Good Eats: FILIPINO FOOD!! (Queens Area)

DIRECTIONS: You can get there either by bus or train. The route that I took started at Grand Central - 42nd Street Subway Station. Took 2 flights of stairs down to the # 7 Train platform to catch the train bound for Flushing - Main Street. After a 15-20 min. ride, got off at 69 - Fisk Avenue Station and found myself right smack in the middle of Woodside, Queens. (Just don't ask me why the street sign reads "69 St., Roosevelt" instead of "69 St., Fisk"). At last!! A taste of Spring! It was 71 degrees yesterday and I couldn't let the day pass by without going out and enjoying the unusually warm weather. Besides, I had the urge to binge on Filipino food and where else can I best satiate this craving than in Woodside, Queens? I left home at around 10 AM, giving myself ample time to make it back before S's school bus beat me to my door! As soon as I got out of the Subway Station, I found myself in the the corner of 69th St. and Roosevelt Avenue. It felt more like being in "Little Manila" (or as in my case, "Little Iloilo") than being in Queens, NY! Aside from the 5 Filipino restaurants within a 2-block radius, there were two Balikbayan Box mailing depots, a Filipino owned hair salon, Novelty shops... My first stop was the Ihawan Restaurant located around the corner of 70th St. and Roosevelt. It is a 2-storey establishment, the restaurant occupying the Second Floor. I made a beeline for the First Floor's Take-Out Counter. This is where their Kitchen and Grilling Station are located. The most popular, and delicious item they have is also the cheapest: Pork BBQ and Chicken BBQ at $2.00 per generous stick. I ordered 2 of each. 3 Pork Belly's sell for $2.25 a piece. I also added an order (about half a pint) of Beef Lengua with Mushroom Sauce ($6.75) and 2 orders of Dinuguan ($5.00/order). Their Pancit Bihon ($4.50) was tasty although I wish they had added more veggies to it. I wanted 2 orders just the same. Of course, I couldn't go home without S's favorite, creamy Avocado Con Hielo ($3.50/glass). It is to die for - this alone was enough reason for me to make the trek all the way to Queens! The woman behind the counter told me it'll take about 20 minutes to process my Take-Out order. To kill time, I retraced my steps back to the corner of 69th St where Krystal's Cafe and Restaurant was located.
Krystal's Cafe has a bakery on the First floor and offers a daily all-you-can-eat buffet on the Second floor. For today's lunch, they had Kare-Kare (with bagoong on the side), Pinakbet, Fried Chicken (crunchy!), Sotanghon Guisado, Ginisang Mongo (bleaah, watery!), Sweet and Sour Fish, White Rice, unlimited Soda served in plastic cups, and an assortment of cakes and pastries (Ube, Pandan, Napoleons) for dessert. All this for a very reasonable price of $6.25 (includes tax!). Not bad at all!

After a quickie lunch, I grabbed "dessert to-go" downstairs and headed to the Phil-Am Grocery Store (cor. of 71st st) in search of eggplant, okra, Mung bean, and other goodies. Satisfied with my purchases, I was home in less than an hour, savoring a delectable Ube roll slice while the Avocado Con Hielo sat in the freezer - awaiting S's arrival from school.
http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/bigmap/queens/menus/ihawan.htm