Under-$30 food review: Reynaldo's in Melbourne
Where 50 Errol Street, North Melbourne; 03 9326 4032; reynaldos.com.au
Open daily, lunch and dinner
Cards MC V eftpos
Licensed
Cuisine Filipino
Bring together not two but three "it" cuisines: American, Mexican and barbecue, and then add Malaysian, Chinese and Spanish: Filipino food is like a best-of cuisine. It's built around the sour notes of vinegar, the sweeter tones of tropical fruits, and hulking amounts of fried, crispy, crackling pork. So, why is it so hard to find a Filipino restaurant in Melbourne?
For first-timers looking to try Pinoy food, Reynaldo's is a find. It serves a good range of traditional dishes, and the sweeping tiled-floor room, with a few lounge areas, has the feel of a hotel foyer – fitting for taste travellers.
You might be greeted at the door by staff behind a lectern, then shown to a table – maybe set with high-backed chairs, or, window-side for two, with '70s-floral upholstered armchairs. The high ceilings are dripping with honey-coloured pendant lights, metal wall sculptures lend a weighty formality, and attentive ears may catch the cowering, distant muzak.
Menus, with gold embossed "Reynaldo's" looping across the bound cover, also have an international-hotel vibe. In the opening sleeves, Filipino dishes are answered by "Classics" such as a steak sandwich, and "Asian noodle dishes" by "pasta" – bolognese and carbonara. (It's trying hard to please everybody, from pre-show Comic's Lounge or Arts House-goers, to locals and not-locals.)
Ukoy are large, flat fritters made from thin batons of sweet potato fused together, with shrimp and tofu, by a light batter and by plenty of time in the deep-fryer. The pretty, pink dipping vinegar adds vigour.
Seafood stars (the Philippines is made up of 7107 islands), served: as ceviche, in soups like a sweet-and-soury deeply prawny "gumbo", and on sizzling cast-iron plates, such as charry calamari curls tossed in chilli, onion and sweet capsicum, and with an egg still cooking on top.
But to the deep-fried, crisp, blistery skinned pork; get the belly (kawali) or the hock (pata) that's served chunked off the bone (some chunks can be a tad dry) with rice and western vegies (cauli, broccoli, carrots and string beans), and two dipping sauces: vinegar and a green mustard sauce.
Staff are all over service, saying the right things at the right time, refilling waters, and making suggestions. In spite of the big-hotel vibe, the place's singular character shines, with chef Reynaldo Aban (who has experience at a string of hotel chains), in the kitchen every day and night.
Do … Try the unrestrained halo-halo shaved-ice dessert, with green jelly, milk, taro, shaved coconut, vanilla ice-cream and a sliver of leche flan piled into a sundae glass.
Don't … Know where to start with Filipino food? Start with Sunday's all-you-can-eat buffet (lunch or dinner) for $25 a head.
Vibe ... Mannered Manila.
Prices ... Starters, $7.95-$10.50; Mains, $10-$24.95; Desserts, $7-$9.50