buds were enraptured with their Sisig na Bangus. Service was rather slow for comfort but our server was attentive and friendly enough that I can easily overlook that weakness.
If you’re curious to try casual Filipino dining, House of Inasal was also featured on The New York Times (you can find it here), so that’s saying something. House of Inasal’s food is your typical Filipino dishes done remarkably well.
Address:
House of Inasal
65-14 Roosevelt Avenue, Woodside, NY