Lunch at Bangus

Whenever my friends or relatives come home from the United States they always want to eat Filipino food. I usually bring them to Fely J or Abe. I can’t think of other good Filipino restaurants until I remembered Bangus.

Bangus has been open for 25 years. I remember when they first opened at Crossroad Arcade Greenhills in the 80s. Today it’s in Connecticut carpark building in Greenhills.

The restaurant’s name, Bangus or milkfish is one of the most favorite fish in the Philippines. It’s notorious for having so much bones. Thankfully, deboning bangus has been perfected. Bangus is a very versatile fish and can be cooked in a hundred and one ways. And that’s what this restaurant is famous for.

The colorful interiors reminded me of a fiesta atmosphere. We went there on a weekday lunch and the place was packed.

the cousins

My cousin has never tried sisig so we ordered it. I’m not a big fan of sisig so I can’t judge how good this was. Pork sisig was made famous when Anthony Bourdain featured it in his show the Philippine edition of “No Reservations.” Pork sisig is made up of pig’s cheeks, nose and ears. Doesn’t sound appetizing huh? Don’t let the ingredients put you off from trying it. It’s the most popular appetizer in the Philippines when drinking beer. Even Anthony Bourdain declared it “the best!”

pork sisg P195

The best part of the bangus is the belly that’s why this dish is called prime cut. This was a simple dish served on a sizzling plate and topped with onions. A good squeeze of calamansi and a quick dip in patis is how we ate it.

bangus prime cut (milkfish belly) P280

These prawns were our favorite. We ate every last drop of the yummy crab fat sauce with the garlic rice.

adobong sugpo sa aligue (prawns in crab fat sauce) P385

They also had kare kareng bangus but this time we stuck to the classic ox tail. My cousins were fascinated because the ox tail still had the skin on. I just found out that the ox tail sold in the United States were all skinless. Where’s the fun in that? The kare kare was very good. The 3 pieces of ox tail were very tender and the sauce was rich and peanutty.

kare kareng buntot (ox tail peanut stew) P425

Even their garlic rice was good. We finished two orders of rice. It’s the fault of those darn yummy sauces.

garlic rice P55

I’m so happy I rediscovered Bangus. There’s’ nothing fancy with the food. It’s all just good, home cooked Filipino food. Just the way we liked it. It’s a place where you definitely have to bring your guests to enjoy a wide range of Filipino food cooked the traditional way.

Bangus menu, front

Bangus menu, back

Bangus delivery menu