Restaurants 1 through 6 in Little Manila in Carson, CA, USA. More details when available.

9/17/00 - Number (12) is in 1st. place, followed by (13) and (16) tied for 2nd., and (14) in 3rd. Number (2 first time) is in 4th. and (4 fast food) in 5th. Numbers (6), (8), and (2 buffet) are tied for 6th. place. Numbers (7), (10), and (4 full service) are in last place. Number (1) was also in last place; the new review puts them slightly better than average, but I only tried the Chinese food.

9/17/00 - You might want to read them in the order I reviewed them which is numbers (12), (4 fast food), (6), (8), (2 fast food), (7), (10), (1 old place), (4 full service), (2 buffet), (13), (14), (16), and (1 new place).

Little Manila Restaurant Updates. 9/17/00 - See new review of (1).. 5/11/00 - Iba'n Express (16) moves into a tie for second place. 9/20/99 - Island Foods (15) is open. 9/14/99 - All traces of Sizzling Pinoy restaurant were removed from the Seafood City Supermarket area, but now a worker says it is under construction. No! 9/11/99 - I reviewed Tipanan Filipino Cuisine restaurant (14), and they're in third place. 9/1/99 - A new sign on Palayok (6) says starting today they will be closed every Monday. 8/30/99 - Reviewed another restaurant, Vigan Express (13), which moves into 2nd. place. Also got a good fish fried at Tambuli Market (M6). I went back starting 7/23/99, on the weekends, to review restaurants.

Number (2 buffet) has all you can eat, and (4 full service) and (7) have full service. The rest have steam-table fast food, and maybe order-from-the-menu food. Except at the full-service places, you eat with plastic ware and plastic plates and bowls. They probably all do take out and catering. Most of these restaurants have various free newspapers, either inside or outside, like the markets. However, sometimes they throw them away at night when they close.

9/14/99 - Few of these businesses sell liquor, beer, or wine. Call first if that's important to you.

Just for comparison, one of the best values I found in the Philippines was an eight or ten course Chinese meal for about 80-cents. A huge tureen of shark-fin soup was about 50-cents. Yes, that was in the 1960's.

• Maps. See Walking Tour.

1. Kim Tar Restaurant B.B.Q., menu now says "Szechwan-Chinese fastfood" (previously Nanay Restaurant)
174 E. Carson St.
Carson, CA 90745
phone: 310-549-2634

10/1/00 Update - Returned Friday and Saturday 9/29 and 9/30/00, both after 6 p.m., to try Filipino dishes which are only available on the steam table. About the only item listed all three nights was the pork-rib adobo. So far each time I got the two-item combo with chow mein for the discounted price of $3.03.

Friday, 9/29/00 - They were out of pork-rib adobo and, after waiting a while, I got the chow mein and orange chicken - again - and the kung-pao chicken. The kung-pao was mostly chopped water chestnuts, a few green onions, and only a few bits of ok chicken. The sauce was also a problem. My serving didn't contain one of the hot peppers and was mild. Only towards the end did I notice a slight accumulation of heat but no vinegar. A rather bland dish, too little chicken, and lacking the correct flavors. A below average version.

The orange chicken was still above average. I'm starting to like their chow mein which is rather above average and contains more non-overcooked vegetables than you usually see in a combo. They even char a few noodles for an interesting taste, but it can be a touch salty and oily.

Sat, 9/30/00 - Pork Rib Adobo? Pork? - maybe, ribs? - no, adobo? - no. There were four chunks, and at first it looked like too much meat. But the chunks were 90% bone and fat with just a touch of slightly tough meat. The bones looked more like chunks of shoulder-blade bone. The sauce was tasty but contained star anise, several bone chips, and was wasted on this meat. They were out of 'ribs' on Friday so I came back Saturday when they had plenty. A dish to avoid unless you can verify the meat is tender ribs.

Saturday I also tried the dry-cooked green beans. Here dry cooking means deep frying to drive out the water and concentrate the bean flavor. This is usually followed by another form of 'dry cooking' where the sauce is boiled till it dries and sticks to the ingredients - and it makes a mess in your pan. For me it never seems to improve the dish, but perhaps it works better with Chinese long beans rather than with American green beans. This was an unusual preparation and had an interesting sauce with just a touch of heat and bits of other vegetables. Traces of minced pork are sometimes added, but I believe the server said it was beef. The beans looked beyond the usual overcooked stage, but were actually ok. An interesting dish, but for vegetables they don't give you much. Both the 'adobo' and green-bean sauces were good but not authentic and were a tad oily.

9/17/00 - About 8/25/00 they mailed a new menu to the locals and announce a new manager and 20% off all items after 3 p.m. Before 3 p.m. you get a free soda with some combo. Another sign says you get four 'chunks' of fried chicken for $1.00, but I didn't try that. New hours are Mo-Th, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fri & Sat till 10 p.m. Closed Sunday.

Went in 9/16/00, about 6 p.m. to try the two-item combo with rice and/or chow mein, no soup, for $3.50. With three items it would be $4.50. This is fast food off the steam table. With 20% off and tax that came to $3.03. I got all chow mein, orange chicken, and Mongolian beef. The chow mein was ok or slightly better than average, but you know the local, fast food chow mein isn't that good. The orange chicken was nice bits of chicken in slightly too much batter, as usual, in an ok sweet and sour sauce, no heat. Also better than average. The Mongolian beef was slices of tender and a few slices of chewey beef with green and yellow onions in a bland, thin, soy-flavored sauce. No flavor, garlic, or richness that one expects in this dish. The beef would have to get much better before I'd get it again, but the rest was ok.

I got the order to go but eat half of it there, telling the manager I hadn't been happy with the food in the past. After a while he came over and asked how the food was today, and I said ok except for the bland beef. He said it was a new chef. I saved half for the next day.

The new menu has a page of lunch specials at $4.25 (like beef) and others at $5.25 (like seafood). They include rice, egg roll or chicken salad, and soup (but not to go). Also a page of dinner specials from $7.95 to $10.95 with soup, egg roll, wonton, and rice. Also two pages of items from appetizers to a la carte for $2.50 to $11.95, with most items about $7. As before, it's mostly Chinese food, and Filipino food is only available on the steam table. The only Filipino dish I recall was adobo ribs which I didn't try.

Overall - The $3.03 special seems like an ok value if you can find two good items, but the other prices seem rather high for these digs in this area. They didn't even have a waitress at 6 p.m. on a Saturday night.

8/6/99 - It's after 6 p.m. on a Friday night. They have names on the steam-table food, a very good idea. I got the two-item combo with chicken adobo and pork-rib adobo. This comes with fried rice and chow mein, and I forgot to ask if steamed rice was an option. The combo comes with a small soup, and if you don't say anything they give you egg-flower soup which is one of my least favorites. I had called to ask if I could have something else, and the lady said yes. So when I got there she gave me plain chicken broth with a few chopped scallions. This time I wrote it down: she gave me four chunks of pork rib and three chunks of chicken, that's two chunks of thigh and a small leg.

This sounds like a lot of food, in fact I had to ask for a second plate on which to cut the meat. That was the problem. The pork was so tough I almost couldn't cut it with the serrated plasticware knife. I went and asked for metalware and told her why, but she didn't care. In fact the chicken was slightly tough also. When I finished, which didn't take long, the plate was still full. It was all bones, skin, and a little fat with very little meat. I just filled up on the rice, chow mein, and soup which were ok.

How does one cook pork ribs and chicken to make them tough? These guys have the secret. It's too bad cause the adobo sauces were mild but rather good. This place moves into a tie for last place. Maybe the Chinese food is better, but don't bet on it.

2. Manila Sunrise
21828 S. Main St.
Carson, CA 90745
phone: 310-835-1999

I went in and asked for a to-go menu, and they said no. I saw a steam table full of food, but I didn't write down any details. I went here a few years ago cause it was reviewed in the Press-Telegram newspaper. Or I think it was this place. The review didn't say anything bad, but I just went to look.

7/31/99 - This is a review of the fast-food combo plate. It's Saturday evening about 6:00 p.m., and I'm back on the job. Combo plates include rice, a small soup and: 1 item for $2.75, 2 items for $3.50, and 3 items for $4.25. They don't have a menu, just a sign on the wall. A few other items range from $1.20 to $6.50. They're open seven days, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., so they probably do breakfast.

I just walked over to the steam table and ask the girl to please tell me what they had. There wasn't anything I'd had before, and anyway I wanted to try something different. I went for the two item combo, still with steamed rice, a small soup, and two items. I went for a pork stew with vegetables and tomatoes and a chicken adobo. Most all these restaurants have had fish, organ meat, combination dishes, etc., but not many vegetables. This place had just a touch of a good-looking vegetable dish, but I wanted to stay with basic pork, chicken, and beef the first time around.

The chicken adobo had a small leg and two nuggets of chopped-up thigh with the bones. This came in something like a cream sauce. I've had about three adobo dishes so far, and none tasted the same. This was very good, and I didn't taste any vinegar. The pork stew was a serving-spoon full of small chopped pork, a few overcooked vegetables, and a very good sauce. The girl said it had tomatoes, and I tasted, for the first time, a hint of heat, maybe from paprika. I have refrained from speculation on seasoning and tastes, cause I don't have a clue. The pork was maybe a quarter fat, but very tender. About half the rice was a hockey puck, but there was enough good stuff, so I didn't say anything. For the first time the soup had just a suggestion of delayed heat. It was a beef broth with vegetables and was very good. It was salty, but remember what I said about salt in the review for Tita Celia (12).

This place moves into second place behind Tita Celia (12). No pickles or other stuff, just minor condiments and water. As the girl described the dishes to me, three Filipino customers were listening also. They do need signs on the food, nobody knows what it is. They did have a few Filipino newspapers, of which a free and a pay one I haven't seen before.

8/8/99 - Unique! They do an all-you-can-eat buffet seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Adults are $4.95, and children are $2.90. I do suggest buffets as a way to check out a restaurant. It was Sunday, just before noon. The other customers were dressed-up, and I assume many were just getting out of the church next door. I like to graze and eat slowly, and I might have been there almost two hours. They had a lot of customers, mostly getting food to go.

For the all-you-can-eat you get everything on the steam table plus steamed rice. They had two soups, rice porridge, a pork shank?, pork adobo, chicken curry, three fish dishes, ox tail in peanut sauce, a couple of vegetable dishes, organ meat in a thick black sauce, roast pork, and latter they had a sliced beef dish. There were probably more dishes which I forgot. The vegetable dishes included things like banana blossoms, bitter melon, and oriental eggplant. A couple of the meat dishes included vegetables also. Of the three fish dishes, two were very small, fried fish, one in a sauce. The other fish dish was poached tails.

I tried almost everything. Of the fish, I only tried the one in sauce, and it was extremely over cooked. I skipped the shank? because it was too large. I do wish they could give you small samples of the big stuff, I just didn't want to waste it. I skipped the chicken meat and just tried the sauce and vegetables; same with the organ meat and ox tail dishes. I went back a few times just to pick out the vegetables which tended to be slightly overcooked.

Good news - bad news. Nothing was bad, but nothing was good either. Nothing was as good as what I got on the first visit. Maybe Sunday is bland-food day. My first visit put them in second place, but this visit would put them very low on the list. The value was good, but I don't care for bland food. However, I still suggest a buffet as a way to check out a restaurant. Maybe, just stop in, and ask for samples. I do remember a Filipino lady getting two huge plates full of food, so someone likes it. PS - I want to thank the girl on the steam table. She remembered me from the last time and asked if I wanted a description of the dishes again. Again, a couple of Filipino customers were listening as she described the dishes. RESTAURANTS - please put name tags on your food.

3. Ted's Burgers, menu says "The best burgers in town."
22000 S. Main St.
Carson, CA 90745
phone: 310-830-4412

Again, someone recommended this place for breakfast years ago. Two breakfast specials give you 2 eggs, 2 bacon or 2 sausage, and either hash browns and toast or 2 hotcakes for $2.29. Good food and lot's of it, but not very fast cause the place gets packed. Menu says they do breakfast all day. A few patio tables are available in front. They have a drive-through window, on the passenger side. Other menu items from $1.25 to $5.45. Sunday thru Thursday: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

4. Casa Filipina Restaurant
22102 and 22104 S. Main St.
Carson, CA 90745
phone:310-835-5224, but sit-down menu says 310-835-5507 or 310-835-2193.

8/9/99 - This is two restaurants. 22104 is a full-service place with table service and a big menu. Everything is a la carte. Dishes from $4.50 to $14.95, most main dishes around $8 or $9, with a few combinations up to $20. This is one of the two full-service Filipino restaurants on the tour. On Saturday entertainment starts a 8 p.m. This section is open late some nights for Karaoke. Call to verify and for details. 22102 is fast food with combo plates: 1 item at $2.50, 2 items at $3.50, and 3 items at $4.50. I forgot to ask about days and hours, so call.

7/24/99 - This is the review of the fast-food section. I had such a good experience last night at Tita Celia (12) that I went back to try another place. It was about 7 p.m. on a Saturday night, and I drove around to see what was happening. Nobody was busy. Then I saw a new sign, something about a summer special for $2.99. They give you two items plus steamed rice and a small bowl of soup for 2.99, rather than the regular price of $3.50. This applies the fast food, steam table section.

I got beef mechado, pork with tofu and black beans, steamed rice, and vegetable soup. The beef was a stew with about one piece of potato and maybe four chunks of beef. Maybe a quarter of the beef was fat, but it was easy to cut off. The pork dish, also a stew, had about two chunks of tofu and three of meat, but the pork was almost all fat. Just a taste of meat. The rice was cold and hard as a rock, but when I complained she brought me a warm portion. The soup was a small bowl of vegetable broth with two pieces of vegetables. They also had a few good, quick pickles in the help-yourself section.

The beef was tender with good flavor, and I'd get it again. I was disappointed by the fatty pork, but the non-fat items tasted good. I'd probably get it again also, but I'd be sure to ask for some meat. The cold rice was sloppy, but she fixed it. For vegetable soup it was ok. I was impressed by the meat sauces, as good as or maybe better than Tita Celia. But, in every other way Tita Celia was better, so they move into first place. All these places have more items then I can mention. Like, these guys had a pork and eggplant patty that sounds good. They also had a couple of free Filipino newspapers.

8/7/99 - This is a review of the full-service section. Fate left the controversial review for the last Filipino restaurant in this area. It's Saturday night, and I got there about 6 p.m. The girl said there's no waiter till 6:30 p.m., and she invited me to sit and wait. I figured I'd read the menu, and there were a few dishes marked "NEW" that weren't on my to-go menu. After a while the waiter came over. I wanted to try a new, more complicated dish, but I decided to stay with pork adobo (called adobong baboy here) so I could compare it to the other places. I asked, and the waiter said the dish came with "potatoes and something." I figured he meant the "something" was soup, vegetables, or salad, something like that. Another waiter brought the food, just a plate of pork. I asked for the other stuff, and the waiter says everything was a la carte. I bitched, and the waiter said he'd bring rice. He came back with a medium bowl of sticky, steamed rice.

There was a lot of pork on an oval serving platter. It was enough for two, three, or more people to split. They were larger chunks of pork, and I just tried a few of the best looking chunks. These were tender, but slightly stringy, and had some fat on the outside. The disappointing part was the sauce. It was so mild it didn't have much flavor. The rice was just a glob of sticky stuff. I got it to go, and I'll report when I finish the leftovers.

8/10/99 - Bad news on the leftovers. I got them quickly into my 34F degree refrigerator. I heated up some tonight, and it tasted good, but I got sick within two hours. And again in an hour.

I put a $10 bill on the table, and the waiter came back with coins. The pork was $7.25, so with tax it should be $7.85. I asked, and he had charged me $1.50 for rice (a total of $9.47). He never showed me a bill, and I don't think he brought 53-cents in change. Anyway, I bitched about being brought the rice without being told I'd be charged. Especially when the first waiter said the meal included "potatoes and something." I told him I'd leave a $1.50 tip, I left him the rice. The two waiters should be in jail for running a scam.

I left and called and asked for the owner. I explained the situation, and she took the waiters' side, but she said I could get my money back. 8/21/99 - And, I remembered, she tried to tell me they didn't even serve potatoes, but they're listed on the menu with the combos; check for yourself. I wasn't sure if she meant $9.47 or $1.62. I was offered $1.50, got $1.50 plus tax, but because I may have been scammed or at least mislead by the waiters and the owner, I should have gone for the whole $9.47.

Both sections use the same kitchen and probably the same cook. The tables were dirty, and I had to ask for a knife. No condiments, not even salt and pepper. I got one glass of ice water and no refill. I was the only person in the restaurant. The sit-down side had better quality pork with less taste. The fast-food side had low-quality pork with more flavor. Even if you get this to go and split the pork between three people and make you own rice you're paying $2.42 per person plus tax for bland food. And there's no soup. Value alone puts them tied for last place. An a la carte meal here with just soup, rice, vegetable, and a main dish could add up to $39.90 plus tax per my to-go menu. You decide.

5. Casa Filipina Bakery
22200 S. Main St.
Carson CA, 90745
phone: ?310-835-2193?

I went in to look, but no one came to the counter. Just a bakery.

6. Palayok
22200 S. Main St.
Carson CA 90745
phone: 310-952-9953

9/1/99 - A new sign says starting today they will be closed every Monday. Tue - Fri 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sat and Sun 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Another says they do breakfast Saturday and Sunday starting at 7:30 a.m. with all items at or under $3.00.

7/25/99 - I returned Sunday, about noon to try a third restaurant. First I stopped in Manila Sunrise (2), but didn't see anything that caught my eye. Then I went here, and the same thing. The pork adobo was dried out, and a beef dish was made with ground meat. I almost ordered a pork stew, but thankfully the lady gave me a sample which I didn't like. It had an unpleasant taste. I got the one item combo with something like Chinese B.B.Q. pork which came with steamed rice and a small bowl of beef broth with traces of vegetables. I forgot the price, think it was $2.75. No menu to go.

The pork was sliced and served in a slightly sweet red sauce. It should be used as an appetizer, not as a meal, but this was ok. It might be spelled tocino. This should be done with pork loin, it was just a little too fatty for me. The rice and the beef soup were good. They also had good quick pickles. In all these places keep an eye out for condiments around the cash register and/or plasticware. You'll probably see vinegar, hot sauces, hot peppers, etc. At least two places had serve-yourself ice water.

My fault, this was a stupid choice to evaluate the restaurant. Of the three I tried so far I'll put this in third place till I can return. Tita Celia (12) is still in first place. There are a couple of tables in the steam-table room, but just to the right is an open, central courtyard with vegetation and two tables. I don't usually sit outside, but I did here. Further to the right, through a door is a larger room with many tables.