Ihawan--A Welcome Addition to the Neighborhood!
Up to Neighborhood Discussion
Posted by
More specifically, through my travels and friends, I have grown to absolutely LOVE Filipino food. So imagine my delight in learning that Ihawan is a Filipino joint! To date, their food has yet to disappoint--the bbq dishes are particularly delicious and cheap ($7.50 I believe). I especially like the pork bbq (the skewers not the chops) and the chicken. For the more adventurous folks, the kare kare is quite good as is the, palabok, laing (sp?) and lechon. In truth, I've been ordering somewhat at random and have yet to be disappointed with the entrees. And as for the deserts, I absolutely love the avocado con hielo as well as the turon with icecream--amazing!!!
On top of that, I have had nothing but positive experiences with Jacki (the young lady owner) and her team--such a friendly group of people!
Perhaps the only negative thing about Ihawan is the timing of the food--but you have to give them a break--the place is new. I suspect that they will fix those issues within a short time!
I tip my hat off to the owners for being brave enough to start a new business, particularly in this economic environment--and I wish them nothing but success. So Ihawan, welcome to LIC! And neighbors, please show your support so that this Filipino restaurant (yum) is here to stay!
But before I sign off, a bit of friendly advice to the owners--I would recommend that you market the place as a Filipino restaurant, rather than Asian fusion. I'm of the firm belief that people in this 'hood are more into novelty and variety, rather than 'fusion'. This should be an easy marketing change given that the menu is completely Filipino, as far as I can tell, besides the sushi of course.
Really niced words, liclic - I couldn't agree with you more. We all need to be kinder, and more patient with our local restauranteurs and other merchants. Let's support them; not bring them down!
Previously liclic wrote:
I am a relative newcomer to LIC (just over a year now) and am completely new to this website. That being said, I stumbled upon some of the more negative reviews of Ihawan on this site, and felt compelled to share my own very positive experiences with the place--largely because I want this place to stick around! It's hard to find a restaurant with fantastic food, really low prices, and an extremely friendly staff!
More specifically, through my travels and friends, I have grown to absolutely LOVE Filipino food. So imagine my delight in learning that Ihawan is a Filipino joint! To date, their food has yet to disappoint--the bbq dishes are particularly delicious and cheap ($7.50 I believe). I especially like the pork bbq (the skewers not the chops) and the chicken. For the more adventurous folks, the kare kare is quite good as is the, palabok, laing (sp?) and lechon. In truth, I've been ordering somewhat at random and have yet to be disappointed with the entrees. And as for the deserts, I absolutely love the avocado con hielo as well as the turon with icecream--amazing!!!
On top of that, I have had nothing but positive experiences with Jacki (the young lady owner) and her team--such a friendly group of people!
Perhaps the only negative thing about Ihawan is the timing of the food--but you have to give them a break--the place is new. I suspect that they will fix those issues within a short time!
I tip my hat off to the owners for being brave enough to start a new business, particularly in this economic environment--and I wish them nothing but success. So Ihawan, welcome to LIC! And neighbors, please show your support so that this Filipino restaurant (yum) is here to stay!
But before I sign off, a bit of friendly advice to the owners--I would recommend that you market the place as a Filipino restaurant, rather than Asian fusion. I'm of the firm belief that people in this 'hood are more into novelty and variety, rather than 'fusion'. This should be an easy marketing change given that the menu is completely Filipino, as far as I can tell, besides the sushi of course.
Ok I replied to the other thread before eating there. Now I have eaten there, and I will reply here.
1) The star of the show is the first item on the menu: pork bbq. This is what the original Ihawan is known for. They were very good here, just about as good as the original.
2) Lechon, the classic roasted pork belly, was also good.
3) Mixed vegetables in coconut sauce - It was pretty good but nothing special. I'm not sure hwo traditionally Filipino this dish is. However, we needed some veggies to balance out our meal and this did teh trick.
Went there last night. Food was pretty good but the service was really bad. We were a six-top so we had an 18% tip automatically added to the check.
I had the spare rib special that I had to send back because they barely had any meat on them.
When the entrees came out, they came out one at a time. We all ate at different time. It was 45 minutes between the first and last plate served.
As someone was waiting for their entree, they came by and asked us if we wanted dessert. Odd that they forgot that someone still had not eaten.
The waiter was barely around, the hostess was doing the majority of the damage control on our table.
What I did not like about it was that the tip was included. I guess I should have contested it.
I get that this place is new and needs to have kinks worked out. Thing is, they did not even acknowledge any of their mistakes or even offer to comp something off of the menu.
Needless to say, we are not going back.