I can add a new successful discovery to this rolling list...
Two years ago, the Filipino joint, Hong Ning, relocated to Carol Stream at the corner of North and Schmale. They seem to have quite the following, nearly universal love on the Yelp (from seemingly predominantly Filipino patrons). The place was hopping at an early dinnertime (5 PM) on a Saturday. They've been on my radar since they popped up, I frequently shop at Caputo's across the street.
The space is pretty nice for a suburban strip mall. A former wood fired pizza spot, part of the kitchen is open and white tiled. The back wall is adorned with cultural tchotchkes and family photos. Service was awesome, the place is extra well staffed, kind of an extended family vibe.
Knowing Pinoy portion sizes, I knew that I would need to roll with reinforcements and, goddamn, were we assaulted with mountains of food! Five of us were only able to put a dent in two apps and five entrees, and five take out boxes left with us.
Apps: lumpia were a little thicker than other versions I'm familiar with. The pleasantly bouncy pork filling was nice. The wrappers were fried to a brittle crisp but were not as unique as the flakier version at Isla Pilipina. The sauce was way less cloyingly-sweet though. Fried chicken skin was amazeballs, well seasoned and addictive dipped in a dark vinegar sauce.
In the entree department there were high highs, one dud, and generally satisfying soulful cooking. The dud was a gimmick-y mound of deep fried frozen seafood, kare-kare style. The sauce looked right but was oddly flavorless, hardly even tasting of peanuts. Oh well, that one wasn't my call. The coconut milk-based sauce with the Ginataang Gulay (sitaw kalabasa) had much more depth and richness. And the crispy string beans and tender hunks of squash were a welcome respite from the piles of deep fried morsels and meats.
The grilled meats were my favorite dishes of the meal– the Inahaw na liempo, nuggets of pork belly were succulent, very smoky/charred, and deeply redolent of fish sauce and kalamansi. The chicken inasal had a similar marinade profile (though the menu mentioned lemongrass and annatto) and the grilled thighs maintained a nice juiciness. Excellent stuff.
The menu doesn't shy away from offal (liver sauce!) and other funky stuff. I was in mixed company in terms of adventurous palates, so I thought we'd ordered safe across the board. One dish that was surprisingly challenging (it was even hard for me to slam with my typical gusto) was a dish of fried pork belly with shrimp paste. I expected it to be marinaded in the fermented fishy stuff, but was liberally smeared with the paste, like Flea slap-bass solo levels of funk. They even brought out a couple of extra ramekins of the stuff (that remained untouched.) The dish came together with a fresh salsa of tomato and onion and served atop a neutral base of grilled eggplant. Just really intense and maybe thats a good thing– unrestrained SE Asian flavors in the heart of the burbs!
I was as disappointed as the server that we didn't have room for their psychedelic halo halo. I'll be back for sure. This place brings the goods!
Also, side note, I recently enjoyed an Italian Beef at Augustino's across the street. The clearly house made beef, so far, is the best product I've found within a five mile radius of our place. I'd previously ignored the cheesy 50's themed diner until chatter between Da Beef and jimswside on Twitter piqued my interest, and then I high tailed it over there after gushing recommendations from a coupla wise Home Depot delivery guys.
Hong Ning
598 North Ave, Carol Stream, IL
(630) 480-2688
Augustino's Rock and Roll Deli and Grill
246 Schmale Road, Carol Stream, IL
(630) 665-5585