New Dalisay Café

I haven't done any posts on Filipino food since this blog began, but to be quite honest, I don't eat very much of it.  Why?  Don't know really.  I guess it's because there aren't too many places around that I know of.  Today, we decided to go to New Café Dalisay.

I was unable to take a photo of the restaurant this afternoon because it looked as though there were some "shady" dealings going on in front of and inside of this shop.  As I took out the camera, I got some nasty looks, so I decided that it would be best that I try again another time.  This is not exactly the most friendly neighborhood and to think, it's only a 10 minute walk from the office.  Oh well...I went back to after work and was able to snap this photo.

Judging from the outside, you would never even think to come here to eat.  If you saw the inside, you'd think twice as well.  But you place your orders at the kitchen which looks moderately clean.  The food is often cooked by a middle aged couple, often oblivious to what's going on inside the restaurant and right outside the front door.  We place our order in advance, over the phone, so that it's ready by the time we get there....it's take out (we'll eat at the office, thank you very much)!

This shop has a menu consisting of 10 items at most.  The one item that I always order, and the only one that I've eaten here, is the sari sari (US$6.00).

Sari sari is like a soup filled with squash, eggplant, ung choy (swamp spinach), tomatoes, shrimp and crispy fried pork.  The soup/broth is seasoned with patis (fish sauce).  The soup is a bit salty, but flavorful, tasting both "porky" and mildly fishy at the same time.  The vegetables are cooked until tender and the pork...well, the crispy fried pork, and the fried pork skin, stays crispy even after being in all of that liquid! 

By the way, the portions here are huge!  I had eaten all I could for lunch, and the bowl you're looking at in the picture, is what I was able to take home for dinner.  All in all, this was a very satisfying meal.  Would I recommend the food here?  No doubt.  If you can get past the appearance of the place, then you will definitely be glad you came.

New Dalisay Café - House of Filipino Food
1169 Maunakea Street
Telephone:  808.537.6012

Comments

[gracie]

the sarisari looks delicious.

if you want to try some really good filipino food...drive down to Waipahu. Every Sunday my family eats at Thelma's in the Westgate Center, ground floor. here's a link:

http://home.hawaii.rr.com/thelmas/

Thelma's Special, KareKare, Pancit Mix, Adobo Fried Rice are all great and cooked to order. they also have a buffet but i'd rather order it fresh.

[Reid]

Hi Gracie,

Thanks for stopping by. This sari sari is good. I'll be sure to check out Thelma's the next time I'm in Waipahu. Thanks for the tip!

[anthony]

Great looking soup.

Crappy looking paces with good food are a big fave find of mine.

[Reid]

Hey Anthony,

Thanks for dropping by. Yeah, this is really good, and I normally enjoy hole-in-the-wall places as well. In fact, I think the food is better here than in most "restaurants". The only thing that really bothers me about this place is the illicit activites that seem to go on here.

[claudine]

It is 6am and I'm getting ready for an early AM flight and I'm *starving.* That loooks sooo good!

[Reid]

Hi Claudine,

Thanks for dropping by. It is actually very delicious. The only thing I don't eat too much of is the crispy fried pork. It's a bit too much fat for me. =)

[claudine]

mmm... i'll admit to eating the crispy fried pork... albeit somewhat guiltily ... ;)

[Reid]

Hi Claudine,

I'll admit to it too...but I only eat a little bit. Don't tell anyone OK? =)

[nai]

i happened across your blog a couple months ago and it's been very helpful in helping me & my boyfriend decide where to eat. anyway, thought i'd share some of my favorite filipino food places, which all fit under the hole-in-the-wall category. most are open 7 days til 9. jesse's is open at 6:30 a.m and i think mely's stays open til 10 p.m. juleez, mely's, and thelma's all have buffets, which is a good way to get acquainted. i've also listed my favorite foods at each restaurant:

1. mabuhay cafe--everything's great; they serve the best pancit bihon on this island now that my mom has moved to oregon. it's perfectly seasoned, has the best balance of noodle to other ingredients, and the noodles are cooked just right and are not all broken up (really important, esp. since pancit represents long life, just as most noodle dishes do in asian tradition) actually, it's the only pancit bihon i will eat besides my mom's because not even my family members make it well. (river street)

2. mely's--two and three choice plates are a great value with scads of food for the price. get the pinakbet, squid guisado and pork adobo. if they have dinengdeng (patis or bagoong-based soup with traditional fili vegetables and fish, pork, or shrimp), give that a try. that's what most filis raised in traditional homes eat most of the time. (old pizza hut site on king street across the kapalama post office)

3. juleez--balatong and squid guisado are really good. so is the lechon kawali, but since you've already commented that it's too fatty in the sari sari you ate at dalisay, maybe this is too pork lardy. but yum! (not sure about the spelling; it's in kapolei, on the backside of jurison's [side note: don't eat at the kapolei jurison's. perfect example of a restaurant that overreaches and fails])

4. thelma's: buffet. gooooood. also, for breakfast, which is served all day long, try the eggplant omelet with side order tuyo, which is salted and i think dried fish that gets fried crispy (ask for vinegar to dip it in), if you're adventurous. you'll need listerine strips afterwards, tho. (in waipahu, same strip mall as leeward's drive inn).

5. jesse's coffee shop for fresh pan de sal. ask them to make you scrambled eggs with tomato and patis (off menu, but they'll make it. it's the egg topping from the bangus sarciado). cut open the pan de sal and stuff it with said eggs. heaven! (king street, unfortunately, next to the canal alongside HCC).

don't bother with the golden coin chain. the food there is horrific! i would only go there for the ube cake and leche flan.

if you can, sample fili restaurants with someone who knows fili food and the difference between ilocano style (e.g. pinakbet made with patis) and tagalog style (pinakbet made with aramang) cooking. i'll apologize in advance for my people who own and run fili restaurants in hawaii. ever since we lost joni's in kapahulu, i haven't found a single fili restaurant that had the kind of service we americans expect. also, i wish my people would get it together in hawaii. the closest thing we've had to a "fine dining" fili restaurant was amihan, and that closed about ten years ago bcs the owner was arrested for selling drugs.

whoa! more education than you probably bargained for. hope it helps, regardless.

[Reid]

Hi nai,

Welcome to the blog!

No, it's not too much information, so thank you. I don't have the opportunity to eat Filipino food much and would actually eat it more if I knew where to go. Many friends of mine have recommended Thelma's in Waipahu, so that is going to be my next stop. I've tried the food at Mely's and thought it was quite nice. When I return from my trip, I'll go there again and do a write up.

Thanks for dropping by and proving my readers with some recommendations on Filipino food. I'm sure they appreciate it. =)

[MBS]

Hey Reid:

Thelma's is good and is definitely better than Elenas, which is located in the same strip mall.

[MBS]

Didn't Joni's relocate to Makai Market in Ala Moana?

[nai]

unfortunately, joni's in ala moana since makai market was renovated sometime in the 1990s. from what my mom told me, one of the partners of joni's kapahulu opened joni's ala moana without the knowledge of the rest of the joni's kapahulu folks, which, understandably, lead to bitterness and the dissolving of what had been a darn good enterprise. sigh.

[Reid]

Hi MBS,

I don't think Joni's is around any longer. I'm definitely going to try Thelma's soon. It's been recommended by everyone at work. I just need to find time to get out to Waipahu.

Hi nai,

I've only been to Joni's once and thought it was quite good. On my most recent visit to the Kapahulu area I didn't see it any longer and your comment above might explain why. Thanks for the information.

[Enzo]

Although i havent tried yur sari sari soup,it seems like it is good in the picture with all the diferent ingredients and they are all my favorite. We will be visiting Hawaii this Dec and hope to find ur store easily as we would like to try some of ur delicious servings.

[Reid]

Hi Enzo,

Thank you for stopping by my site.

I hope you enjoy your trip here and I hope that you are able to try the sari sari here at Dalisay.

Thanks again!

[boofay]

Even though the place is a dive, it's one of the tastiest filipino restaurants I enjoy. Not only is the sarisari 'ono but so is the shrimp sarciado which I liken to a shrimp scampi soup. All of the dishes are made from the main chef I call "Mama". She is the key and has been there for the many years my friends and I can remember. She has let her other female assistant cook in the kitchen but the food isn't as tasty. The portions are undoubtely the most generous you will find when it comes to any filipino restaurant on 'O'ahu. I've tried several filipino restaurants from Kalihi to Waipahu and I always go back to her. The others are good too so it's only fair to say that we are blessed w/several filipino deli's to choose from.

[kakay]

Does anyone have recommendations on where we can order a good, tasty lechon in this island?

[Updated price]

Still delicious, but costs $7.50 now. Or, $8.00 for take out.